William Erksine Strange, better known as Wayde Preston, was born on September 10, 1929, in Denver, Colorado, to schoolteacher parents John and Bernice Strange. He was raised in Laramie, Wyoming, alongside his two younger sisters, Joan and Mary.
Preston's early life was marked by his involvement in various extracurricular activities at Laramie High School, including football, track, ROTC, and school band. He graduated in 1947 and went on to study pharmacy at the University of Wyoming.
An accomplished musician, Preston's talent earned him the opportunity to play string bass with various bands popular during the late 1940s. His music career was put on hold when he was drafted into the army in 1950, where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant and served in an artillery unit at Fort Bliss, Texas, and later in Korea during the Korean War.
After his discharge, Preston worked as a park ranger at Grand Teton National Park and also played the rodeo circuit in Wyoming. He was a licensed pilot and flew for TWA when he received his first career break. It was during this time that he met Carol Ohmart, whom he married on Thanksgiving Day in 1956, but the marriage ended in divorce less than two years later.
Preston's acting career took off when he landed the lead role in the TV series "Colt.45" (1957),playing Chris Colt, an undercover government agent. The show ran for three years, but Preston walked off the set after being denied the use of a stuntman, leading to the show's conclusion in 1960. Donald May took over the lead role.
Preston then went on to film "spaghetti westerns" in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s, before returning to the US in the late 1970s. He underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth by his right temple and spent several years recovering and reconstructing.
Preston resurfaced in the mid-1980s, appearing at numerous western film festivals and accepting small movie roles, including his final role as Jack in "Captain America" (1990). Sadly, Preston lost his battle with colon cancer on February 6, 1992.
