Harve Presnell, whose rich operatic baritone thrilled audiences in the stage and film versions of The Unsinkable Molly Brown and who made an unexpected return to the screen as William H. Macy's overbearing father-in-law in Fargo, died Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 75 and lived in Livingston, Mont.
The cause was complications of pancreatic cancer, said his agent, Gregg Klein.
Presnell, who trained as an opera singer, brought an imposing physical presence -- he stood 6 feet, 4 inches -- and a resplendent voice to the Broadway stage, delivering a star-making performance as Leadville Johnny Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
"He anchored that show, with a down-to-earth quality that played perfectly against Tammy Grimes' wonderfully eccentric style," said Miles Kreuger, the president of the Institute of the American Musical. "It's a pity they didn't give him more larger-than-life roles because he had the physical presence and the voice for it."
It was Presnell's misfortune to arrive on the scene as the golden age of the musical was in its twilight, and roles worthy of his voice were few and far between.
His triumphant debut led to unsatisfactory film roles and a somewhat stunted career appearing in national tours of Broadway musicals, most notably as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, a role he also played on Broadway and reprised in the ill-fated Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge.
The Coen brothers gave him a second Hollywood career as a character actor when they cast him in Fargo in 1996. That role led to a series of meaty film parts, including Gen. George C. Marshall in Saving Private Ryan.
George Harvey Presnell was born in Modesto, Calif. After graduating from Modesto High School, he studied voice at the University of Southern California and embarked on a concert career.
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