Director Michael Preece, 88, died on Feb. 27. Preece began working as a script supervisor in the 1950s, before becoming a director in the 1970s. He helmed numerous episodes of Falcon Crest, Hunter, Dallas (he famously had several cast members filmed shooting a gun so as to not spoil “Who Shot J.R?”), Macgyver, Walker Texas Ranger, and 7th Heaven, as well as several films which might as well go unmentioned. His wife, Evelyn Preece (who died in 2017), was a hairdresser on many films and TV shows, and had the unique job of styling Mae West in Sextette. Their children are script supervisor Jon-Michael Preece, and Gretchen Preece, who is married to Randy Newman. Preece told interviewer Chris Baker that working on Dallas “was a wonderful atmosphere. And jokes, all day long. We never got a clean rehearsal, but when it came time to shoot, the cast would play it perfectly. Most television shows go to 7 o’clock or 8 o’clock at night. With Dallas, we’d be leaving the lot for the day when people on other shows were just breaking for lunch.”
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Evelyn Preece was not the mother of any of his children. He had 4 children from his previous marriage to Paula Preece. 2 of his 4 children predeceased him including Jon-Michael who is mentioned in this article. His other deceased son is Don Preece, and his surviving son is Gary Preece.