J. A. Preston

James Allen Preston, born November 13, 1932, in Washington, D.C., is a retired American actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. He appeared on Broadway in 1968 in the play American Dream.

Preston's stage work extended beyond Broadway. In 1968 he performed in both Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 at the Delacorte Theater, and in 1973 he appeared in Freeman at the American Place Theatre.

On screen, Preston accumulated a substantial body of film work beginning in the early 1970s. Among his earlier film roles was Dawson in The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), followed by appearances in Two-Minute Warning and Silver Streak, both in 1976. He portrayed Dr. Ted Cleary in Real Life (1979) and College President Harper in the television film Roots: The Next Generations that same year. In 1981 he played Detective Oscar Grace in Body Heat. His role as CURE Agent Conn MacCleary in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) brought him further recognition. Preston portrayed Judge Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph in the 1992 film A Few Good Men, a role for which he became particularly well known. He appeared in an uncredited capacity as a United States Air Force Major General in Air Force One (1997).

Television provided Preston with some of his most prominent ongoing roles. He played Ozzie Cleveland on the NBC prime-time series Hill Street Blues and was a series regular on the short-lived CBS sitcom All's Fair, which ran for a single season from 1976 to 1977, in which he portrayed an assistant to conservative newspaper columnist Richard Barrington, played by Richard Crenna. He also appeared as Leo Daltry in Dallas and as Richard Matthews in Santa Barbara. On The A-Team he played Colonel Thomas Mylowe, a judge presiding over a military tribunal, and on Law and Order he appeared as Congressman Ronald Eaton in the Season 1 episode "Out of the Half-Light." Preston played Dr. Cliff Waters, the father of Gina played by Tisha Campbell-Martin, in three episodes of Martin across its first three seasons. His television credits further include appearances on Good Times, Wonder Woman, Little House on the Prairie, Moonlighting, Magnum P.I., Hunter, Father Dowling Mysteries, Tales from the Crypt, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Chicago Hope, and SeaQuest 2032, among others.

In his personal life, Preston was married to Merilyn Alsop from 1957 until their divorce in 1972. The two had three children together: Scott, Dominique, and James Preston.