Jan-Michael Vincent was one of Hollywood’s hottest hunks—but a life of excess grounded this Airwolf.
1. He Went From Handsome To Horrifying
Jan-Michael Vincent was the 1980s heartthrob most famous for portraying Stringfellow Hawke in the popular TV series Airwolf. His muscled, beach-ready body and classic all-American looks catapulted him to stardom. But his addictions, violent behavior, and dumb bad luck took him from handsome to horrifying just as quickly.
2. He Had Bad Blood
Vincent had tragedy written into his DNA. He was born in Denver, Colorado in July 1944 to Lloyd Whiteley Vincent and Doris Jane. His father had served in the US Army during WWII as a pilot. But, there was nothing strait-laced about his family. In fact, Jan-Michael’s father’s side of the family had a dark and violent history.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984/86)
3. His Uncles Were Bad Guys
Vincent's father, Lloyd, might have served honorably in the US Army during WWII, but he came from bad seeds. As it turns out, Jan-Michael’s grandfather and uncles had staged numerous bank heists throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Ultimately, his uncles met bloody ends at the hands of law enforcement—but Jan-Michael carried on their rebellious tradition.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
4. He Was Always A Rebel
Even at the height of his fame, when he had everything to lose but nothing to live for, Jan-Michael refused to play by the rules. His bad boy behavior had started very early. Growing up, he resented the strict control that the US Army exerted over his father. By contrast, his grandfather seemed like a loving, if radical, free spirit.
He really didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
5. He Turned His Back On His Father
Jan-Michael wanted to be much more like his grandfather than his straightlaced father. In an interview with People magazine, he revealed how he had strayed from the life his father had set out for him. After graduating high school in 1963, his father asked him to take over the family’s sign shop.
“I put my surfboard in the car,” he said, “and left”.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
6. He Went On A Mexican Fiesta
After dipping out on his dad, Jan-Michael attended Ventura College—but that wasn’t very exciting. As Jan-Michael recalled, “I would have completed college, but the registration clerk literally shut the window in my face for the lunch hour”. With his $200 in tuition fees in hand, he embarked on a wild and reckless Mexican escapade.
And his partying days had only just begun.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
7. He Followed In His Father’s Footsteps
Without a formal education, Jan-Michael ended up right where he didn’t want to be: following in his father’s footsteps. After his Mexican madness, Jan-Michael joined the California Army National Guard, much like his father had joined the US Army. Service for his country, however, wasn’t the only thing that Jan-Michael shared in common with his father.
Twentieth Century Fox,Damnation Alley (1977)
8. He Had His Father’s Looks
At the height of his fame in the 1980s, Jan-Michael was very likely the most attractive star in all of Hollywood—or even the night sky. While he hadn’t inherited his father’s discipline, he did inherit something even better. His rugged, jaw-dropping, eye-popping, tongue-wagging good looks. He even stood out amongst other beautiful people.
Twentieth Century Fox,Damnation Alley (1977)
9. He Was A Beach Babe
The California beaches of the 1960s had hard-bodied beauties—tanned and toned from surfing—packed shoulder to shoulder. Even amongst this elite class of good looking people, however, Jan-Michael stood out. While strolling shirtless along the sand, he caught the eye of a Hollywood talent who knew his good looks would melt camera lenses.
North American Releasing, Xtro II: The Second Encounter (1991)
10. He Shot To Fame
In 1968, Jan-Michael burst onto the scene. His unbelievably good looks saw him jump the audition lines, right past the hardworking hopefuls. Without any acting experience whatsoever, he landed roles in hit series like Dragnet 1967 and Bonanza. But his sudden success in Hollywood wasn’t the only big change that came for him that year.
World Amusement Company, The Return (1980)
11. He Had A “Happy” Marriage
With his obvious good looks, lean washboard abs, and burgeoning film and television career, Jan-Michael could have had any woman he wanted. And he knew exactly the woman to choose. In 1968, he tied the knot to Bonnie Poorman—and thus began their rollercoaster romance. The two welcomed a baby girl, Amber, into the world in 1973.
They weren’t, however, a happy family.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
12. He Just Wanted To Show Off
It wasn’t long before every Hollywood producer wanted to cast Jan-Michael in their movies and shows. But he wasn’t just happy to cash in the checks. Jan-Michael turned down more lucrative opportunities to star in films that he believed in, such as 1974’s Buster and Billie. He claimed that he appreciated the “strong story and characters” but he may just have wanted to show off his…talents.
Black Creek Billie, Buster and Billie (1974)
13. He Bared It All
For the most part, critics and audiences did enjoy Jan-Michael’s performance in 1974’s Buster and Billie. But, if they didn’t write rave reviews about the cinematography, it was likely because they were distracted. In a scene that stunned (and titillated) everyone, Jan-Michael appeared totally sans his clothing, in all of his chiseled, tanned, rugged glory.
