George Harvey Presnell (/prɛzˈnɛl/; September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States.
Harve Presnell | |
|---|---|
 Presnell in 1964 | |
| Born | September 14, 1933 Modesto, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 2009 (aged 75) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television actor; musical theatre and opera singer |
| Years active | 1956–2009 |
| Spouses | Sheryl Mae Green
(m. 1957; div. 1966)Veeva Suzanne Hamblen
(m. 1966) |
| Children | 6[1] |
His career reoriented away from classical music to musical theatre in 1960 after Meredith Willson cast him in a leading role in his new Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. His portrayal of "Leadville Johnny" was a resounding success and he reprised the role in the 1964 film version of the musical, winning a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal.
Presnell went on to star in a few more films during the 1960s, but by the early 1970s that aspect of his career came to a standstill. From 1970 to 1995 he mostly worked as a musical theatre performer on Broadway, the West End, and in touring productions out of New York. In his early 60s, Presnell saw a resurgence in his movie career which lasted until his death. He played character roles in films like Fargo (1996), The Whole Wide World (1996), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Flags of Our Fathers (2006). He also appeared on television as Mr. Parker in The Pretender and Lew Staziak in Andy Barker, P.I. He had recurring roles on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Dawson's Creek.[2]
Early life and classical singing career
editPresnell was born in 1933, in Modesto, California.[3] He made his professional stage debut performing in an opera at the young age of sixteen. He attended the University of Southern California, earning a bachelor's degree in vocal performance.[citation needed]
He then pursued further vocal studies in Europe and at the Music Academy of the West.[4] He appeared with a number of opera companies and orchestras during the 1950s. In 1957 he made his debut with the San Francisco Opera as the Officer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.[citation needed]
He went on to sing several more comprimario roles with the company that year, including the Jailer in the United States premiere of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. During the late 1950s he made several appearances and recordings with both the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the latter under the baton of Eugene Ormandy.[5]
Stage and film career
editIn 1956, Presnell co-starred with Herva Nelli in the American premiere of Darius Milhaud's opera David at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1960, he was a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in another concert at the Bowl. In attendance at the concert was musical theater composer Meredith Willson who was at that time in the midst of creating his musical on the life of Molly Brown, Titanic survivor. Willson contacted him after the concert and asked him to audition for him. Presnell complied and Willson ended up offering him the role of "Leadville Johnny." At this point the musical was not completed and Willson went on to compose much of the music for Leadville Johnny with Presnell's voice in mind.[1] On November 3, 1960, The Unsinkable Molly Brown opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre to a resounding success. Presnell stayed with the show for its entire 532-performance run, which ended on February 10, 1962. He reprised the role in the 1964 film The Unsinkable Molly Brown for which he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
He starred in two films in 1965: portraying Sol Rogers, a cavalry scout, in The Glory Guys[6] and Danny Churchill, the romantic lead, in the musical film When the Boys Meet the Girls.[7] He had one more sizable film role in the 1960s, the role of "Rotten Luck Willie" in Paramount's 1969 musical Western film Paint Your Wagon, singing "They Call the Wind Maria". The New York Times critic opined that Presnell's role "delivered the golden opportunity to sing the unforgettable ballad."[1] Theater reviewer Thomas Hischak wrote "in one of the film's few pleasing moments, Harve Presnell gave full voice to They Call the Wind Mariah and it was lovely to hear".[8] Referring to Eastwood and Marvin, film reviewer Brian W. Fairbanks wrote that "Harve Presnell steals both stars' thunder with a knockout version of the best song."[9]
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 United States as Daddy Warbucks in Annie and its sequel, Annie Warbucks, among other productions.[citation needed] In 1966, Presnell played the role of Sir Lancelot in Camelot in the Regional Equity production at The Houston Music Theatre.[citation needed]
In 1984, Presnell appeared as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha in Darien, Connecticut, an appearance well received by The New York Times critic Alvin Klein, who wrote that Presnell was "a winning leading man", and wrote:
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. 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.[10]
His film career was revived when he played William H. Macy's testy father-in-law in Fargo (1996). Subsequent films 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).[2]
On television, he appeared, in among other roles, as Mr. Parker on The Pretender, Dr. Sam Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and as A.I. Brooks on Dawson's Creek.[2]
Recordings
