Trivia

Merilyn Alsop, the wife of J. A. from 1957 to 1972, was born on October 22, 1934 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA at Freedmen's Hospital because in her hometown women of color were not allowed to bear children in hospitals in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. J. A. and Merilyn had three children: Scotti (daughter) born in 1958, Dominique (daughter) born in 1959, and James Allen, Jr. (son) born in 1961. Merilyn died of natural causes in Annapolis, Mayland, USA on April 26, 2010.

J. A. chose to use his initials rather than his given name James because there already was a James Preston in Actors Equity when he sought to join the union in the early 1970's. His friends call him Jim.

In March 2014 J. A. was a special invited guest at the Annapolis Film Festival. He was invited to join the viewing and lead the discussion of his 1973 role as Dawson in the film, "The Spook that Sat by the Door.".

He has often been cast as a military officer or in a law enforcement role (police officer, lawyer, or judge).

Hobbies include photography and being an aficionado of jazz, collecting albums by John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly.

James Preston attended North Carolina College on a track scholarship and ran the middle distance races.

He has portrayed both a US Army and a US Marine Corps Colonel.