Wayde Preston(1929-1992)
- Actor
Born William Erksine Strange on September 10, 1929, in Denver,
Colorado, Wayde Preston was raised in Laramie, Wyoming, with two
younger sisters, Joan and Mary, by his schoolteacher parents John and
Bernice Strange. He graduated in 1947 from Laramie High, where he was
active in football, track, ROTC and school band. He attended the
University of Wyoming, studying pharmacy. An accomplished musician, his
talent afforded him the opportunity to play string bass with various
bands popular during the late 1940s. Drafted into the army in 1950, he
attained the rank of First Lieutenant and was posted to an artillery
unit at Fort Bliss, Texas. He later was transferred to Korea, where he
saw action in the Korean War. Following his discharge he held a job as
a park ranger at Grand Teton National Park and also played the rodeo
circuit in Wyoming. A licensed pilot, he was flying for TWA when he got
his first career break. It was at this time that he met
Carol Ohmart, whom he married on
Thanksgiving Day in 1956; they were divorced less than two years later.
After appearing in a Cheyenne (1955)
episode with Clint Walker, Preston
landed the lead role in
Colt .45 (1957), playing Chris Colt,
an undercover government agent. The first episode aired on October 18,
1957. The next three years were a roller-coaster ride for many stars,
Preston included, who were demanding more money and shorter working hours.
"Colt .45" ended its tenure in 1960 with
Donald May playing the lead role, as Preston
had again walked off after being denied the use of a stuntman. Like
other stars of that era, Preston embarked on a lucrative career filming
"spaghetti westerns" in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. Returning to
the US in the late 1970s, Preston underwent surgery to remove a
cancerous growth by his right temple. After recuperation and
reconstructive surgery, he resurfaced again in the mid '80s, appearing
at numerous western film festivals and accepting small movie roles, the last as Jack in
Captain America (1990). Wayde
Preston passed away on February 6, 1992, losing a battle with colon
cancer.