James Allen Preston was born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA on November 13, 1932. He attended public schools in the nation's capital and earned a track scholarship to a college in North Carolina. J. A. married Merilyn Alsop in 1957. His acting career accelerated to recurring TV series roles when he moved from New York to California in 1976. He is best known for roles as Allen Brooks in All's Fair, Ozzie Cleveland in Hill Street Blues, Leo Daltry in Dallas, and Richard Matthews in Santa Barbara. He played many magistrates in films, most notably Judge Julius Alexander Randolph in A Few Good Men. He lives in retirement in Los Angeles, California, USA.
He has often been cast as a military officer or in a law enforcement role (police officer, lawyer, or judge).
In March 2014 J. A. was a special invited guest at the Annapolis Film Festival. He was invited to join the viewing and lead the discussion of his 1973 role as Dawson in the film, "The Spook that Sat by the Door.".
J. A. chose to use his initials rather than his given name James because there already was a James Preston in Actors Equity when he sought to join the union in the early 1970s. His friends call him Jim.
Hobbies include photography and being an aficionado of jazz, collecting albums by John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly.
Merilyn Alsop, the wife of J. A. from 1957 to 1972, was born on October 22, 1934 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA at Freedmens Hospital because in her hometown women of color were not allowed to bear children in hospitals in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. J. A. and Merilyn had three children: Scotti (daughter) born in 1958, Dominique (daughter) born in 1959, and James Allen, Jr. (son) born in 1961. Merilyn died of natural causes in Annapolis, Mayland, USA on April 26, 2010.
James Preston attended North Carolina College on a track scholarship and ran the middle distance races.
He has portrayed both a US Army and a US Marine Corps Colonel.
