Biography
Ventura City College grad Jan-Michael Vincent had just finished serving in the National Guard when he was tapped for potential film stardom by a talent agent. At first billed simply as
Michael Vincent, the novice actor's "official" screen debut was the 1968 western Journey to Shiloh, though in fact he'd already had a shakedown cruise, as it were, in the Mexican film
Los Bandidos (1967). He went on to co-star in the "Danger Island" segment of Hanna-Barbera's Saturday morning TV show The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, and in the prime time serial
The Survivors (1969) before graduating to stardom as the hippie-dippie Marine recruit in the popular TV movie
Tribes (1970). Subsequent film assignments like
The Mechanic (1972) and
Bite the Bullet (1975) seemed to bode well for his future as a "reluctant hero" action star, while his work in such productions as
Buster and Billie (1974) proved that he had an acting range far beyond that of your usual beefcake hunk. Jan-Michael Vincent enjoyed a successful run as taciturn maverick pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series
Airwolf (1984-86) before becoming a fixture in such direct-to-video yarns like
Hidden Obsession and
Indecent Behavior (both 1993). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide