Harve Presnell, who died on 30 June, 2009, aged 75, was an American movie and TV actor who had not one but two bites of stardom.

In the 1960s his powerful baritone saw him star in classic musicals as The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), The Glory Guys (1965) and Paint Your Wagon (1969). He was described in the trailer of the former title as the “star find of the decade”.

The decline of lavish musicals in the following decades meant his screen career dwindled, though he continued to work on Broadway in shows like Annie, Annie Get Your Gun and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

But in 1996 his film career was revived when he was cast as father-in-law Wade Gustafson in the idiosyncratic Joel and Ethan Coen film Fargo (1996).

This led to a host of new roles. He was a regular cast member of the series The New Adventures of Superman (1995-97), The Pretender (1997-2000), Dawson's Creek (2000-01) and Andy Barker, P.I. (2007).

He also featured in big films like Face/Off (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), Old School (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Evan Almighty (2007).