June Preston

June Preston (December 29, 1928 – May 11, 2022) was an American child actress in the 1930s and early 1940s, who began her film career at RKO Pictures, with a minor role as Mrs. Blewett's daughter in the 1934 film Anne of Green Gables.

June Preston
Preston publicity photo c. 1935
Born(1928-12-29)December 29, 1928
Glendale, California, U.S.[1]
DiedMay 11, 2022(2022-05-11) (aged 93)
Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationSeattle University
Occupation(s)Actress, opera singer
Years active1934–1980
Spouse
Saul Höuben
​
(m. 1963)​
Children1

As a child star, she was promoted with heavy marketing and merchandising, including a clothing line, to position her as a child star rival to Shirley Temple.[2]

Preston appeared in film shorts of Meglin Kiddies and Our Gang and had small cameos in feature films It Happened One Night,[1] Christmas in July[1] and Strawberry Blonde.[1]

Preston performed as a soprano singer in the United States and in recitals in Latin America and Europe.

Biography

Early life and film career

Preston was born in Glendale, California and trained at the Meglin Dance Studio in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.[1] After moving to Temple, Texas, at the age of four,[3] her film career began during a trip to Hollywood, where her photograph was shown to the casting office of RKO in 1934 and she was cast in a small role in Anne of Green Gables.[2][4][5] Preston then signed a contract with the studio[6][7] and appeared in a variety of child star-focused films.[8]

She also appeared in the 1934 MGM film Have a Heart.[9] By 1936, she was promoted as an RKO "featured child player" and clothing model.[10] She also had a small role in the film Our Gang Follies of 1938.[11] For several years, a clothing line was produced under her name, including dresses named June Preston Frocks.[12][13] After leaving film to study opera, she moved to West Seattle and attended James Madison Junior High and then West Seattle High School, graduating in 1947.[14] Her high school would later, in 1989, induct her into their Hall of Fame.[15]

Singing career

Preston studied music at Seattle University where she appeared in the university's 1947 production of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore and was the soprano soloist in the university's performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem in 1949.[16][17] In 1950, she began a singing tour through Mexico, performing in Guadalajara at the Degollado Theater in July.[18]

In the summer of 1952 she toured with a company led by Argentine opera impresario Gregorio Ravic, which included Nicola Moscona, Jean Madeira, and Graciela Rivera, for four weeks of performances in cities in Colombia.[19] [n 1] Preston sang the role of Mimi in La bohème opposite the tenor Walter Fredericks as Rodolfo.[21] She was a member of the chorus of the San Francisco Opera for the 1952–1953 season and 1953–1954 season.[22] Beginning a tour through the Caribbean in early 1954, she conducted a series of performances in February of that year starting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[23] Later in the month, she traveled to Roatán, Honduras and performed with pianist Manuel Rueda from the Dominican Republic.[24]

On November 4 and 5, 1961, at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis, she was a soloist in the final movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in concert with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.[25] She subsequently began a tour of recitals in Europe.[26] In October 1962, she sang at Op Gouden Wieken, a concert hall in The Hague.[27] She gave a recital on November 30, 1962, in Barcelona at the Palau de la Música Catalana[28][29] and a subsequent performance in Tarragona on December 3, 1962.[30]

Personal life and death

Preston married Belgian concert violinist Saul Höuben in 1963.[1] She died in Montclair, New Jersey, on May 11, 2022, from complications of dementia, aged 93.[1]

Explanatory notes
  1. Ravic's company was known as the "Compañía de Ópera Estrellas del Metropolitan" (Stars of the Metropolitan) as several of the ensemble's leads were principal artists of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") who performed with this touring group while on summer break from the Met. However, it was not affiliated with the Met and also employed singers from other American opera companies.[19][20] A 1952 Variety article reported that Preston was married to Ravic at this time.[19]

