By the time brawny baritone Harve Presnell arrived on the film scene, the "golden age" of musicals had long passed. At that time, he was training for an operatic career and was performing nationally. Legendary composer Meredith Willson happened to catch an earful of the talented singer and, in the mold of an Alfred Drake or Howard Keel, wrote the role of Johnny "Leadville" Brown in "The Unsinkable ...
show all By the time brawny baritone Harve Presnell arrived on the film scene, the "golden age" of musicals had long passed. At that time, he was training for an operatic career and was performing nationally. Legendary composer Meredith Willson happened to catch an earful of the talented singer and, in the mold of an Alfred Drake or Howard Keel, wrote the role of Johnny "Leadville" Brown in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" specifically for him as a showcase. The Broadway musical, with Tammy Grimes in the title role, was a resounding hit. Unlike Grimes, Presnell transferred his role to film in 1964, his debut, with Debbie Reynolds now in the indomitable role. It seemed like a star was about to be born but there were few musicals for him to sink his teeth in. He went dramatic in the rugged western The Glory Guys (1965) and went on to sing in the highly dismissible When the Boys Meet the Girls (1966), but little else came his way. The disastrous film version of Paint Your Wagon (1969) starring the highly miscast Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg, was redeemed only by the presence of Presnell and his glorious rendition of "They Call the Wind Mariah." By the 70s he was finished in films and was relegated to Keel-like stock and tour roles in such productions as "Annie Get Your Gun" as Frank Butler and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" among others. He even played Rhett Butler in a musical version of "Gone With the Wind" in London, which did not generate much of a stir. In 1979, Presnell served as a replacement in the Broadway musical "Annie" as Daddy Warbucks and stayed with the role for years on tour, also reprising the tycoon in the failed 90s sequel "Annie II: Miss Hannigan's Revenge," which was later retitled "Annie Warbucks." More than 25 years passed before Presnell returned to the movies as a brash and balding character actor. He struck pure gold as the righteous, dominating, ill-fated father-in-law of William H. Macy in the Coen brothers' cult film hit Fargo (1996). This success, in turn, led to meaty roles in Larger Than Life (1996), The Whole Wide World (1996), The Chamber (1996), Face/Off (1997), Saving Private Ryan (2000) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), to name a few. Over the years he has also been a strong presence on TV with recurring roles on prime-time ("Lois & Clark") and daytime ("Ryan's Hope"). Presnell may have been born 10-20 years too late to have become a musical film star, but he has come back in spades to launch a whole new career as a noted character performer. Recent roles at age 70+ include TV's "The Pretender" and the films Mr. Deeds (2002) and Old School (2002), and there are no signs yet that the twice-married actor is interested in taking any kind of a break from this recent turn of events.
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