Harve Presnell, 75, Actor With Two Careers

“[T]rained as an opera singer, [he] 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.” Unfortunately, “his triumphant debut led to unsatisfactory film roles and a somewhat stunted career appearing in national tours of Broadway musicals” until 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.