HARVE PRESNELL

'Harve Presnell' (born September 14, 1933) is a Golden Globe-winning American film, stage and television actor.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

References

External links

Biography

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.

Career

His height, booming voice, and operatic training landed him a role in Meredith Willson's musical ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' on stage and screen, premiering on Broadway in 1960. Presnell did some 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). He also appeared as a co-star of Connie Francis in the 1965 movie ''When the Boys Meet the Girls'', an updated version of the 1943 Judy Garland vehicle ''Girl Crazy''.
Subsequent parts included General George C. Marshall in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Mr. Parker on ''The Pretender'', Dr. Sam Lane on , and A.I. Brooks on ''Dawson's Creek''. He also sang the stirring "They Call the Wind Mariah" in the musical ''Paint Your Wagon'' and 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.''

References

1. 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
2. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800021619/bio

External links

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★ Harve Presnell at the FilmSpot