Although he was not known for his singing voice, Preston appeared in several other stage and film musicals, notably "Mame" (1974) and "Victor/Victoria" (1982), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His other film roles include Ace Bonner in Sam Peckinpah's "Junior Bonner" (1972), "Big Ed" Bookman in "Semi-Tough" (1977), and Dr. Irving Finegarten in Blake Edwards' 1981 Hollywood satire, "S.O.B.". His last theatrical film role was in "The Last Starfighter" (1984) as an interstellar con man/military recruiter called Centauri. He said that he based his approach to the character of Centauri on that which he had taken to Professor Harold Hill. Indeed, the role of Centauri was written for him with his performance as Harold Hill in mind. He also starred in the HBO 1985 movie "Finnegan, Begin Again" with Mary Tyler Moore. His final role was in the television film "Outrage!" (1986).