Black Creek Billie, Buster and Billie (1974)
14. He Had “Standard Equipment”
For obvious reasons (i.e., because he was simply gorgeous) Jan-Michael had no shame baring it all on screen. As he explained in a 1975 interview with Dorothy Manners, “The scene was in good taste, and I don't think I sprang any surprises on anyone”. Then, with a mischievous grin on his face, he added, “Just standard equipment”.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
15. He Was A Daredevil
Showing off his twig and berries for the world to see wasn’t the only stunt that Jan-Michael could pull off. As a risk-taker in reel and real life, he frequently attempted his own death-defying stunts, whether in water or on land. Of course, he simply expected that his paychecks would match his fearlessness—and oh boy, did they.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
16. He Made Mad Money
By the mid-1970s, Jan-Michael’s unspeakably pretty mug (and package) was popping up just about everywhere. Needless to say, he started cashing in on his Adonis-like appearance. For his role in 1977’s Damnation Alley, for example, he cashed a cool $1,000,000 check. With youth, looks, money, and fame, Jan-Michael wanted for nothing—but before long, he would lose everything.
Twentieth Century Fox,Damnation Alley (1977)
17. His Daughter Starred Alongside Him
To his adoring, drooling fans, Jan-Michael appeared to have it all, including a loving family. His daughter, Amber, even made her own silver screen debut in 1978's Big Wednesday, sharing an on-screen moment with her father. But lurking beneath Jan-Michael’s outward beauty was a beast that would destroy his career and cost him his family.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
18. His Family Fell Apart
Jan-Michael’s apparently idyllic family life was anything but perfect. In fact, the closeness that he portrayed to his daughter on screen in Big Wednesday was about as fake as a spray tan. According to various sources, Jan-Michael was estranged from his daughter for most of her life. In fact, it’s not even clear that they ever reconciled.
Jan-Michael had other passions, it seems.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
19. He Had Bad Habits
By 1980, it became apparent to Hollywood insiders that Jan-Michael’s fame had gotten the better of him. Slowly but surely, reports began to trickle out from his various film and television projects about his destructive addiction to the bottle and other intoxicating substances. Unlike his face and body, the stories about his behavior were not attractive.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
20. He Cost His Co-Stars
Jan-Michael’s addiction-fueled downward spiral might have started with 1980’s The Return, when he nearly derailed the production. Much to the dismay of the film’s director, Greydon Clark, Jan-Michael failed to show up to the set. In a desperate attempt to salvage the day, Greydon had to pull Jan-Michael’s co-stars, Cybill Shepherd and Martin Landau, out of bed.
It wouldn’t be the last time that Jan-Michael wronged his castmates.
Noxell Corporation-makers of Noxema., Wikimedia Commons
21. He Was An Airwolf
Despite his troubles, there was no denying that Jan-Michael was a hunk. A hunk that audiences still wanted to see (shirtless if possible). As such, the Hollywood hunk landed the starring role—and the one for which he would become most famous—in the hit spy/action series, Airwolf.
In it, he portrayed the high-flying pilot, Stringfellow Hawke.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984/86)
22. He Was The Highest Paid Actor
Jan-Michael might have resented his father’s strict US Army attitude, but he embodied it in Airwolf. In an ironic twist for the iconically rebellious actor, Stringfellow Hawke became his most memorable role. When the series premiered, he was making $200,000 per episode, making him the highest-paid TV actor at the time.
Sadly, he was in for a crash landing.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984-86)
23. His Addiction Got The Better Of Him
By the third season of Airwolf, Jan-Mihcael’s vices had gotten the better of him. He often showed up to set in a shocking state that had his castmates and studio executives shaking their heads. At times, he failed to remember his lines, forgot who he was working with, and could barely even stand or walk upright. The Airwolf was about to fall back to earth.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
24. He Crashed And Burned The Show
Jan-Michael’s addiction to the bottle and other substances began to cost more than he was worth to Airwolf’s producers. After just three seasons, they decided that enough was enough. They fired the Hollywood heartthrob from his own show and moved forward with an all-new cast.
As it turns out, however, Jan-Michael might not have been the biggest problem on the set.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984-86)
25. His Stunt Double Saved His Life
Jan-Michael liked to perform his own stunts but, on the set of Airwolf, it was better that he didn’t. Tragedy struck the production when, while filming an episode, Jan-Michael’s stunt double crashed a helicopter. The ensuing inferno was so intense that, despite their best efforts, the crew couldn’t reach him in time and he burned alive.
Somehow, that wasn’t even the worst tragedy associated with the production.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984/86)
26. He Was Cursed
Even after Jan-Michael’s addiction problems tanked the show, Airwolf was still a cursed project. One of the helicopters from the show found its way into the hands of German ambulance pilots. In a cruel and tragic incident, however, the helicopter crashed and claimed the lives of all three people on board.
