To millions of viewers, he will be remembered most as Stringfellow Hawke, the lead protagonist of CBS' Airwolf, but by then, Jan-Michael Vincent had logged a lengthy career in television & film.
To millions of kids in 1968, Vincent was Lincoln Simmons, a student assistant to Professor Irwin Hayden (Frank Aletter) in the serial, Danger Island, a component of NBC's Banana Splits. His film credits included "The Mechanic" (w/Charles Bronson), "Baby Blue Marine", and the ABC Movie of The Week entry, "Tribes" (with Darren McGavin), which was released under a different title overseas.
Vincent's run on Airwolf came to an end when CBS cancelled the show due to Vincent's drug issues, but the show moved to USA Cable without Vincent for one final season. His last TV appearance was a guest shot on Nash Bridges in 1997.
Vincent passed away last month at 74 due to cardiac arrest, but his passing has only reached news services today.
Edit, 5/21/19: Dailymotion deleted the Airwolf episode previously posted. In its place is a clip from Dragnet, during its 1960's run on NBC. This might've been what got Jan-Michael cast on Danger Island:
Rest in peace.
Part of my youth for DANGER ISLAND alone, as those BANANA SPLITS reruns were ubiquitous after school in the 70s. Of course, so was HOOPER, since every Burt Reynolds movie was a must-see in 1978. That was one terrific performance in TRIBES, another classic made for TV film from 1970, very solidly directed by Joseph Sargent and a likely influence on FULL METAL JACKET.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya on the Splits, Hal.
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