June 19, 1962 - Opening in local theatres today is “The Music Man,” a musical film directed and produced by Morton DaCosta, based on Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. Robert Preston reprises the title role from the stage version, starring alongside Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Ron Howard, and Paul Ford. Traveling con artist Harold Hill (Preston) targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys' band leader to raise money before he can skip town.
