Michael Preston (born Jack Davies; 14 May 1938) is an English international film and television actor, and singer, sometimes credited as Mike Preston.
Life and career
Preston was born in
Hackney, London, England. He was a
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
and then became a singer.
He appeared on ''
Oh Boy!'' and his third
record
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
, "
Dirty Old Town" (1959) was produced by
Joe Meek. He had three
Top 40 hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
in the
UK Singles Chart, including reaching No. 12 with his cover version of "
Mr. Blue
"Mr. Blue" is a popular song written by DeWayne Blackwell that was a hit for The Fleetwoods, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1959, giving the group its second chart-topping hit of the year. Roy Lanham played guitar ...
" in November 1959,
before emigrating to Australia where he worked as a
nightclub singer.
He then became a host on television, and also an actor. He was a regular host on ''
In Melbourne Tonight'' in 1968, and in 1969 was a guest celebrity on the game show ''
The Celebrity Game'' and went on to host the revival in 1976–1977.
His first ongoing starring role on television was in the long-running police drama series ''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'' as Sen. Det. Bob Delaney from 1972 to 1973. He then had a recurring role in the soap opera ''
Bellbird'' as Fr. John Kramer between 1974 and 1976. He later took a lead role in the prison-based soap opera ''
Punishment
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...
'' (1981) but this series was short-lived. In 1984, he had an ongoing role in ''
Hot Pursuit'', as the character Alec Shaw.
Preston has made numerous guest appearances in television series, including ''
The A-Team'', ''
Max Headroom'', ''
Airwolf'', ''
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to September 10, 1987, on CBS.
The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...
'', ''
Alien Nation'', ''
Ellen'', and ''
Highlander
Highlander may refer to:
Regional cultures
* Gorals (lit. ''Highlanders''), a culture in southern Poland and northern Slovakia
* Hill people, who live in hills and mountains
* Merina people, an ethnic group from the central plateau of Madagascar
...
''. He also made an appearance in the series ''
Baywatch Nights''.
Preston has also acted in films. His first feature film was ''Surabaya Conspiracy'' (1969); other film roles included playing Pappagallo in ''
Mad Max 2'' (1981), his best-known role, and Jared-Syn in the science fiction B-movie ''
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn'' (1983). He was nominated for the 1979
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in ''
The Last of the Knucklemen''.
Selected TV and filmography
*Climb Up the Wall - (1960) - Himself, (singing next to the ''
Albert Memorial)''
*''Surabaya Conspiracy'' (1969) - Steven Blessing
*''
Barney
Barney may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Barney (surname), a list of people
Film and television
* the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...
'' (1976) - O'Shaughnessy
*''
The Last of the Knucklemen'' (1979) - Pansy
*''
Maybe This Time'' (1981) - Paddy
*''
Mad Max 2'' (1981) - Pappagallo
*''
Duet for Four
''Duet for Four'' is a 1982 film directed by Tim Burstall.
Plot
A middle aged man, Ray Martin, faces a series of problems – his wife is cheating on him, his mistress wants to get married and Americans want to take over his toy business.
Cast
...
'' (1982) - Ray Martin
*''
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn'' (1983) - Jared-Syn
*''
A Caribbean Mystery'' (1983, TV movie) - Arthur Jackson
*''
Blade in Hong Kong
''Blade in Hong Kong'' is a 1985 American action/adventure television film directed by Iranian-born director Reza Badiyi. It is based on a novel by Terry Becker. It stars Terry Lester as a suave private eye who becomes embroiled in a battle agai ...
'' (1985, TV movie) - Charters
*''J.O.E. and the Colonel'' (1985, TV movie) - Schaefer
*''
The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
'' (1986, TV movie) - David 'Dak' Anson Kola
*''
Hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
'' (1987) - Evans (as Mike Preston)
*''
Airwolf'' (1987, TV series) - Jack Ware
*''
Fame'' (1987, TV series) - Jack Ware
*''Harry's Hong Kong'' (1987, TV movie) - Max Trumble
*''
The Long Journey Home'' (1987, TV movie) - Frank Mota
*''
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake'' (1988, TV movie) - Waiter
*''Exile'' (1990, TV Movie) - Rupe Murphy
*''
Superboy'' (1990) - 2nd Police Officer
*''
Alien Nation'' (1990) - Rigac
*''
Jake and the Fatman'' (1991) - Vorster
*''
Renegade'' (1995, TV series) - Nick Schneider
*''
Highlander: The Series'' (1995) - Terrence Kincaid
*''
Steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
'' (1997) - Mr. Weston (uncredited)
*''
The Getaway'' (2002, video game) - Harry 'The Hat' (voice)
Discography
*"A House, A Car And A Wedding Ring" / "My Lucky Love" (1958) – (US No. 93, Aust No. 18) (Decca)
*"Why, Why Why" / "
Whispering Grass" (1958)
*"In Surabaya" / "
Dirty Old Town" (1959)
*"
Mr. Blue
"Mr. Blue" is a popular song written by DeWayne Blackwell that was a hit for The Fleetwoods, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1959, giving the group its second chart-topping hit of the year. Roy Lanham played guitar ...
" / "
Just Ask Your Heart
"Just Ask Your Heart" is a song written by Diane DeNota, Joe Ricci, and Pete Damato and performed by Frankie Avalon. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Top 100 in 1959 in music, 1959.
The song was arranged by Peter De Ang ...
" (1959) (
UK No. 12)
*"Too Old" / "A Girl Like You" (1960)
*"I'd Do Anything" / "Where Is Love" (1960) (UK No. 23)
*"Togetherness" / "Farewell My Love" (1960) (UK No. 41)
*"Marry Me" / "Girl Without a Heart" (1961) (UK No. 14)
*"
Punish Her" / "From the Very First Rose" (1963)
*"Dear Heart" / "Wonderful, Wonderful World" (1968) (Aust No. 20 Kent chart, No. 34 Go-Set chart) (Spin Records)
*"Christmas Alphabet" (1968) (Aust No. 71 Kent chart) (Spin Records)
*"Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell" (1969) (Aust No. 64 Kent chart) (Spin Records)
*"Why" (1972) (Aust No. 70)
[
] (Fable Records)
[
]
See also
*
List of artists under the Decca Records label
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Michael
1938 births
Living people
English emigrants to Australia
English male film actors
English male singers
English male soap opera actors
Decca Records artists
People from Hackney Central