by Nathaniel R
Some stars burn bright and endure, others flame out. The latter was the case with Jan-Michael Vincent, a rising star of movies and television in the 1970s. He's best remembered today from his leading role in the TV series "Airwolf" but afterwards it was low profile movies (the kind we used to call "straight to video" - there doesn't seem to be a unified term for those movies anymore) and an increasingly diminished profile, his last screen performance coming in 2002. He died in February at 73 years old and the news was only just released a full month later...
White Line Fever (1975) was one of his very first top-billed rolesHis career started with small appearances in movies and on TV in the late '60s. He was in demand by the '70s sometimes paired with bigger stars like Charles Bronson (The Mechanic) and Burt Reynolds (Hopper). Though he would subsequently not age well (due in no small part to addiction issues) he was a boyish thirtysomething by the time he started getting leading roles playing rebellious young men.
For all his promise, drugs, alcohol, bad choices and subsequent multiple health problems (including a crushed voice box and a leg amputation) derailed his career. Just as soon as he'd risen he was replaced in Hollywood's imagination by the likes of Dennis Quaid (who came to fame in the late 70s) and then Brad Pitt a decade later and so on. The point being that golden boys with impish grins and swagger are not uncommon in Hollywood. It takes more than talent to maintain a healthy high profile acting career.
Some key projects:
THE MECHANIC (1972)
Paired with Charles Bronson. Hollywood has always loved to pair rising male stars with established older male stars, as if they're passing the torch. Remember when Tom Cruise was doing this early on working with Hoffman, Newman, Duvall and more.
BABY BLUE MARINE (1976)
He got the full star treatment for this drama which was shot by László Kovács of Five Easy Pieces/Easy Rider fame.
BIG WEDNESDAY (1978)
This well-liked surfer film paired him with William Katt (fresh off of Carrie, and later the star of the TV series "Great American Hero") and the not-yet infamous Gary Busey.
HARD COUNTRY (1981)
Paired with Kim Basinger in her feature film debut.
AIRWOLF (1984-1987)
The three season series with Ernest Borgnine. In the 80s, TV series were not something in-demand film stars did. It essentially meant "stepping down" (times have considerably changed). Vincent was said to be the top paid star on television at the time with somewhere around $200,000 an episode.
While Airwolf proved the peak of his career fame-wise, he never recovered after the cancellation, moving almost immediately into the then popular straight-to-video erotic thriller or lowbudget violent action subgenres of movies.
He made only one "reputable" movie after that...
BUFFALO '66 (1998)
Director/star Vincent Gallo corralled a lot of interesting actors into his strange indie with Christina Ricci, including Ben Gazzarra, Anjelica Huston, Rosanna Arquette, and Jan-Michael Vincent. If you ever get a chance to see this one, do. Christina Ricci is fabulous in it.
Do you have any memories of this career? If you're younger do you even know who he is? Showbiz careers can be cruel.