J.A. Preston

Born: 1932-11-13

James Allen Preston Sr. (born November 13, 1932) is an American actor. Preston is best known for his role as Ozzie Cleveland on the NBC primetime television series Hill Street Blues which originally aired from 1981 until 1987. Preston was born November 13 (1932) in Washington, D.C. In addition to his role on Hill Street Blues, Preston is also known for his roles as Leo Daltry in Dallas, Richard Matthews in Santa Barbara, court-martial judge Col. J. A. Randolph, USMC in the 1992 film A Few Good Men, and the minor but important role of a USAF Major General in Air Force One (1997). He was a series regular in the short-lived CBS sitcom All's Fair which ran just one season (1976-77). In it he played an assistant to conservative newspaper columnist Richard Barrington (played by Richard Crenna). Preston also appeared on the NBC television series The A-Team as a judge (Col. Thomas Milo) presiding over a military tribunal convened to try the A-Team. He also appeared in 3 episodes of Martin as Gina’s (Tisha Campbell-Martin) father Dr. Cliff Waters.


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as Senator (uncredited)
Released: 1997-07-11

A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As...

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A Few Good Men

as Judge Randolph
Released: 1992-12-11

When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are...

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Body Heat

as Oscar Grace
Released: 1981-08-28

In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman convinces her lover, a small-town lawyer,...

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Fire Birds

as General Olcott
Released: 1990-05-25

A joint task force operation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Army has...

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Silver Streak

as Waiter (uncredited)
Released: 1976-12-03

A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a...

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Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

as Conn MacCleary
Released: 1985-10-11

An officially "dead" cop is trained to become an extraordinary unique assassin in service of the...

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Narrow Margin

as Martin Larner
Released: 1990-09-21

An L.A. District Attorney attempts to take an unwilling murder witness back to the United States...

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Two-Minute Warning

as Policeman
Released: 1976-11-12

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a...

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Captain Ron

as Magistrate
Released: 1992-09-18

When mild-mannered Martin Harvey finds out that he has inherited a vintage yacht, he decides to...

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Real Life

as Dr. Ted Cleary
Released: 1979-03-02

A pushy, narcissistic filmmaker persuades a Phoenix family to let him and his crew film their...

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The George McKenna Story

as Mr. McKenna
Released: 1988-08-01

Washington plays a school principal in a tough inner city Los Angeles high school out to rid it...

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MacShayne: Winner Takes All

as Pete Webb
Released: 1994-01-01

MacShayne is a gambler and small time con-man. After serving a short stretch in jail, he goes to...

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The Plutonium Incident

as Dr. Samuels
Released: 1980-03-11

A plutonium plant employee becomes the target of management, as well as union harassment, when...

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The Spook Who Sat by the Door

as Dawson
Released: 1973-09-21

A black man plays Uncle Tom in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to...

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High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane

as Alonzo
Released: 1980-11-15

Former Marshal Will Kane and his Amish bride, Amy, return to Hadleyville a year after he...

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The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson

as Wendell Smith
Released: 1990-10-15

A film about the early life of the baseball star in the army, particulary his court-martial for...

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Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle

as Man
Released: 1994-05-10

A former associate of Perry Mason returns to handle the defense of a world-class chess player...

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Steel Justice

as Jeremiah J. Jones
Released: 1992-11-11

David Nash has lost his son and his will to live. But the boy appears in his dreams, as well as...

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Desperate

as Wiggee
Released: 1987-09-19

In this thinly-veiled, though uncredited, new version of Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not,"...

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Harvest of Fire

as Sheriff Garrison
Released: 1996-04-21

In a small Amish community, three barns are burnt down almost simultaneously. FBI agent Sally...

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Aftermath: A Test of Love

as Det. Boland
Released: 1991-03-10

Based on a true story, an adoring wife and mother is taken hostage during a robbery and brutally...

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Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door

as uncredited
Released: 2011-01-01

A documentary looking at the making and legacy of The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973).

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The White Lions

as Aniel
Released: 1981-12-31

A college professor, his wife, and daughter go the the wilds of Africa to live, and study the...

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Law & Order

as Congressman Ronald Eaton
First aired: 1990-09-13

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing...

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The A-Team

as Judge
First aired: 1983-01-23

A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune...

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Dallas

as Leo Daltry
First aired: 1978-04-02

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all....

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21 Jump Street

as Principal George Messiah
First aired: 1987-04-12

21 Jump Street revolves around a group of young cops who would use their youthful appearance to...

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Hill Street Blues

as Ozzie Cleveland (archive footage) (uncredited)
First aired: 1981-01-15

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

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Hill Street Blues

as Ozzie Cleveland
First aired: 1981-01-15

A realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.

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Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

as uncredited
First aired: 1993-09-12

A much more lavish version of the popular Superman television series which had first aired forty...

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Hart to Hart

as Mr. Pruitt
First aired: 1979-09-22

Wealthy couple Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a self-made millionaire and his journalist wife,...

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Chicago Hope

as uncredited
First aired: 1994-09-18

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran...

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Moonlighting

as Dr. Nealy
First aired: 1985-03-03

After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in...

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The Sentinel

as Mel Wilkenson
First aired: 1996-03-20

The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series. In the jungles of peru, the fight for...

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Touched by an Angel

as Waters
First aired: 1994-09-21

Monica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who...

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seaQuest DSV

as Charles
First aired: 1993-09-12

In the early 21st century, mankind has colonized the oceans. The United Earth Oceans...

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Martin

as uncredited
First aired: 1992-08-27

Sassy sitcom centering on radio and television personality Martin Payne. Series focuses on his...

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Hardcastle and McCormick

as Vic Dutton
First aired: 1983-09-18

Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell...

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Tales from the Crypt

as Harry
First aired: 1989-06-10

Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and...

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Amazing Stories

as Prof. Bertram Carver
First aired: 1985-09-29

A truly amazing, fantastical, science fiction, funny and odd, and sometimes scary, sad and...

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Good Times

as uncredited
First aired: 1974-02-08

Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1,...

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The Jeffersons

as uncredited
First aired: 1975-01-18

Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as...

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All in the Family

as Elmo 'Black Elmo' Bridgewater
First aired: 1971-01-12

Archie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important...

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Wonder Woman

as Jazreel
First aired: 1975-11-07

With the strength of Hercules, the wisdom of Athena, the speed of Mercury and the beauty of...

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Punky Brewster

as uncredited
First aired: 1984-09-16

An abandoned waif and her dog are taken in by a cranky apartment manager who becomes her...

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Gimme a Break!

as uncredited
First aired: 1981-10-29

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons, October 29, 1981, until...

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Carter Country

as uncredited
First aired: 1977-09-15

Carter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.

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The New Odd Couple

as Charles Walker
First aired: 1982-10-29

The New Odd Couple is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1982–1983, and was an updated...

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James at 16

as Hazeltine
First aired: 1977-09-05

James at 15 (later James at 16) is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the...

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House of Frankenstein

as uncredited
First aired: 1997-11-02

Detective Coyle is trying to solve several bizarre murders and is having no luck finding a...

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