It seemed like Jan-Michael was cursed—and it was only going to get worse.
Universal Television, Airwolf (1984/86)
27. He Lost His Wife
Airwolf wasn’t the only thing that Jan-Michael lost in 1986. Just as his career began to slip out of his hands, so did his marriage. His wife, Bonnie Poorman, had been with him from his meteoric rise to fame in the late 1960s—but she was going to let him crash and burn on his own. Based on what happened next, she definitely made the right call.
North American Releasing, Xtro Ii- The Second Encounter (1991)
28. He Was A “Menace”
Jan-Michael managed to keep the exact details of his first marriage out of the tabloids, but we can surmise that it had been an ugly relationship. Those who knew him described Jan-Michael as a “menace” whenever his addiction got the better of him. Following his divorce from Poorman, he got into several brutal bar fights.
Fortunately, he kept his pretty face. For now.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
29. He Still Had His Looks
Even with the bottle, the basuco, and the bar brawls, Jan-Michael still had the thing that mattered most to him (and everyone else)—i.e., his good looks and rocking body. As such, he had no shortage of women lining up to be the new Mrs. Jan-Michael. Shortly after divorcing Poorman (as in, later that same year), he tied the knot to Joanne Robinson.
Unsurprisingly, their marriage would not be a pleasant one.
Twentieth Century Fox,Damnation Alley (1977)
30. He Was Going To Meet A Grizzly Fate
As Jan-Michael continued his downward spiral, it seemed like he was doomed to meet a grizzly end. In 1989’s Hit List, for example, he very nearly did. According to the film’s director, William Lustig, Jan-Michael’s toxic habit of drinking and imbibing other substances on set almost turned the actor into a roadway fatality.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
31. He Tripped And Fell
Lustig recounted the story of Jan-Michael’s near-fatal, inebriated stunt. During a scene in which the handsome hunk and his co-star, Leo Rossi, run away from a vehicle on the sidewalk, Jan-Michael (clearly under the influence) slipped and fell. Fortunately, the stunt driver of the speeding car managed to bring the hunk of junk to a screeching halt before it flattened Jan-Michael.
www.lukeford.net, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
32. He Was Crazy
Working on set with Jan-Michael when his addiction had gotten the better of him proved to be dangerous for his co-stars as well. His 1987 co-star in Enemy Territory, Ray Parker Jr., for example, had a lot to say about working with the ailing actor, calling him "crazy". That was putting it mildly.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
33. He Threw Things At His Co-Stars
With his career falling apart around him, Jan-Michael doubled down on his addiction. Unfortunately, in his totally besotted state, he had a tendency to lash out. That was something that Ray Parker Jr. learned the hard way. “He hit me with the wheelchair!” Parker Jr. revealed to the media after filming Enemy Territory.
American International Pictures, Defiance (1980)
34. He Was Replaceable
Even with his addiction spiraling out of control, Jan-Michael still had an electrifying presence on screen. But not every director thought that he was worth the trouble, and some went to extreme lengths to safeguard against his condition. In 1989’s Hit List, Lustig deliberately filmed most of Jan-Michael's scenes solo, as he was convinced that he would have to replace him.
Twentieth Century Fox,Damnation Alley (1977)
35. He Didn’t Know His Lines
Lustig wasn’t the only director who had to work around Jan-Michael’s destructive and unpredictable addiction. Harry Bromley Davenport, who directed Jan-Michael in the 1991 film Xtro II: The Second Encounter, said that the former heartthrob was “extremely difficult to work with”. He had to feed Jan-Michael his lines for every scene.
It was a testament to how far he had fallen.
North American Releasing, Xtro Ii- The Second Encounter (1991)
36. He Had A Photographic Memory
At the height of his fame, Jan-Michael had been a true professional. His Airwolf co-star, Ernest Borgnine, claimed that Jan-Michael didn’t just have beauty and brawn, but a brain to match. He said that the Hollywood hunk had a “genuinely photographic memory” and only had to see a script once before filming. Sadly, his addiction took his memory away.
It would also take his beauty.
Wikimedia Commons, Greg Hernandez
37. He Crashed His Car
Audiences and producers tolerated Jan-Michael’s destructive addiction because, let’s face it, he still had the face of a hunky angel. But that all changed in 1996. While driving with his housekeeper, Jan-Michael crashed his car, severely injuring his passenger. As bad as her injuries were, however, his were much worse.
38. He Damaged His Face
Of all the wreckage and carnage from the accident, Jan-Michael’s good looks were the biggest victim. The actor suffered a broken neck and severe facial injuries. To make matters worse, paramedics had to perform an emergency medical procedure on-site to open his airways and keep him alive. There were devastating consequences.
