James Allen Preston (born November 13, 1932) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor. Preston is best known for portraying Colonel Randolph in the movie ''

A Few Good Men ''A Few Good Men'' is a 1992 American legal drama film based on Aaron Sorkin's 1989 play. It was written by Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner, and produced by Reiner, David Brown and Andrew Scheinman. It stars an ensemble cast including Tom Cru ...

'' and for his role as Ozzie Cleveland on the NBC prime-time television series ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

''.

Biography

Life and career

Preston was born November 13, 1932 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In addition to his role on ''Hill Street Blues'', Preston is also known for his roles as Leo Daltry in ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', Richard Matthews in '' Santa Barbara'',

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

judge Col. J. A. Randolph, USMC in the 1992 film ''

'', and the minor but important role of a USAF

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in ''

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...

'' (1997). He was a series regular in the short-lived CBS sitcom ''All's Fair'' which ran just one season (1976–77). In it he played an assistant to conservative newspaper columnist Richard Barrington (played by Richard Crenna). Preston also appeared on the NBC television series ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

'' as a judge (Col. Thomas Milo) presiding over a

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

convened to try the A-Team. He appeared in the series ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

'' in the late 1975 episode, "Willona's Dilemma". He also appeared in three episodes of ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

'' as Gina's (

Tisha Campbell-Martin Tisha Michelle Campbell (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film '' Little Shop of Horrors'', and later starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy dra ...

) father Dr. Cliff Waters. He was also on the Season 1, Episode 11 of ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', "Out of the Half-Light" as Congressman Ronald Eaton.

Personal life

Preston was married to Merilyn Alsop from 1957 until divorcing in 1972. Together, Preston and Alsop had three children before their divorce: Scott, Dominique, and James Preston.

Selected filmography

* 1971 ''Mississippi Summer'' * 1973 '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door'' as Dawson * 1976 ''

Two-Minute Warning In most levels of professional American football, the two-minute warning is a suspension of play that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. It ...

'' as Policeman #1 * 1976 '' Silver Streak'' as The Waiter (uncredited) * 1979 ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...

'' as Dr. Ted Cleary * 1979 '' Roots: The Next Generations'' as College President Harper * 1979 ''

Americathon ''Americathon'' (also known as ''Americathon 1998'') is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin. It is based on ...

'' as Morty * 1980 '' High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane'' as Alonzo * 1981 ''

Body Heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

'' as Detective Oscar Grace * 1981 ''

The White Lions ''The White Lions'' is a 1981 American drama film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Michael York and Glynnis O'Connor. Premise A college professor, his wife, and daughter go to the wilds of Africa to live and study the rare white lions of the re ...

'' as Aniel * 1985 '' Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins'' as CURE Agent Conn "Mac" MacCleary * 1990 ''

Fire Birds ''Fire Birds'' (released under the alternative title ''Wings of the Apache'') is a 1990 American military action film directed by David Green and produced by William Badalato, Keith Barish and Arnold Kopelson. The storyline was conceived by retir ...

'' as General Olcott * 1990 ''

Narrow Margin ''Narrow Margin'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams, loosely based on the 1952 film noir '' The Narrow Margin''. The film stars Gene Hackman and Anne Archer, with James Sikking, J. T. Walsh, ...

'' as Chief Deputy District Attorney Martin Larner * 1992 ''

Captain Ron ''Captain Ron'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt, produced by David Permut, and written by John Dwyer for Touchstone Pictures. It stars Kurt Russell as the title character, a sailor with a quirky personality and a checker ...

'' as Magistrate * 1992 ''

'' as Judge Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph * 1997 ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'' as Senator (uncredited) * 1997 ''

'' as USAF

Samuel Greely (uncredited) * 2006 ''Sweet Deadly Dreams'' as Mott

Television

* 1975 ''

'' as Walter Ingles (Season 3, Episode 10) * 1978 ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' as Jazreel (Season 2/Episode 15) * 1982 ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'' as Sam Terhune (Season 8/Episode 16) * 1986 ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job A side job, also informally called a side hustle or side gig, is an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income. Side jobs may be done out of nec ...

'' as Dr. Nealy (Season 2/Episode 13) * 1986 ''

'' as the judge - Col. Thomas Mylowe (season 5/episode 2) * 1990 ''

'' as Congressman Ronald Eaton (Season 1/Episode 11) * 1991 '' Father Dowling Mysteries'' as Lt. Peter Johnson (Season 3/Episode 22) * 1992 ''

Jake and the Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from September ...

'' as Mickey Daytona * 1992 ''

'' – played the recurring part of Dr. Cliff Waters in three episodes: "The Parents Are Coming" in Season 1 (#7), " Thanks for Nothing" in Season 2 (#13) and also "Wedding Bell Blues" in Season 3 (#26) * 1992 ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'' as Harry (Season 4/Episode 14) * 1993 ''

The Jackie Thomas Show ''The Jackie Thomas Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on the ABC network from December 1992 to March 1993. The series received widespread attention due to its creators Roseanne Arnold, then starring in the fifth season of her comedy ''Rosea ...

'' as Mr. Watson (Season 1/Episode 11) * 1994 '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' as General Zeitlin (Season 1/Episode 12) * 1994 ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...

'' as Roland (Season 6/Episode 23) * 1995 ''

SeaQuest 2032 ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, i ...

'' as Charles Ford (Season 2/Episode 11) * 1996 ''

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois. ...

'' as Judge Rodney Helpurn * 1997 '' The Sentinel'' as Mel Wilkenson (Season 2/Episode 16) * 1997 ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...

'' as Benjamin Davenport (Season 3/Episode 62)

Theatre

*''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' –

Delacorte Theater The Delacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-air theater in Central Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions. Over five million people have attended more than 15 ...

(1968) *'' Henry IV, Part 2'' –

(1968) *''Freeman'' –

American Place Theatre The American Place Theatre was founded in 1963 by Wynn Handman, Sidney Lanier, and Michael Tolan at St. Clement's Church, 423 West 46th Street in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and was incorporated as a not-for-profit theatre in that year. Tennesse ...

(1973)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, J. A. 1932 births 20th-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people North Carolina Central University alumni 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people