Harve Presnell
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| Harve Presnell | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1933 Modesto, California |
Harve Presnell (born September 14, 1933) is a Golden Globe-winning American film, stage and television actor.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Presnell was born George Harvey Presnell[1] in Modesto, California, and attended the University of Southern California.[2] He made his stage debut at the age of sixteen, singing in an opera.
[edit] Career
His height, booming voice, and operatic training landed him the role of Johnnie Brown in Meredith Willson's musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown on stage which premiered on Broadway in 1960. He later reprised the role in the 1964 film version. He also sang the stirring "They Call the Wind Maria" in the 1969 film Paint Your Wagon. Presnell did some other film and television work in the 1960s and early 1970s, but for the next couple of decades concentrated primarily on stage work, playing Rhett Butler in the West End production of Scarlett and touring the US as Daddy Warbucks in Annie and its sequel, Annie Warbucks, among other productions. His film career was revived when he played William H. Macy's father-in-law in Fargo (1996).
In 1984 Presnell appeared as Don Quijote in Man of La Mancha at the Darien Dinner Theater and received rave reviews from the New York Times.[3] "As an actor, Mr. Presnell promises much, and as a singer, he delivers. Here is one of the shiniest vocal accounts of the role yet," wrote Alvin Klein.[3] "The actor is on the verge of suggesting that in his implausible way, the Don can bring a measure of grace to the world and fulfill that old impossible dream."[3]
Subsequent parts included General George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan, Mr. Parker on The Pretender, Dr. Sam Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and A.I. Brooks on Dawson's Creek.
He sang the baritone role in Eugene Ormandy's 1960 recording of Carl Orff's majestic Carmina Burana, released by Columbia/Sony on LP and CD.
His earliest recordings were as a soloist with the Roger Wagner Chorale (Capitol) in the '50s with the Chorale in the background particularly in the LP "Joy to the World" where he sang in "O Holy Night" (Cantique De Noel) — a version that is believed to have popularized the carol in the USA — and the LPs Folk Songs of the New World [Capitol P8324 (1955)] and Folk Songs of the Frontier [Capitol P8332 (1956)], where he sang "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prarie", "Streets of Laredo", and "He's Gone Away" — the latter with Marilyn Horne as fellow soloist.
He was one of the stars of NBC's Andy Barker, P.I.
[edit] References
- ^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- ^ Harve Presnell Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ^ a b c New York Times. "Presnell Shines in 'La Mancha.'" by Alvin Klein. March 11, 1984.
[edit] External links
- Harve Presnell at the Internet Movie Database
- Harve Presnell at TV.com
- Harve Presnell at the FilmSpot
