Michael Preston
Encyclopedia
Michael Preston is an international film
and television
actor
, sometimes credited as Mike Preston.
and then became a singer. Preston appeared on Oh Boy! and his first gramophone record
, "Dirty Old Town
" was produced
by Joe Meek
. He had three Top 40 hits
in the UK Singles Chart
, before emigrating to Australia
where he worked as a nightclub
singer. He then became a host
on television, and then an actor. He was a guest host on In Melbourne Tonight
in 1968. His first ongoing starring role on television in was in the long-running police drama series Homicide as Sen. Det. Bob Delaney from 1972-1973. He later had a recurring role in the soap opera
Bellbird
as Fr. John Kramer between 1974-1976. He later took a lead role in prison-based soap opera Punishment
(1981) but this series was short-lived.
Preston also acted in films. His first feature film was Surabaya Conspiracy (1969); other film roles included playing Pappagallo in the 1981 hit Mad Max 2, his best-known role, and Jared-Syn in the 1983 science fiction
B movie
, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
.
Later he had an ongoing role in Hot Pursuit
as Alec Shaw in 1984. He has also starred in many television movies and made guest appearances on television series including The A-Team
, Airwolf
, Scarecrow and Mrs. King
, Alien Nation, Ellen, and Highlander: The Series
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, sometimes credited as Mike Preston.
Career
Preston was a boxerBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and then became a singer. Preston appeared on Oh Boy! and his first gramophone record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, "Dirty Old Town
Dirty Old Town
"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many others since.-History:...
" was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
. He had three Top 40 hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, before emigrating to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where he worked as a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
singer. He then became a host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
on television, and then an actor. He was a guest host on In Melbourne Tonight
In Melbourne Tonight
In Melbourne Tonight, also known as "IMT", was a highly popular nightly variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970....
in 1968. His first ongoing starring role on television in was in the long-running police drama series Homicide as Sen. Det. Bob Delaney from 1972-1973. He later had a recurring role in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Bellbird
Bellbird (TV series)
Bellbird was an Australian soap opera set in a small Victorian rural township. The series was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria. The series was produced between 28 August 1967 and December 1977...
as Fr. John Kramer between 1974-1976. He later took a lead role in prison-based soap opera Punishment
Punishment (TV series)
Punishment is an Australian television soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Ten Network in 1981.Set in a fictional men's prison, the series attempted to present a male version of the successful soap Prisoner...
(1981) but this series was short-lived.
Preston also acted in films. His first feature film was Surabaya Conspiracy (1969); other film roles included playing Pappagallo in the 1981 hit Mad Max 2, his best-known role, and Jared-Syn in the 1983 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn is a 1983 science fiction movie starring Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston and Richard Moll. It was directed and produced by Charles Band who is possibly better known for his other, rather low-budget science fiction and horror...
.
Later he had an ongoing role in Hot Pursuit
Hot pursuit
In law enforcement and international law, hot pursuit can refer to:*An immediate pursuit by the police such as a car chase.*In international treaty law, laws of federal states, or other legal rules governing cross-border police operations when law enforcement officers and agents of one...
as Alec Shaw in 1984. He has also starred in many television movies and made guest appearances on television series including The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
, Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance,...
, Alien Nation, Ellen, and Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series
Highlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
.
Selected filmography
- Surabaya Conspiracy (1969)
- BarneyBarney-Notable people with the surname Barney:* Albert W. Barney, an American jurist* Alice Pike Barney, an American artist* Charles D. Barney, an American banker* Darwin Barney, second baseman for the Chicago Cubs...
(1976) - The Last of the KnucklemenThe Last of the KnucklemenThe Last of the Knucklemen is a 1979 Australian film directed by Tim Burstall. The story involves a gang of rough miners. Tom turns up at the mine looking for a place to hide...
(1979) - ...Maybe This Time (1980)
- Mad Max 2 (1981)
- Duet for Four (1982)
- Fame (1982) (TV)
- Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-SynMetalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-SynMetalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn is a 1983 science fiction movie starring Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston and Richard Moll. It was directed and produced by Charles Band who is possibly better known for his other, rather low-budget science fiction and horror...
(1983) - A Caribbean MysteryA Caribbean MysteryA Caribbean Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 16, 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings and the US edition at $4.50...
(1983) (TV) - Blade in Hong Kong (1985) (TV)
- J.O.E. and the Colonel (1985) (TV)
- The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1986) (TV)
- Harry's Hong Kong (1987) (TV)
- The Long Journey HomeThe Long Journey HomeThe Long Journey Home was a ceremonial event held at the main campus of the University of Washington on May 18, 2008, commemorating the Japanese American students who, due to the passage of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, were forced to leave the school and live in internment camps in the western...
(1987) (TV) - AIRWOLFAirwolfAirwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
episode Blackjack (1987) (TV) - Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake (1988) (TV)
- ExileExileExile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
(1990) (TV) - SteelSteel (film)Steel is a 1997 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character John Henry Irons, who first appeared in 1993 during the Reign of the Supermen! storyline in the Superman comic book titles. The film stars Shaquille O'Neal as Irons and his alter ego Steel, Annabeth Gish as his wheelchair...
(1997) - The GetawayThe Getaway- Film :* The Get-Away, a 1941 remake of the 1935 crime film Public Hero No. 1* The Getaway , a 1972 film adaptation of the novel, starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw...
(2002)
Discography
- "A House, A Car and A Wedding Ring" (1958) - (US Singles Chart) #93
- "Mr. Blue" (1959) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#12 - "I'd Do Anything" (1960) - UK #23
- "Togetherness" (1960) - UK #41
- "Marry Me" (1961) - UK #14