Collection ID: LMC 2725
Request
Printable View Printable View
Ead Download EAD

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Preston, Robert, 1913-1987.
Abstract:
The Preston, Robert mss., ca. 1930s-1990s, consist of correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia of stage and screen actor Robert Preston.
Extent:
5 Boxes and 1 folio (oversize)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Preston, Robert mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Born Robert Preston Meservey on June 8, 1918 in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, Preston is best known for his portrayal of the charismatic con man "Professor" Harold Hill in The Music Man, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1958. He later reprised his role for the 1962 film adaptation. Preston won a second Tony Award for I Do! I Do! starring opposite Mary Martin from 1966 to 1967, in a musical which explores one couple's fifty years of married life. In 1982, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as "Toddy," a gay nightclub entertainer, in Victor/Victoria (1982). He died on March 21, 1987, in Santa Barbara, California.

Scope and Content:

This collection includes correspondence, programs, periodicals, newspaper clippings, a piece of sheet music from one of Preston's plays ("We Take the Town"), several photographs, and 35 mm film negatives. Correspondents include Moss Hart, Joseph Hyman, and Margot Stevenson.

Note on Indexing Term - "Motion picture film": Of interest are pieces of memorabilia related to Preston's film roles, including his early roles in Westerns and his later musical roles.

Note on Indexing Term - "Theater": Of interest are Playbills and other memorabilia related to Preston's theatre roles. For digitized content, see Digital Collections.

Acquisition information:
Acquired: 2010
Physical location:
Lilly - Stacks; ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) (Box 2); ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat

Online content

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Preston, Robert mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu