Michael Preston
Born
Jack Davies

(1938-05-14) 14 May 1938
Hackney, London, England
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1959–present

Michael Preston (born Jack Davies; 14 May 1938)[1] 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.[2] He was a boxer and then became a singer.[3]

He appeared on Oh Boy! and his third record, "Dirty Old Town" (1959) was produced by Joe Meek.[4] He had three Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart, including reaching No. 12 with his cover version of "Mr. Blue" in November 1959,[3] 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 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 (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, Alien Nation, Ellen, and Highlander. He also made an appearance in the series Baywatch Nights.[5]

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[6] and he won two Logies for most popular male personality in Victoria.[7]

Selected TV and filmography

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" / "Just Ask Your Heart" (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)[8] (Fable Records)[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Music birthdays in May". Bitter Suite band. Births & Deaths. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
  2. ↑ "Michael Preston". bio. IMDb.com. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1992/3. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  4. ↑ "Wolf". Fortune City. Greenfield. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "Blues Boy". Baywatch Nights (TV). Season 1. Episode 9.
  6. ↑ Kuipers, Richard. "The Last of the Knucklemen (1979)". Australian Screen. NFSA. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Jim (11 March 1981), "Mike hits the right note", The Australian Women's Weekly, p. 54
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 238. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 437. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.
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