Jan-Michael Vincent – Airwolf star has died at 73

Jan-Michael Vincent, star of the brilliant ’80s TV series Airwolf has died at the age of 73, but a lot of people are quoting today as the date of death…. when it’s actually February 10th 2019.

Yes, he died at a hospital in North Carolina, following a cardiac arrest, but for reasons not disclosed, his death has only just been announced today.

Airwolf was such a fantastic show, and with great chemistry between the leads, Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine, the latter of whom played Dominic Santini – the first time I saw a character on TV who had the same name as me and made it cool! 😉

After three seasons from 1984-1986, the programme was cancelled by CBS following continuing low ratings, creator Donald P Bellisario having left (albeit after season 2) and Jan-Michael Vincent’s continuing problems with alcoholism. Once the USA Network picked it up, they had their own plans about how to go about it… which included getting rid of the entire cast! Why such a drastic move?!!!

Sadly, Mr Vincent never reached quite the dizzy heights of fame and popularity ever again, but I’ll never forget the fun of the show while he was at the helm, and it also spawned an exceptionally difficult videogame of the same name in 1984, and a sequel, Airwolf II, in 1986. I must’ve played the sequel at some point, but it’s the original I most remember.

News reports state that no autopsy was performed and Jan-Michael Vincent was later cremated, and this does seem odd because even when my grandfather died at 84, the doctors still performed an autopsy. Perhaps things are different in the US? If anyone knows, please comment below to let me know.

This tops off one hell of a week following the deaths of Keith Flint, Luke Perry and Magenta Devine.

Below, check out videos of both the intro to Airwolf, but also gameplay walkthroughs from the both videogames.

RIP Jan-Michael Vincent 🙁

---

---

---

---