Michael Preece (September 15, 1936 – February 27, 2025) was an American film and television director, script supervisor, producer, and actor best known for directing the television series ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'' and ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'' and the films '' The Prize Fighter'' and '' Logan's War: Bound by Honor''.

Early life

Preece was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School. His father was a salesman for a cigarette and cigar company, and his mother, Thelma Preece, was the first female business agent in Hollywood and founder of the Script Clerks Guild which later became the Script Supervisor Local 871 IATSE.

Career

While a freshman student at Santa Monica City College in the summer of 1955 in the early days of television Preece took on a job as a script supervisor. He worked as a script supervisor on such TV series as ''

Mr. Novak ''Mr. Novak'' is an American television drama (film and television), drama television series starring James Franciscus in the title role as a high school teacher. The series aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. It won a Peabody Award ...

'', '' I Spy'', and '' Hawaii Five-O'' and a score of such feature films as '' The Great Locomotive Chase'' (1956), '' The Spirit of St. Louis'' (1957), '' The Old Man and the Sea'' (1958), '' Cimarron'' (1962), ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

'' (1962), '' How the West Was Won'' (1962), '' Morituri'' (1965), '' Will Penny'' (1968), '' True Grit'' (1969), ''

The Hawaiians Hawaiians are the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians or The Hawaiians may also refer to: * The Hawaiians (WFL), a football team in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975 * ''The Hawaiians'' (film), a 1970 American hi ...

'' (1970), '' The Getaway'' (1972), '' The Paper Chase'' (1973), and '' Breakheart Pass'' (1975). Starting in 1975 Preece directed over 300 episodes of TV series, including ''

'' where he set a record for most episodes directed and filmed each cast member firing a gun in order to ensure that no one knew who shot J.R. He also directed episodes of ''

'', '' The Streets of San Francisco'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

'', '' 7th Heaven'', ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Cha ...

'', '' Barnaby Jones'', ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'', ''

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network u ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'', '' When the Whistle Blows'', ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'', ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

'', '' Fantasy Island'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'', ''

Stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

'', '' B. J. and the Bear'', '' Ace Crawford, Private Eye'', '' Mike Hammer'' (1984 TV Series), ''

Jake and the Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. Created by Dean Hargrove and Joel Steiger, the ser ...

'', '' The Young Riders'', '' Flamingo Road'', and '' Renegade''. Preece also directed such films as '' The Prize Fighter'' (1979), one of the most financially successful films ever released by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

, '' Great Day'' (1983), '' Beretta's Island'' (1994), '' Walker Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion'' (1994), '' Logan's War: Bound by Honor'' (1998) (for which he won a Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best TV Director), '' Dallas: War of the Ewings'' (1998), and '' The President's Man'' (2000).

Personal life and death

Preece met his first wife Paula at high school, and they were married from 1953 until their 1968 divorce. They had four children. His daughter Gretchen is married to singer-songwriter

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

. He was then married to Hollywood hairstylist Evelyn Preece (née Thomas; 1942–2017) from 1969 until her death. He spoke at Women in Film breakfast meetings. Preece died of heart failure at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on February 27, 2025, at the age of 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Michael 1936 births 2025 deaths American television directors American script supervisors Film directors from Los Angeles People from Brentwood, Los Angeles Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States Newman family (show business)