Harve Presnell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harve Presnell
Harve Presnell in 1964
Born	(1933-09-14)September 14, 1933 Modesto, California, U.S.
Died	June 30, 2009(2009-06-30) (aged 75) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film and television actor; musical theatre and opera singer
Years active	1956–2009
Spouse(s)	Sheryl Mae Green ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1966)​ Veeva Suzanne Hamblen ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	6

George Harvey Presnell (born September 14, 1933 – died June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He started his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone. This means he was a singer with a deep voice. He performed with orchestras and opera groups all over the United States.

His career changed in 1960 when he moved from classical music to musical theatre. This happened after Meredith Willson chose him for the main role in his new Broadway musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown. His acting as "Leadville Johnny" was a huge hit! He played the same role in the 1964 movie version of the musical. For this, he won a Golden Globe Award.

Presnell acted in a few more movies in the 1960s. But by the early 1970s, his movie career slowed down. From 1970 to 1995, he mostly worked in musical theatre. He performed on Broadway, in London's West End, and in touring shows. When he was in his early 60s, Presnell's movie career became busy again. This lasted until he passed away. He played important roles in movies like Fargo (1996), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). He also appeared on TV as Mr. Parker in The Pretender and Lew Staziak in Andy Barker, P.I.. He had regular roles in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Dawson's Creek.

Early Life and Singing Career

Harve Presnell was born in 1933 in Modesto, California. He first performed on stage in an opera when he was just sixteen years old. He went to the University of Southern California. There, he earned a degree in singing.

He then studied singing more in Europe and at the Music Academy of the West. During the 1950s, he sang with many opera groups and orchestras. In 1957, he performed for the first time with the San Francisco Opera. He played the Officer in Richard Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos.

That same year, he sang several smaller roles with the company. These included the Jailer in the first United States performance of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. In the late 1950s, he performed and recorded with the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He worked with famous conductor Eugene Ormandy for the orchestra recordings.

Stage and Film Acting

In 1956, Presnell acted with Herva Nelli in the first American performance of Darius Milhaud's opera David. This was at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1960, he was a main singer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at another concert there. Meredith Willson, a musical theater composer, was at that concert. He was creating a musical about the life of Molly Brown, a survivor of the Titanic. Willson contacted Presnell after the concert and asked him to try out for a role. Presnell agreed, and Willson offered him the part of "Leadville Johnny." The musical was not finished yet. Willson wrote much of the music for Leadville Johnny with Presnell's voice in mind.

On November 3, 1960, The Unsinkable Molly Brown opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre. It was a huge success! Presnell stayed with the show for all 532 performances. The show ended on February 10, 1962. He played the same role in the 1964 movie The Unsinkable Molly Brown. For this, he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

He starred in two movies in 1965. He played Sol Rogers, a cavalry scout, in The Glory Guys. He was also Danny Churchill, the romantic lead, in the musical movie When the Boys Meet the Girls. He had one more big movie role in the 1960s. This was "Rotten Luck Willie" in the 1969 musical Western film Paint Your Wagon. In this movie, he sang the famous song "They Call the Wind Maria". A critic from The New York Times said that Presnell's role gave him "the golden opportunity to sing the unforgettable ballad." Another reviewer said that Harve Presnell's singing of "They Call the Wind Mariah" was "lovely to hear."

Presnell did some other movie and TV work in the 1960s and early 1970s. But for the next twenty years, he mostly focused on stage work. He played Rhett Butler in the West End show Scarlett. He also toured the United States as Daddy Warbucks in Annie and its next show, Annie Warbucks. In 1966, Presnell played Sir Lancelot in Camelot at The Houston Music Theatre.

His movie career became popular again when he played William H. Macy's father-in-law in Fargo (1996). After that, he was in many more movies. These included The Whole Wide World (1996), Larger than Life (1996), The Chamber (1996), Face/Off (1997), Julian Po (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998, as General George Marshall), Patch Adams (1998), Walking Across Egypt (1999), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), The Family Man (2000), Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001), Mr. Deeds (2002), Super Sucker (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and Evan Almighty (2007).

On television, he played Mr. Parker on The Pretender. He was also Dr. Sam Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. And he played A.I. Brooks on Dawson's Creek.

Recordings

Harve Presnell sang the baritone part in Eugene Ormandy's 1960 recording of Carmina Burana. This was released by Columbia/Sony. His first recordings were as a solo singer with the Roger Wagner Chorale in the 1950s. He sang in "O Holy Night" on the album Joy to the World. He also sang on the albums Folk Songs of the New World and Folk Songs of the Frontier. On these, he sang songs like "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" and "Streets of Laredo".

Death

Harve Presnell passed away on June 30, 2009. He was 75 years old. He died from pancreatic cancer at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Filmography

Movies

Harve Presnell appeared in many films throughout his career. Here is a list of some of them:

Television Shows

Harve Presnell also had many roles in television shows. Here are some of his TV appearances:

See also

In Spanish: Harve Presnell para niños