Harve Presnell
Encyclopedia
Harve Presnell was an American
actor and singer. He began his career in the mid 1950s as a classical baritone
, singing with orchestra
s and opera
companies throughout the United States. His career reoriented away from classical music to musical theatre in 1960 after Meredith Willson
cast him in the lead role of 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 portrayed character roles in films like Fargo
(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
.
in 1933. 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 bachelors degree in vocal performance. He then pursued further vocal studies in Europe and at the Academy of the West. 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
. 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
.
in a concert at the Hollywood 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 Wilson ended up offering him the role of "Leadville Johnny." At this point the musical was not completed and Wilson went on to compose 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
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 version which won him 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
and Danny Churchill, the romantic lead, in the musical film When the Boys Meet the Girls
.
He had one more sizable film role in the 1960s, the role of "Rotten Luck Willie" in the 1969 film Paint Your Wagon
. He sang "They Call the Wind Maria
" in the film. The New York Times said that Presnell's role in the film "delivered the golden opportunity to sing the unforgettable ballad." Theater writer Thomas Hischak said that "in one of the film's few pleasing moments, Harve Presnell gave full voice to They Call the Wind Maria and it was lovely to hear". 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"
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. In 1966, Presnell played the role of Sir Lancelot in Camelot
in the Regional Equity production at The Houston Music Theatre, owned by Art Linkletter
and Nick Mayo (the partnership also owned the Valley Music Theatre in California).
His film career was revived when he played William H. Macy
's testy father-in-law in Fargo
(1996). Subsequent parts included General George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan
, Dean Anderson in Patch Adams
, 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 starred in NBC's Andy Barker, P.I.
In 1984 Presnell appeared as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
at the Darien Dinner Theater, an appearance well-received by The New York Times
. Theater critic Alvin Klein
called Presnell "a winning leading man", and wrote:
'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
".
, at St. John's Health Center, in Santa Monica, California.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and singer. He began his career in the mid 1950s as a classical baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, singing with orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
companies throughout the United States. His career reoriented away from classical music to musical theatre in 1960 after Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
cast him in the lead role of his new Broadway musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband....
. 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
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
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 portrayed character roles in films like Fargo
Fargo (film)
Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy-crime film produced, directed and written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of homicides, William H...
(1996), Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
(1998), and Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the five United States Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman who would eventually be made famous by Joe Rosenthal's lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, one of the costliest and...
(2006). He also appeared on television as Mr. Parker in The Pretender
The Pretender (TV series)
The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work...
and Lew Staziak in Andy Barker, P.I.. He had recurring roles on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
and Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
.
Early life and classical singing career
Presnell was born as George Harvey Presnell in Modesto, CaliforniaModesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
in 1933. He made his professional stage debut performing in an opera at the young age of sixteen. He attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, earning a bachelors degree in vocal performance. He then pursued further vocal studies in Europe and at the Academy of the West. He appeared with a number of opera companies and orchestras during the 1950s. In 1957 he made his debut with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
as the Officer in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
. He went on to sing several more comprimario
Comprimario
A Comprimario is a supporting role in an opera. Derived from the Italian "con primario", or "with the primary", the term refers to a performer who sings small role pieces....
roles with the company that year, including the Jailer in the United States premiere of Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
's Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
. During the late 1950s he made several appearances and recordings with both the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, the latter under the baton of Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
.
Stage and film career
In 1960 Presnell was a featured soloist with the Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
. In attendance at the concert was musical theater composer Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
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 Wilson ended up offering him the role of "Leadville Johnny." At this point the musical was not completed and Wilson went on to compose 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
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
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 version which won him 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
The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
and Danny Churchill, the romantic lead, in the musical film When the Boys Meet the Girls
When the Boys Meet the Girls
When the Boys Meet the Girls is a 1965 American musical film, directed by Alvin Ganzer and starring Connie Francis and Harve Presnell. Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan were both uncredited in their roles as the writers for the play the film is based on.-Cast:...
.
He had one more sizable film role in the 1960s, the role of "Rotten Luck Willie" in the 1969 film Paint Your Wagon
Paint Your Wagon (film)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
. He sang "They Call the Wind Maria
They Call the Wind Maria
"They Call the Wind Maria" is an American popular song with lyrics written by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe for their 1951 Broadway musical, Paint Your Wagon, which is set in the California Gold Rush. Rufus Smith originally sang the song on Broadway, and Joseph Leader was the...
" in the film. The New York Times said that Presnell's role in the film "delivered the golden opportunity to sing the unforgettable ballad." Theater writer Thomas Hischak said that "in one of the film's few pleasing moments, Harve Presnell gave full voice to They Call the Wind Maria and it was lovely to hear". 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"
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
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Scarlett
Scarlett (musical)
Scarlett is a musical with a score by Harold Rome. The original Japanese book is by Kazuo Kikuta. The Tokyo production was directed by American director/choreographer Joe Layton, with musical direction by Lehman Engel....
and touring the United States as Daddy Warbucks in Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
and its sequel, Annie Warbucks
Annie Warbucks
Annie Warbucks is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin. A sequel to the 1977 Tony Award-winning hit Annie, based on Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie comic strip, it begins immediately after Annie ended.-Plot:On Christmas morning in 1933,...
, among other productions. In 1966, Presnell played the role of Sir Lancelot in Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
in the Regional Equity production at The Houston Music Theatre, owned by Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
and Nick Mayo (the partnership also owned the Valley Music Theatre in California).
His film career was revived when he played William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
's testy father-in-law in Fargo
Fargo (film)
Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy-crime film produced, directed and written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of homicides, William H...
(1996). Subsequent parts included General George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, Dean Anderson in Patch Adams
Patch Adams (film)
Patch Adams is a 1998 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams. Directed by Tom Shadyac, it is based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film is generally considered a box-office success,...
, Mr. Parker on The Pretender
The Pretender (TV series)
The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work...
, Dr. Sam Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action American television series based on the Superman comic books...
, and A.I. Brooks on Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
. He starred in NBC's Andy Barker, P.I.
In 1984 Presnell appeared as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
at the Darien Dinner Theater, an appearance well-received by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Theater critic Alvin Klein
Alvin Klein
Alvin Klein was a theater critic for The New York Times for more than 15 years, publishing nearly 3,500 reviews and other articles.- References :...
called Presnell "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.
Recordings
Presnell sang the baritone role in Eugene OrmandyEugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
's 1960 recording of Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
, released by Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
/Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
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
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
" 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
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
"Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" is a cowboy folk song. Also known as "The Cowboy's Lament", "The Dying Cowboy" and "Bury Me Out on the Lone Prairie", the song is described as the most famous cowboy ballad...
" and "Streets of Laredo
Streets of Laredo (song)
"Streets of Laredo" , also known as the "Cowboy's Lament", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying cowboy tells his story to a living one. Derived from the English folk song "The Unfortunate Lad", it has become a folk music standard, and as such has been performed, recorded and adapted...
".
Death
Harve Presnell died on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, aged 75, from pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
, at St. John's Health Center, in Santa Monica, California.