Many of us remember the popular series “Airwolf” which aired in the 1980s. Jan-Michael Vincent played the role of the pilot, Stringfellow Hawke in the Television series and starred with Ernest Borgnine. The bad news is that Vincent has passed away at the age of 74 in a hospital in North Carolina.

TMZ reports that Vincent died on 10 February from cardiac arrest, but his death has only now been reported in the media after TMZ acquired the death certificate.

Career of Jan-Michael Vincent

Jan-Michael Vincent was born on 15 July 1945 in Denver, Colorado, and passed away on 10 February 2019 at the age of 74 in Asheville, North Carolina.

As noted by the BBC, besides his role as Stringfellow Hawke in the popular “Airwolf” series, Vincent also played a stuntman in the 1978 Film “Hooper” opposite Burt Reynolds. Vincent starred with Victoria Principal and Kris Kristofferson in the 1976 movie “Going Home.” He also starred in the 1978 surfer movie “Big Wednesday.” In 1981, he starred opposite Kim Basinger in “Hard Country.” Vincent’s final movie was the gang film “White Boy” in 2002. According to iMDB, he starred in many more films.

Vincent won Golden Globe nominations for his role in the 1971 film “Going Home” and a 1983 TV miniseries, “Winds of War.”

Vincent and ‘Airwolf’

While his career was wide-ranging, he is still best-known for his character in the action series “Airwolf” which launched in 1984 and ran for a number of seasons.

His Stringfellow Hawke character flew an advanced helicopter and was known for pulling off amazing, aerobatic crime-fighting manoeuvres. However, ironically he could also play the cello.

The Guardian quotes Vincent as saying in an interview that his character Stringfellow was “stiff,” but that as the series continued they did “loosen him some.” Vincent said Hawke would sometimes crack a smile and make a joke.

He continued by saying even Clint Eastwood had mellowed somewhat, but that he would never be Burt Reynolds.

Vincent’s troubled personal life

While Vincent’s demeanour resembled a relaxed surfer, he had many problems during his troubled life. In 1997 he pleaded guilty to a drink-driving accident and was sentenced to a rehab programme.

In the accident, he broke his neck but survived to tell the tale.

Vincent was also charged in various barroom brawls in the 1980s, where he received probation in one case and an acquittal in another. He was also acquitted for hitting a woman in 1986. Vincent also had to spend 60 days behind bars for assaulting his girlfriend in 2000 and being drunk in public and for violating his probation.

Vincent had three marriages during his life, the first with Bonnie Poorman in 1968 where he got divorced in 1977. The next was Joanne Robinson, who he married in 1986 and divorced in 1999. His third marriage was to Patricia Ann Christ who he married in 2000 and who survives him. Vincent had one child.
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