The procedure damaged his vocal cords, leaving him with a permanently raspy voice.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
39. He Was “Redlining”
At the time of the accident, Jan-Michael had been filming Red Line. Instead of canceling the project, however, he leaned into his new, facially disfigured look. At various points in the film, he appears with a severely swollen and scarred face—and believe us, that wasn’t the makeup team’s work. Jan-Michael even wears his real hospital ID bracelet in the film.
North American Releasing, Xtro Ii- The Second Encounter (1991)
40. He Looked Like Frankenstein
Jan-Michael used the filming of Red Line as a way to process the trauma of losing his good looks. When his character first appears in the film, he points to his (genuinely disfigured) face and says that he's tired of going around looking “like Frankenstein”. You might say that he really put his heart and soul into the film.
World Amusement Company, The Return (1980)
41. He Was Totally Incoherent
Shortly after filming wrapped, Jan-Michael appeared on The Howard Stern Radio Show—his face still a puffy mess of stitches and scabs. Jan-Michael confessed to Stern that he believed his performance in Red Line was his best yet. Clearly, Stern’s audience disagreed as they later voted him “Most Incoherent Guest Of The Year”.
42. His Wife Wanted Nothing To Do With Him
Without his famous good looks, Jan-Michael’s career wasn’t the only thing circling the drain. So was his married life. In 1998, his second wife, Joanne Robinson, filed for divorce. But she wasn’t just kicking him because he was down and out on his luck—and no longer the prettiest man alive. She had a very good reason to leave him.
43. He Was A Real Monster
The earlier reports of Jan-Michael being a “menace” when he was inebriated were understatements. In her divorce filings, Robinson claimed that Jan-Michael was a monster. She accused him of attacking her multiple times and even threatening to end her life. Unbelievably, however, that wasn’t even the worst of her shocking allegations.
North American Releasing, Xtro Ii- The Second Encounter (1991)
44. His Marriage Had Been A Nightmare
Robinson further claimed in her divorce filings that Jan-Michael’s pattern of aggression and mistreatment had been going on for decades. She alleged that he had, over the course of their marriage, given her “black eyes and broken bones” and forced her into bed with him and groups of his friends.
Soon, the sordid details of his depraved life ended up in the headlines.
North American Releasing, Xtro II: The Second Encounter (1991)
45. He Couldn’t Go Back Home
Fortunately for Robinson, the court believed her claims. Before granting a divorce, the judge issued a restraining order against Jan-Michael, prohibiting him from going within 300 yards of the couple’s Malibu home. But just because Robinson was safe from Jan-Michael’s menacing behavior, didn’t mean that other women were safe.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
46. His Lawyer Saved His Life
Jan-Michael’s ex-wife wasn’t the only woman to accuse him of a savage attack. In 1986, authorities charged him in an incident that occurred at his home. Fortunately, he avoided a life behind bars after his lawyer argued that the woman tripped and fell on a telephone cord. But his rap sheet just continued to grow longer and longer.
North American Releasing, Xtro II: The Second Encounter (1991)
47. He Forced A Miscarriage
The horrifying details of Jan-Michael’s romantic life once again made headlines in 2000. A judge made a default ruling against him, ordering him to pay an ex-girlfriend $374,000. The inciting incident? The ex-girlfriend alleged that he had attacked her while she was pregnant, causing a miscarriage.
48. He Was Barely Famous Anymore
By the year 2000, Jan-Michael’s hard-living lifestyle had clearly taken its toll on him. Without his looks or his body, his acting opportunities dried up. When he appeared in Escape to Grizzly Mountain, barely anyone noticed. By then, his star had faded so badly that the animals in the film received higher billing than he did.
Patty Mooney, CC BY 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons
49. He Was Just Taking It Easy
With his career effectively over and his personal life in shambles, Jan-Michael retreated from the Hollywood spotlight. Against the odds, he managed to find love again with his third wife, Patricia Christ, and moved to a quiet home in Mississippi. When a reporter tracked him down years later, he simply said, “I’m just laying low”.
But fate wasn’t done with him yet.
50. He Lost A Limb
As a result of his decades of addiction, Jan-Michael suffered from numerous health conditions. In a haunting confession to the National Enquirer in 2014, he revealed his grim fate. In 2012, an infection, stemming from peripheral artery disease, forced him to amputate his right leg.
Once a tall, bronze beauty, he spent the remaining years of his life with a prosthetic and consigned to a wheelchair.
Broadstar Entertainment, Hidden Obsession (1993)
51. He Went Away Without A Word
Jan-Michael’s tragic story from a bulky beauty to broken-down beast serves as a cautionary tale about addiction and instant fame. When his downward spiral finally came to an end in February of 2019, no one noticed. It wasn’t until a whole month later that TMZ broke the news that the Airwolf had, at last, been laid to rest.
