Wayde Preston (September 10, 1929–February 6, 1992) or William Erskine Strange was a television actor noted for the series Colt .45 (1957-1960) and for his appearance as Waco Williams in a 1958 episode of Maverick (1957) entitled "The Saga of Waco Williams". Tom Selleck's recurring comical character of Lance White in The Rockford Files was loosely based by writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell upon Waco Williams (Selleck and Preston also resembled each other.) Selleck immediately got his own series, Magnum, P.I. (1980) after these appearances. "The Saga of Waco Williams," a critical favorite which paired Preston with James Garner, drew more viewers than any other episode of Maverick and remains a career milestone for Preston.
In Colt .45, Preston played Christopher Colt, a government undercover agent masquerading as a pistol salesman traveling through the Old West. The series lasted until Preston, like James Garner and Clint Walker during the same period, ran afoul of the Warner Bros. studio. Donald May replaced Preston in 1959 and 1960, playing Colt's cousin Sam Colt, Jr.
Preston played roughly twenty roles in TV and movies between 1957 and 1991. Following his departure from Colt .45 Preston went to Europe, where he appeared in numerous spaghetti westerns, including Vic Morrow's A Man Called Sledge opposite James Garner as well as a film about the battle of Anzio. Preston's last effort was a supporting role in the 1991 movie version of Captain America.