Harve Presnell

George Harvey Presnell was born on September 14, 1933, in Modesto, California, and died on June 30, 2009, from pancreatic cancer at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. He was an actor and singer whose career spanned classical music, Broadway, film, and television across more than five decades.

Presnell made his professional stage debut in opera at the age of sixteen. He earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the University of Southern California and continued his vocal training in Europe and at the Music Academy of the West. During the 1950s he performed with opera companies and orchestras across the United States, making his San Francisco Opera debut in 1957 as the Officer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. That same year he sang the Jailer in the American premiere of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites with the same company. He also made recordings and appearances with the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the latter conducted by Eugene Ormandy. In 1956, he co-starred with Herva Nelli in the American premiere of Darius Milhaud's opera David at the Hollywood Bowl.

His transition from classical music to musical theatre came in 1960. While performing as a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Presnell was heard by composer Meredith Willson, who was then developing a musical about Titanic survivor Molly Brown. Willson contacted Presnell after the concert, auditioned him, and cast him as "Leadville Johnny." Willson subsequently composed much of the music for that role with Presnell's voice in mind. The Unsinkable Molly Brown opened on November 3, 1960, at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway, and Presnell remained with the production for its entire 532-performance run, which closed on February 10, 1962. He reprised the role in the 1964 film adaptation, earning a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

Presnell appeared in several additional films during the 1960s, including The Glory Guys (1965), in which he portrayed cavalry scout Sol Rogers, and the musical film When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965), where he played romantic lead Danny Churchill. He also appeared in the 1969 Paramount musical Western Paint Your Wagon, performing "They Call the Wind Maria" as the character "Rotten Luck Willie." In 1966, he played Sir Lancelot in a Regional Equity production of Camelot at the Houston Music Theatre.

From the early 1970s through the mid-1990s, Presnell concentrated primarily on stage work. His Broadway credits include The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Carousel, Annie, and Annie Warbucks, with his Broadway activity spanning 1960 to 1989. He also played Rhett Butler in the West End production of Scarlett and toured the United States as Daddy Warbucks in Annie and Annie Warbucks. In 1984, he appeared as Don Quixote in a production of Man of La Mancha in Darien, Connecticut.

In his early sixties, Presnell's film career was revived when he was cast as William H. Macy's father-in-law in the Coen Brothers' Fargo (1996). A sustained run of character roles followed, including parts in Saving Private Ryan (1998), in which he portrayed General George C. Marshall, and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). On television, he played Mr. Parker on The Pretender, Dr. Sam Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, A.I. Brooks on Dawson's Creek, and Lew Staziak on Andy Barker, P.I.