‘Airwolf’ star Jan-Michael Vincent has died

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent has died at the age of 73. As reported by TMZ, a death certificate indicates that Vincent died on Feb. 10 following a cardiac arrest. Though many are reporting the age of death to be 74, this death certificate — stating his date of birth as July 15, 1945 — suggests otherwise. After Vincent’s passing, no autopsy was performed, and the actor was cremated.

Best known as the star of the hit 1980s series “Airwolf,” Vincent’s other notable roles include one he played opposite Burt Reynolds in 1978’s “Hopper,” and opposite Kim Basinger in “Hard Country” in 1981. His final appearance was in 2002’s “White Boy.”

Vincent kicked off his career in show business when he was contacted by a talent scout in the late 1960s. At the time, he was finishing up a stint with the California National Guard. He made his first television appearance in the 1967 TV movie “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk.” But although he found superstardom with his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in “Airwolf,” he also struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse. He spent time in both jail and rehab thanks to his substance addictions.

Despite his hardships, he remained grateful.

“I look at this now and think I have nothing to be upset about when I think about what our U.S. military go through,” he told the National Enquirer in 2014. “They’re the real heroes.”

He is survived by his third wife, Patricia Ann Vincent, whom he married in 2000, and his daughter, Amber Vincent, from his first marriage to Bonnie Portman.