References
  1. Barnes, Mike (May 17, 2022). "June Preston, Child Actor Turned Celebrated Opera Singer, Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  2. "Jane (sic) Preston Temple rival". Los Angeles Times. March 20, 1935. p. 13. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Temple Tot Now Movie Star; She Signs Contract". Waco Tribune-Herald. August 12, 1934. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Doting Parents and Film Executives Push Child Actors to the Heights". Detroit Free Press. January 6, 1935. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Entertainments". The Telegraph. January 9, 1935. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  6. A Little from "Lots", The Film Daily, January 17, 1935, page 6
  7. "Star in Embryo". Daily Standard. December 28, 1934. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  8. Warakeu, D. L. (June 8, 1935). "Children on the Films: Boom in Baby Stars". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  9. Barnes, Eleanor (May 25, 1935). "Actress Shakes 'Curse'". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Style for a Starlet". Daily Standard. January 18, 1936. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  11. TCM Our Gang Follies acting credits
  12. "June Preston to Appear at Kahn's". Oakland Tribune. November 21, 1940. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Inman, David (December 5, 1987). "Minor film role enough to bring June Preston fame". The Courier-Journal. p. 23. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  14. St. Clair, Tim (June 7, 1989). "Fete honors architect, admiral, singer". West Seattle Herald. Seattle.
  15. "June Preston in Hall of Fame". Waitsburg Times. Waitsburg, Washington. July 20, 1989.
  16. "Four SC Students Soon To Appear in "Bartered Bride"". The Spectator (Seattle University). December 4, 1947. p. 4.
  17. "Concert to Be Passiontide Music". The Spectator (Seattle University). March 31, 1949. p. 1.
  18. Y Puga, Roberto Beltran (July 16, 1950). "Grandes Cualidades Demonstro June Preston en su Concierto del Viernes" [Great Qualities Demonstrated by June Preston at her Friday Concert]. Crónicas de Arte (in Spanish).
  19. "International: Bad-Check Impresario Lands U.S. Opera Troupe In Colombia Hot Water". Variety. Vol. 187, no. 6. July 16, 1952. p. 11.
  20. "Brave Rescue from A Fiasco". Opera News. 17: 13–14. 1952.
  21. Morales Vélez, Alejandro (2012). Preston, June in Zarzuela, opereta y ópera en Medellín, 1864-2009. Compañías, obras, teatros y artistas (in Spanish). Medellín. p. 156. ISBN 9789587201307. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  22. Daniel Blum, ed. (1955). Daniel Blum's Opera World. G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 41.
  23. "Grace a la courtoisie de S. E. le President Paul E. Magloire, le celebre Soprano lyrique June Preston, se fera entendre Dimanche soir au Kiosque Occide Jeanty" [Thanks to the courtesy of S. E. President Paul E. Magloire, the famous Lyric Soprano June Preston, will be heard on Sunday evening at the Kiosque Occide Jeanty]. Le Matin (in French).
  24. "Soprano Preston Iniciara Temporada de Soc. Pro Arte" [Soprano Preston Starts Season of Soc. Pro Arte]. El Caribe (in Spanish). February 16, 1954. p. 12.
  25. Sherman, Thomas B. (November 6, 1961). "Choral Work Marks Symphony Concert". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. "SIU Choral Group Invited to Return". Edwardsville Intelligencer. November 1, 1961. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. Van Hessen, Ro (October 24, 1964). "June Preston: verrassend !". Haagsche Courant (in Dutch).
  28. "La Expresiva Soprano Norteamericana June Preston, Presentada Por La Asociacion De Cultura Musical" [Expressive American Soprano June Preston, Presented By The Music Culture Association]. El Noticiero Universal (in Spanish). December 1, 1962.
  29. L. G. M. (December 3, 1962). "La Boheme En El Liceo, Con Dos Repartos Diferentes" [La Boheme At The Liceo, With Two Different Cast]. Hoja del Lunes (in Spanish). p. 36.
  30. "La celebre soprano June Preston en el Instituto Musical" [Celebrated soprano June Preston at the Musical Institute]. Diari de Tarragona (in Spanish). December 5, 1962.
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