Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1945 – February 10, 2019) was an American screen actor widely known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the television series Airwolf (1984–86) and as the protagonist, Matt Johnson, of the 1978 film Big Wednesday. In an interview that took place on October 24, 2014, with National Enquirer, Vincent revealed that his right leg was amputated just below the knee in 2012 after he contracted a leg infection as a result of complications from peripheral artery disease. After that he walked with a prosthetic limb, although he was sometimes forced to use a wheelchair.[19] He also revealed he had a tax debt in excess of $70,000. Vincent died on February 10, 2019 in Asheville, North Carolina following a cardiac arrest while being hospitalized; his death was not publicly announced until March 8. In 1967, after finishing a tour of duty in the California Army National Guard, Vincent's first acting job was in the movie The Bandits (aka Los Bandidos), co-directed by and starring Robert Conrad. In the late 1960s he was signed to Universal Studios and appeared in several television series. He made an appearance on the Dragnet 1968 episode "The Grenade" as a muscular high school student who suffered an acid attack by a mentally unstable classmate (played by Mickey Sholdar). He also appeared in the Danger Island segments of Hanna-Barbera's The Banana Splits series as Link (1968–69). Vincent's first starring role was in the fall of 1969 in the prime-time soap opera The Survivors, alongside Lana Turner and George Hamilton; the series was canceled mid-season. Vincent also performed in several movies in that period, such as the 1969 Twentieth Century Fox movie The Undefeated (as Bubba Wilkes) starring John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Antonio Aguilar. His name appeared as Michael Vincent in the credits of the movie. Vincent guest-starred in three episodes of Lassie with actor Tony Dow and two episodes of Bonanza.
Vincent worked with Traci Lords in the 1991 suspense film Raw Nerve. He also co-starred with Clint Howard in the 1996 black comedy/horror film Ice Cream Man, which had very limited theatrical release but did eventually reach cult status via home video as an unintentional comedy. In 1994, he played in a South African produced movie called Ipi Tombi produced and directed by Tommie Meyer based on a musical by Bertha Egnos While in the hospital in 1996, Vincent was committed to a role in Red Line with Chad McQueen as Keller. He appeared in the film with a swollen face and scars, and still wearing his hospital ID bracelet. In 1997, he had a small guest role on Nash Bridges, playing the title character's long-lost brother, and in 1998 he had a cameo in the independent film Buffalo '66. His most recent movie roles included the independent film White Boy, also titled Menace (for the U.S. video version), released in March 2003.
