12 with his cover version of "Mr. Blue" in November 1959,[3] before emigrating to Australia where he worked as a nightclub singer.
His first ongoing starring role on television was in the long-running police drama series Homicide as Sen. Det.
He later took a lead role in the prison-based soap opera Punishment (1981) but this series was short-lived.
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.
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).