Robert Preston

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Robert Preston (born June 8, 1918 in Newton Highland , Massachusetts , † March 21, 1987 in Montecito , California ) was an American actor .

Life

Robert Preston, who played several musical instruments, first came into contact with the stage in Los Angeles high school . He then played theater in Pasadena with future stars such as Dana Andrews and Victor Mature . He was discovered for the film by star director Cecil B. DeMille , who cast him in a larger role in his 1939 Western Union Pacific . In the same year he starred in the adventure classic Three Foreign Legionnaires alongside Gary Cooper and Ray Milland, directed by William A. Wellman . Also under DeMille and again with Cooper as a partner, he turned in 1940 The Scarlet Riders ( North West Mounted Police ). His most famous film with DeMille was Pirates in the Caribbean . The Second World War interrupted his career.

Back from Europe he played again with great success on Broadway . His final breakthrough was in the role of Professor Hill in the musical The Music Man , for which he won a Tony Award . He also took on this role in the 1962 film adaptation of the same name . In 1974 he appeared alongside Lucille Ball in the film adaptation of the Jerry Herman musical Mame .

In 1982, he played alongside Julie Andrews in Blake Edwards comedy Victor / Victoria, the gay entertainer Toddy , for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor . In the same year he received the Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Preston made his last film appearance in 1984 in the science fiction film Starfight as the lovable alien Centauri  - a tribute to his role as Professor Hill .

Preston was married to his fellow actress Catherine Craig from 1940 until his death , the marriage remained childless. The actor died of lung cancer in March 1987 at the age of 68 .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Preston, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Newton Highland , Massachusetts, United States
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 1987
Place of death Montecito , California, United States