Robert Preston Biography

A vital, virile, exciting Broadway performer, Preston was once called, "the best American actor -- with a voice like golden thunder," by Richard Burton. He decided to become an actor at age 15. After studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, he became a steady, dependable performer in Hollywood films from the late '30s. Preston became well-known after Cecil B. De Mille cast him as Barbara Stanwyck's gambler husband in Union Pacific (1939). He was almost strictly a second-lead actor for 20 years, finally breaking through to lead roles after becoming a star on Broadway. For his Broadway performance (his first in a musical) as ebullient con-artist Harold Hill in The Music Man he won a Tony Award; he repeated the role in the screen version (1962) and it became the work for which he is best known. Preston went on to earn another Tony Award for his performance in the 1966 musical I Do! I Do!, opposite Mary Martin. Another outstanding performance was as Julie Andrews' gay friend Toddie in Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria (1982), a performance which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. ~ Rovi

• 1. Centauri: [voice in video game] Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.
  From The Last Starfighter. Submitted by Francis L (21 days ago)

• 1. Zaneeta Shinn: It's indecent to meet boys at the footbridge!
  2. Tommy Djilas: he answers Zaneeta: First thing after supper?
  3. Winthrop Paroo: she answers Tommy: All right! Ye Gods!
  4. Harold Hill: Mothers of River City, heed that warning before it's too late! Watch for the telltale signs of corruption! The minute your son leaves the house, does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee? Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime-novel hidden in the corncrib? Is he starting to memorize jokes from Captain Billy's Whiz-Bang? Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like 'swell' and "so's your old man"? If so my friends, ya got trouble!
  5. Winthrop Paroo: No, thank you, AMARYLLITH! [Winthrop had an embarressing lisp]
  6. Harold Hill: Ladies and gentlemen, either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community!
  7. Marcellus Washburn: Well, ain't no call for a boys' band in this town. Anything these Iowa people don't have already, they do without.
  8. Tommy Djilas: Mayor Shinn, your honor, your daughter and I have been going steady behind your back.
  From The Music Man. Submitted by rick b (50 days ago)

• 1. Harold Hill: Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering.
  2. Mrs. Paroo: It's a well-known principle that if you keep the flint in one drawer and the steel in the other, you'll never strike much of a fire.
  3. Marcellus Washburn: I heard you was in steam automobiles. (to Harold Hill)
  4. Harold Hill: answers: I was... till someone actually 'invented' one!
  5. Harold Hill: 'Brooklyn'? Marce, this isn't even *Dubuque*!
  From The Music Man. Submitted by rick b (50 days ago)

• 1. Harold Hill: A man can't turn tail and run just because a little personal risk is involved. What did Shakespeare say? 'Cowards die a thousand deaths, the brave man... only 500'?
  2. Mayor Shinn: It's as clear as a buttonhook in the well water!
  3. Mayor Shinn: You watch your phraseology!
  4. Mrs. Paroo: When a woman's got a husband, and you've got none, why should she take advice from you? Even if you can quote Balzac and Shakespeare and all them other high-falutin' Greeks.
  5. Mrs. Paroo: I know all about your standards and if you don't mind my sayin' so there's not a man alive who could hope to measure up to that blend of Paul Bunyan, Saint Pat, and Noah Webster you've concocted for yourself out of your Irish imagination, your Iowa stubbornness, and your li'berry full of books!
  6. Harold Hill: The sadder but wiser girl for me.
  From The Music Man. Submitted by rick b (50 days ago)

• 1. Harold Hill: Think, boys. THINK! [Harold uses the Think System to teach music]
  2. Mayor Shinn: Its fine if you want to go around in your drawers all day. [the horrid heat]
  3. Harold Hill: I always think there's a band kid.
  From The Music Man. Submitted by rick b (50 days ago)