R.I.P. Harve Presnell

July 3, 6:22 PMClassic TV ExaminerDoug Krentzlin

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                 Harve Presnell as Wade Gustafson in Fargo (Polygram)

C’mon, admit it. You probably thought “Harve who?” And then looked at the accompanying photo and went, “Oh, the crusty old guy from Fargo.”

Before he was cast in Fargo (1996), Harve Presnell, who passed away Tuesday at age 75, was better known to fans of musical theater than moviegoers. His best known previous credit was playing the male lead in both the stage and screen versions of The Unsinkable Molly Brown. The film version was a major box office flop, however, so any hopes Presnell may have had of becoming a Hollywood star were pretty much shot to hell.

Presnell continued to work successfully in theater, but his profile in the film and television industries was greatly enhanced when the Coen Brothers gave him a major supporting role in their Academy Award-winning thriller Fargo. Presnell played Wade Gustafson, father-in-law of craven, weasily car dealer Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) who has his wife kidnapped in order to extort money from the old man.

Presnell gave a masterful and perversely funny performance as Wade, a self-made millionaire whose greed and inflexibility indirectly causes the gruesome murders of himself and his daughter. After Fargo, he was much in demand as a character actor, but he never topped his achievement in that film.

Farewell, Harve Presnell. You proved that, when it comes to making it in the movies, it’s better late than never.