Harve Presnell You may recently have seen him in "Old School" or "Mr. Deeds," or on video in "Fargo," "Saving Private Ryan," or "The Legend of Bagger Vance," and "The Family Man," or on TV's "The Pretender," but moviegoers of the 1960s remember him from his musical roles in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and "Paint Your Wagon." He was born in Modesto in 1933 and is a graduate of Modesto High School. He intended to pursue a career in opera because of his magnificent voice, but Rini Willson saw him perform in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and told her husband, Meredith, who was looking for someone to play Johnny Brown on stage in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." He was cast in that role, and played opposite Debbie Reynolds in the film. At the time Presnell opened in the show in New York with Tammy Grimes as Molly, he had never seen a Broadway musical. In recent years he has become a full-fledged character actor in film and on television. To go to Harve Presnell at the IMDB, click here. | ||||||||
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Photos above and below include two scenes from the Broadway production of "Molly Brown," with Presnell and Tammy Grimes, and an up-to-date picture of Presnell in "The Pretender." | ||||||||
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