Robert Preston - Definition and Overview

Robert Preston (June 8, 1918 - March 21, 1987), was an American actor.

Born Robert Preston Meservey, Preston was born in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, the son of a garment worker. After attending high school in Los Angeles, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He would later serve as an intelligence officer with the U.S. 9th Air Force during World War II.

Preston appeared in many Hollywood films, but is probably best remembered as "Professor" Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's musical, The Music Man, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical in 1958. In 1962, he starred in the film version. Although he was not a singer, he appeared in several other film musicals, notably Mame in 1974 and Victor/Victoria, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1982.

His last major film role was in 1984's The Last Starfighter.