Robert Preston Meservey born on June 8, 1918, was an American stage and film actor and singer best known for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson in creating the role of Professor Harold Hill in 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation, which earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations.
Preston worked with filmmaker Blake Edwards on two occasions, the first in S.O.B. (1981) and the second in Victor/Victoria (1982). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards for his role as Carroll ‘Toddy’ Todd in the latter.
Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. (1899–1996), a textile worker, and Frank Wesley Meservey (1899–1996), and American Express billing clerk. He joined the United States Army Air Forces after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into World War II, serving as an intelligence officer in the US 9th Air Force’s 386th Bomb Group (Medium).
Preston was interested in music throughout high school and performed in operettas. He played Julius Caesar in a stock company production and Idiot’s Delight in a Pasadena Playhouse production. He was lured to the studio by a Paramount Pictures attorney who appreciated his work.
Preston married Catherine Craig, an actress, in 1940. He was a deeply secretive individual with no official biographies, but he did give several interviews, particularly later in his career. Preston died of lung cancer in March 1987, at the age of 68. His ashes were dispersed at sea after he was cremated.
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