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Robert Preston Meservey was an American stage and film actor and singer of Broadway and cinema, best known and remembered for his collaboration with composer Meredith Willson and originating the role of Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man and the 1962 film adaptation; the film earned him his first of two Golden Globe Award nominations. Preston collaborated twice with filmmaker Blake Edwards, first in S.O.B. (1981) and again in Victor/Victoria (1982). For portraying Carroll "Toddy" Todd in the latter, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 55th Academy Awards.
Birth Name
Robert Preston Meservey
Born
Saturday, 08 June 1918
Died
Saturday, 21 March 1987
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Disclosure | Carole 'Toddy' Todd | 2020 |
| A Year in Music | Self | 2019 |
| Broadway: The American Musical | Harold Hill (in 'The Music Man') | 2004 |
| Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Cinerama Adventure | Roger Morgan | 2002 |
| The 41st Annual Tony Awards | Harold Hill | 1987 |
| Biography | Harold Hill | 1987 |
| Outrage! | Dennis Riordan | 1986 |
| Night of 100 Stars II | Self | 1985 |
| The Last Starfighter | Centauri | 1984 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Disclosure | Carole 'Toddy' Todd | 2020 |
| A Year in Music | Self | 2019 |
| Broadway: The American Musical | Harold Hill (in 'The Music Man') | 2004 |
| Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Cinerama Adventure | Roger Morgan | 2002 |
| The 41st Annual Tony Awards | Harold Hill | 1987 |
| Biography | Harold Hill | 1987 |
| Outrage! | Dennis Riordan | 1986 |
| Night of 100 Stars II | Self | 1985 |
| The Last Starfighter | Centauri | 1984 |
| The 38th Annual Tony Awards | Self - Host & Presenter | 1984 |
| Going Hollywood: The '30s | Self - Host | 1984 |
| September Gun | Ben Sunday | 1983 |
| The 55th Annual Academy Awards | Self - Nominee | 1983 |
| Rehearsal for Murder | Alex Dennison | 1982 |
| Victor Victoria | Carole "Toddy" Todd / Carroll 'Toddy' Todd | 1982 |
| Night of 100 Stars | Self | 1982 |
| S.O.B. | Dr. Irving Finegarten | 1981 |
| The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg | Stranger | 1980 |
| The Chisholms | Hadley Chisholm | 1979 |
| Semi-Tough | Big Ed Bookman | 1977 |
| My Father's House | Tom Lindholm Sr. | 1975 |
| Dinah! | Self - Guest | 1974 |
| Mame | Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside | 1974 |
| Child's Play | Joseph Dobbs | 1972 |
| Junior Bonner | Ace Bonner | 1972 |
| Hee Haw | Self - Guest | 1969 |
| All the Way Home | Jay Follett / Jay Follet | 1963 |
| Island of Love | Steve Blair | 1963 |
| An Evening with Carol Burnett | Self | 1963 |
| How the West Was Won | Roger Morgan | 1962 |
| The Merv Griffin Show | Himself | 1962 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself - Guest | 1962 |
| The Music Man | Harold Hill | 1962 |
| Password | Self - Celebrity Contestant | 1961 |
| The Dark at the Top of the Stairs | Rubin Flood | 1960 |
| The Bell Telephone Hour | Self - Host, Self - Singer | 1959 |
| The DuPont Show of the Month | Clinton Jones | 1957 |
| Playhouse 90 | Self - Host, Zachary Meredith | 1956 |
| The Last Frontier | Frank Marston / Col. Frank Marston | 1955 |
| The Alcoa Hour | Doug Hallock, Tom Collier, Tom Waycroff | 1955 |
| The 20th Century-Fox Hour | Capt. Bob Wainer | 1955 |
| Climax! | William Struthers, Lt. Hogue, Cleve Gordon | 1954 |
| The Elgin Hour | Ben Wagner | 1954 |
| The Martha Raye Show | Self | 1954 |
| The United States Steel Hour | Dr. Abbott, Jack Roberts | 1953 |
| General Electric Theater | Jim Tweedy | 1953 |
| Omnibus | (segment "Henry Adams"), Self - (segment "The Adams Family"), The Defense Attorney (segment "The Trial of Lizzie Borden") | 1952 |
| Face to Face | Jack Potter / Sheriff Jack Potter ('The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky') | 1952 |
| Goodyear Playhouse | Thomas Howard / Jesse James | 1951 |
| My Outlaw Brother | Joe Walter / Joe Waldner | 1951 |
| Best of the Badmen | Matthew Fowler | 1951 |
| When I Grow Up | Father Reed | 1951 |
| Cloudburst | John Graham | 1951 |
| Lux Video Theatre | Dowey, Tom, Phil Baxter, Kelly, Jed Kennedy, Isaac Eaton | 1950 |
| Your Show of Shows | Self - Guest Performer, Self - Guest Host | 1950 |
| The Sundowners | James Cloud - aka Kid Wichita / James Cloud ('Kid Wichita') | 1950 |
| What's My Line? | Himself - Guest Panelist, Himself - Mystery Guest | 1950 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Professor Richard Wanley, Jeff Frazer | 1950 |
| Tulsa | Brad Brady | 1949 |
| The Lady Gambles | David Boothe | 1949 |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | Himself - Guest | 1948 |
| Whispering Smith | Murray Sinclair | 1948 |
| Blood on the Moon | Tate Riling | 1948 |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | Self - Singer | 1948 |
| Big City | Rev. Philip Y. Andrews | 1948 |
| Wild Harvest | Jim Davis | 1947 |
| Variety Girl | Himself / Robert Preston | 1947 |
| The Macomber Affair | Francis Macomber | 1947 |
| Night Plane from Chungking | Capt. Nick Stanton / Nick Stanton | 1943 |
| Wake Island | Pvt. Joe Doyle | 1942 |
| This Gun for Hire | Michael Crane / Det. Michael Crane | 1942 |
| Reap the Wild Wind | Dan Cutler | 1942 |
| Star Spangled Rhythm | Robert Preston | 1942 |
| Pacific Blackout | Robert Draper | 1941 |
| The Night of January 16th | Steve Van Ruyle | 1941 |
| New York Town | Paul Bryson, Jr. | 1941 |
| Parachute Battalion | Donald Morse | 1941 |
| The Lady from Cheyenne | Steve Lewis | 1941 |
| Moon Over Burma | Chuck Lane | 1940 |
| North West Mounted Police | Ronnie Logan | 1940 |
| Typhoon | Johnny Potter | 1940 |
| Beau Geste | Digby Geste | 1939 |
| Union Pacific | Dick Allen | 1939 |
| Disbarred | Bradley Kent | 1939 |
| Illegal Traffic | Charles Bent Martin | 1938 |
| King of Alcatraz | Robert MacArthur | 1938 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1983 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1983 | Golden Globe | Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |
| 1963 | Golden Globe | Best Actor - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |
