Biography

Jan-Michael Vincent

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Overview

Born
July 15, 1945 · Denver, Colorado, USA
Died
February 10, 2019 · Asheville, North Carolina, USA (cardiac arrest)
Height
5′ 9½″ (1.77 m)

Biography

Virile, handsome and square-jawed youthful star of the 1970s and 1980s who showed early potential at super-stardom, Jan-Michael Vincent originally made a name for himself portraying rebellious young men bucking the system, as in The Tribe (1970), White Line Fever (1975) and Baby Blue Marine (1976) or as a man of action on either side of the law, as in The Mechanic (1972), Vigilante Force (1976) and The Winds of War (1983).

He was born in July 1944 in Denver, Colorado, and was finishing a stint in the National Guard when a talent scout was struck by his all-American looks. He made his first appearance on-screen in The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1967), before appearing in Journey to Shiloh (1968) and in "Danger Island" on the Hanna-Barbera kids TV show The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968). He remained very busy during the 1970s, appearing in high-profile productions alongside such stars as John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Charles Bronson, Slim Pickens and Robert Mitchum.

In 1984, Vincent was cast as Stringfellow Hawke in the helicopter action series Airwolf (1984), co-starring Ernest Borgnine. The show wrapped after three seasons and from then on he was primarily appearing in low-budget, B-grade action and sci-fi films, including Alienator (1990), The Deadly Avenger (1992), Deadly Heroes (1993) and Lethal Orbit (1996). His last film was the woeful gang movie White Boy (2002), and ongoing health issues and personal problems seemed to preclude his return to the screen.

Vincent will be best remembered by film fans as a smirking, apprentice hit man to Charles Bronson in The Mechanic (1972), as feisty "Matt" in the superb surf movie Big Wednesday (1978) with Gary Busey and William Katt, or as rebel trucker Carol Jo Hummer battling corruption in White Line Fever (1975).
- IMDb mini biography by: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Family

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Trivia

Suffered permanent damage to his voice after getting into a near-fatal auto accident in 1996 that resulted in a broken neck. Paramedics had to insert a tube down his throat and the tube damaged one of his vocal cords.
In 2012 Vincent had to have the lower half of his right leg amputated due to a leg infection he contracted because of complications from peripheral artery disease. Vincent now has a prosthetic right foot and sometimes has to use a wheelchair to get around.
He held a helicopter pilot license back in the 1980s.
In an interview in 2007, he was asked about his 1996 car accident. His answer was "Y'know, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't remember being in an accident.".
During his time in the California Army National Guard, he was a helicopter mechanic.

Quotes

[September 2007, on being told he was bigger than Brad Pitt during his day] I don't even know who Brad Pitt is.
[September 2007, on being told he was one of the highest paid people on TV] This is the first time I ever thought about that. I never thought about being the highest paid. I just wanted to be someone that people cared about watching and I feel I'm a good actor.