editPresnell sang the baritone role in Eugene Ormandy's 1960 recording of 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 1950s with the Chorale in the background particularly in the LP Joy to the World where he sang in "O Holy Night" and the LPs Folk Songs of the New World [Capitol P8324 (1955)] and Folk Songs of the Frontier [Capitol P8332 (1956)], where he sang, among other songs, "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" and "Streets of Laredo".[1]
Personal life and death
editPresnell's second wife, Veeva Suzanne Hamblen, was the daughter of Stuart Hamblen; singer, actor, and songwriter known best for It is No Secret (What God Can Do) and This Ole House. Presnell died on June 30, 2009, aged 75, from pancreatic cancer at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.[2]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Johnny Brown | |
| 1965 | The Glory Guys | Scout Sol Rogers | |
| When the Boys Meet the Girls | Danny Churchill | ||
| 1969 | Paint Your Wagon | Rotten Luck Willie | |
| 1996 | The Whole Wide World | Dr. Howard | |
| Fargo | Wade Gustafson | ||
| Larger than Life | Trowbridge Bowers | ||
| The Chamber | Attorney General Roxburgh | ||
| 1997 | Face/Off | Victor Lazarro | |
| Julian Po | Mayor Henry Leech | ||
| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan | General George Marshall | |
| Patch Adams | Dean Anderson | ||
| 1999 | Walking Across Egypt | Finner | |
| 2000 | The Legend of Bagger Vance | John Invergordon | |
| The Family Man | Ed Reynolds | ||
| 2001 | Escanaba in da Moonlight | Albert Soady | |
| 2002 | Super Sucker | Winslow Schnaebelt | |
| Mr. Deeds | Preston Blake | ||
| 2003 | Old School | Mr. Springbrook | |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Older Dave Severance | |
| 2007 | Evan Almighty | Congressman Burrows | |
| 2010 | Love Ranch | Dr. Smathers | Posthumous release (final role) |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955–1956 | General Electric Theater | Dismas | 2 episodes |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Mitch | Season 1 Episode 22: "Place of Shadows" (uncredited) (possible deleted scenes) |
| 1965 | The Red Skelton Show | Lawyer Harkness | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Great Man's Whiskers | Ballad Singer | Television film |
| 1984 | Ryan's Hope | Matthew Crane | 5 episodes |
| 1995 | The Client | Buddy Hutchinson | 1 episode |
| 1995–1997 | Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Dr. Sam Lane | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Corick McMillan | 1 episode |
| 1996 | EZ Streets | Jack DeLanae | 1 episode |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Voyager | Colonel Q | 1 episode |
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Doug / NRC Man #2 (voice) | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Grace Under Fire | Jack | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Tidal Wave: No Escape | Stanley Schiff | Television film |
| 1997 | Duckman | Sir Declan McManus (voice) | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Players | Roy Erickson | 1 episode |
| 1997–2000 | The Pretender | Mr. Parker | Recurring role, 31 episodes |
| 1998 | A Bright Shining Lie | General Paul Harkins | Television film |
| 1998 | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | Edgar J. Hagerty | 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Greg Matheson | 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Lionhearts | Leo Lionheart Sr. (voice) | Main cast, 7 episodes |
| 1999 | Payne | Colonel Forest Brinkman | 1 episode |
| 2000–2001 | Dawson's Creek | Arthur Brooks | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2001 | The Pretender 2001 | Mr. Parker | Television film |
| 2001 | Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. | Television film |
| 2001 | The Pretender: Island of the Haunted | Mr. Parker | Television film |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Andy Marsh | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Frasier | Mike Shaw | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Hope & Faith | Jack | 1 episode |
| 2003 | The Practice | Judge Dickem | 1 episode |
| 2003 | The Lyon's Den | Elliott Beacon | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Charmed | Captain Black Jack Cutting | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Monk | Zach Ellinghouse | 1 episode |
| 2006 | ER | Mr. Venema | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Andy Barker, P.I. | Lew Staziak | Main cast, 6 episodes |
| 2007; 2009 | American Dad! | Judge | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Cold Case | Harry Kemp '09 | 1 episode |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Grimes, William (July 2, 2009). "Harve Presnell, Singing Actor, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Harve Presnell at IMDb
- ^ 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
- ^ "Alumni Roster". musicacademy.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Bergan, Ronald (July 7, 2009). "Harve Presnell". The Guardian. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ^ The Glory Guys tcm.com, retrieved December 22, 2017
- ^ When the Boys Meet the Girls tcm.com, retrieved December 22, 2017
- ^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2008). The Oxford companion to the American musical: theatre, film, and television. Oxford University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0.
- ^ Fairbanks, Brian W. (2005). I Saw That Movie, Too: Selected Film Reviews. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-4116-3535-7.
- ^ "Theatre Review". The New York Times.