The “True Hollywood Tragedy” Of Actor Jan-Michael Vincent…
I have worked in the entertainment industry for decades, and I have seen people achieve great success…but many others who achieve fame ultimately self-destruct when the spotlight turns away…
This is the sad story of the life of Jan-Michael Vincent, who at one point was Hollywood’s “Golden Boy” before descending into a troubled life.
He was born in 1944 in Denver, and went to Hollywood in the late 60’s, where he was put under contract to Universal Studios and was featured in a number of TV shows.
Vincent had some great film roles in the 70’s.
Here are words uttered by Vincent in the iconic surfing film “Big Wednesday.”
“I don’t wanna be a star. Have my picture in magazines, have a bunch of kids looking up to me. I’m a drunk, Bear, a screw up. I just surf cause its good to go out and ride with your friends. I don’t even have that anymore.”
Jan-Michael Vincent’s Hollywood story is a familiar one: a handsome young Actor gets discovered, makes several hit films in a row and becomes the next “Hollywood Golden Boy”…
Vincent’s breakout hit was alongside Charles Bronson, one of the 70’s biggest action stars…in the 1972 hit film “The Mechanic”.
Vincent exuded raw sexuality and confidence as the young hit man who learns from the grizzled veteran Bronson…
“You always have to be dead sure. Dead sure or dead!”
Check out the trailer for this terrific action thriller:
“The Mechanic” was a smash hit, and Vincent was in demand, quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars. He cemented his stardom with a slew of other hits, including this muscular action movie:
White Line Fever – 1975
It’s a classic “B” action film, with Vincent a returning vet who stands up to corrupt forces in his hometown. He got the chance to fight bad guys while charming the ladies…
“Surf’s Up!”
Finally, Vincent’s stardom was secured with the iconic 1978 surfing movie, “Big Wednesday”.
As I noted before, the film included this line:
“I don’t wanna be a star. Have my picture in magazines, have a bunch of kids looking up to me. I’m a drunk, Bear, a screw up. I just surf cause its good to go out and ride with your friends. I don’t even have that anymore.”
The Actor’s words from that movie are sadly prescient.
Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Busey and William Katt are three young California surfers in the 1960s. After a carefree life of beaches, girls, and waves, the Vietnam war arrives to shatter their idyllic lives.
The title “Big Wednesday,” is the mythical day for surfers when the greatest, cleanest, and most transcendent wave of all will come for them to conquer.
By the 80’s, Vincent switched to TV and starred in the hit TV series:
Airwolf!
According to a great article on the actor in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, by the mid-80s, Vincent was earning $40,000 an episode as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the top rated television series Airwolf.
Yet even while filming the TV show, Vincent had admitted to issues with drugs and alcohol and admits that he still struggles with alcoholism.
According to the newspaper, “when the show ended in 1986, acting roles dried up for Vincent as his demons got the better of him.
He also suffered his fair share of bad luck including two serious car accidents. In the first incident in 1996, Vincent broke three vertebrae in his neck and sustained a permanent injury to his vocal cords that left him with a permanently raspy voice.”
The newspaper pointed to a second crash that occurred in 2008, and then in 2012 he contracted a leg infection as a result of complications from peripheral artery disease.
‘An infection in my leg got steadily worse,’ he told The Enquirer. ‘I felt like I was beaten with a whip.’
Vincent’s third wife, Anna, admitted that doctors were left with no option but to amputate the lower half of his right leg.
Once an avid surfer, his other great wish was to get out on the waves once again – a sad end to what had been such a “golden” life.
The Actor died in 2017, and it was a sad and strange end to his life.
As TMZ reported:
Jan-Michael Vincent — the ’80s heartthrob best known for his role on TV’s “Airwolf” — has died … TMZ has learned.
Jan-Michael actually died back on February 10 after suffering cardiac arrest while a patient at a North Carolina hospital … according to the death certificate. We’re told no autopsy was performed and he was later cremated.
So, had actually died almost a month before it was reported…at the age of 74.
Vincent’s story isn’t unusual: Hollywood is a tough town, and it has taken many great artists. It’s a very sad end indeed.
Actress Carol Wayne also was a “True Hollywood Tragedy”…she was a regular on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” before being found dead on a Mexican beach…here is her tragic story:
And here’s the true story of a murdered mobster and a movie star!
See it here:
If you like these stories, you can go to my website’s front page and sign on to follow me – there are NO ads at all, just lots of stories to come about the wild world of exploitation and cult films!
Click here and see the “follow” button on the upper right!
Sign up to get more stories about Hollywood, and if you like this story, please share to your social media!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities, True Hollywood Mystery, TV Show
johnrieber 
A real tragedy! Favorite Jan-Michael Vincent movies: Going Home (1971), The Mechanic (1972), Bite the Bullet (1975), White Line Fever (1975), Hooper (1978), and Defiance (1980).
LikeLiked by 1 person
He was on a role in the 70’s to be sure…sadly, this happens so often in entertainment…look at Matthew Perry…great wealth and fame from a TV show and he ends upon OD victim…
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a shame!
LikeLike
I always really liked him and he was such a charmer, how sad his ending
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, happens a lot in Hollywood….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember him well. I didn’t know anything about his sad downfall, an unfortunately fairly common tale for celebrities.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a shame. I always liked him and Kier Dullea back then.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes they were the brightest stars of that time, weren’t hey? It’s tough in this business: so many temptations, and so many struggles to find work once the spotlight leaves…he left behind some great movies. Thanks for the comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘The Mechanic’ was good entertainment, and the remake wasn’t terrible either. I suppose JMV sums up the old saying, ‘The Price Of Fame’. Sad though.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
They’ve been running Airwolf over here lately. Such a sad end to a talented guy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the comment…his content lives forever…he had such a sad end…
LikeLiked by 1 person