Preston was born William Erksine Strange in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.[1] He was a park ranger and performed musically on the rodeo circuit before he got his break as an actor.[2]
In Colt .45 he played Christopher Colt, a government undercover agent who masquerades as a pistol salesman traveling throughout the Old West.[3] Preston also played the role of Christopher Colt in 1958 and 1959 in four episodes relating to "The Canary Kid" of the ABC/WB Sugarfoot series.
Preston appeared in "The Saga of Waco Williams" on Maverick. The episode drew the highest viewership of the series.[citation needed]
Preston played some 20 roles in television and films from 1957 to 1991. Following his departure from Colt .45, he went to Europe, where he appeared in numerous Spaghetti Westerns, including A Man Called Sledge and the 1968 film Anzio, about the World War IIBattle of Anzio. Preston played Logan in another 1968 film, Wrath of God; he was then cast in 1969 as Marshal Johnny Silver in Death Knows No Time.
Preston later appeared on episodes of NBC's Bonanza and ABC's Starsky & Hutch. His last screen appearance was in a supporting role in the 1990 film version of Captain America.
Personal life
In 1956, Preston married actress Carol Ohmart. They divorced in 1958.[1] Preston died of cancer on February 6, 1992, at age 62 in Lovelock, Nevada.[4]
^Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 200. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
