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Thread: RIP Jan-Michael Vincent

  1. #1
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    RIP Jan-Michael Vincent

    Actor Jan-Michael Vincent died 10 Feb at age 74 of heart disease in a North Carolina hospital. His long career included many films and television appearances, but he is best remembered by me for his role in The Mechanic with Charles Bronson. Rest in peace.

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    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    I was in Navy Technical School while he was on Airwolf. We would comment on how he had a "sat" (satisfactory) military haircut, not often seen on '80s television.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  3. #3
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    RIP.

    I remember him in White Line Fever.

  4. #4
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    He died over a month ago but his family withheld the news till the other day.

    I don't mind waxing fanboy over JMV. Who didn't dig the dude in kickass movies like The Mechanic, Big Wednesday, Hooper, Tribes (with the great Darren McGavin as the drill sergeant), and — that's right — Damnation Alley (sue me, I love it).

    Then he found further success, if short-lived, as Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf. His 250K/week salary was big, big bucks back then. JMV apparently had a heli-pilot license, too!

    Unfortunately, JMV's alcohol abuse got the better of him. And he was never the same after his 1996 auto accident. His last movie was in 2002.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by dropforge View Post
    H

    I don't mind waxing fanboy over JMV. Who didn't dig the dude in kickass movies like The Mechanic, Big Wednesday, Hooper, Tribes (with the great Darren McGavin as the drill sergeant), and — that's right — Damnation Alley (sue me, I love it).

    Then he found further success, if short-lived, as Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf.
    Don't forget The World's Greatest Athlete!

    Hooper was the Burt Reynolds picture about the stunt men, right? I think I saw that when I was like 10.

    Tribes I think I saw sometime in the 90's, think I saw it on A&E. That was a good one.

    Damnation Alley is a pretty cool movie too. How can you go wrong with something that shares it's title with a Hawkwind song?!


    Quote Originally Posted by dropforge View Post
    Unfortunately, JMV's alcohol abuse got the better of him. And he was never the same after his 1996 auto accident. His last movie was in 2002.
    Yeah, I remember reading that after Airwolf, he kinda fell into a black hole there, a bit. I don't know if it was the '96 accident, but I recall hearing that he got banged up in a wreck, just before he was schedule to start work on one movie, so he incorporated his injuries, walking with a cane, etc into the role.

  6. #6
    He could have been huge. Maybe the last of Hollywood royalty, he certainly seemed groomed, was at the right place at the right time, worked with a lot of legends, had great looks- women loved him, most guys just thought he was a cool actor. Certainly had his demons that derailed a hugely promusing career. Not just an alchoholic but I can only imagine the coke problem he developed. Those who watched him later when he wasn't the pretty-boy, in demand actor, were not only saddened of what he became, but probably really shocked he made it to seventy-four. Who would have thought? I read it before and just again the orher day, but he also had part ( how much? I don't know ) part if his leg amputated to save his life.

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Yep, he could have been huge. At least he kept working, albeit in smaller and lesser films. I hope he sobered up at some point so he could enjoy life. RIP.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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    Member FrippWire's Avatar
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    I was bummed to hear the news of his passing. I really appreciated him in his Airwolf days because back then people would comment how much we looked alike and that always made me feel good. Thanks, JMV!

  9. #9
    Always will remember him in Bronson's Mechanic.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by nycsteve View Post
    Always will remember him in Bronson's Mechanic.
    Yes, that was a good movie.

    Truth be told, even though I've seen parts of Death Wish movies dozens of times ( Complete movies many,many times ), if I accidentally come across one, it's almost guaranteed, esp. if the wife and kid are asleep in bed, I'm going to have to stay up and watch it. ;-) Charlie was one of my illogical favorites.

  11. #11
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    I'm a Charles Bronson fanboy. Yes, the Death Wish sequels (third and on) are bandied about as a sort of punchline to his career, but he made many fine movies.

    Here's one of CB's best. He's already in his fifties and looks solid as a rock. I wager he'd easily put down many of Hollywood's modern "tough guys."


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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I never saw the Bronson Mechanic, just the remake from a few years ago which of course had more explosions. There was a really nice turntable and vinyl collection though.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  13. #13
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Damnation Alley is a pretty cool movie too. How can you go wrong with something that shares it's title with a Hawkwind song?!
    Based on Zelazny's novel, which the film is adapted from.

  14. #14
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    I never saw the Bronson Mechanic, just the remake from a few years ago which of course had more explosions.
    It's not a patch on the original.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by dropforge View Post
    Based on Zelazny's novel, which the film is adapted from.
    Well, yes, and also the inspiration of the Hawkwind song (Hawkwind had several songs that shared titles with Zelazny's work, including Lords Of Light, and Jack Of Shadows...dammit, I just realized I never finished reading Jack Of Shadows).
    I'm a Charles Bronson fanboy. Yes, the Death Wish sequels (third and on) are bandied about as a sort of punchline to his career, but he made many fine movies.
    I happen to rather like the Death Wish pictures. Sure, they're ridiculous, not exactly "great cinema" but they're highly entertaining in their own way. I mean, how can you not love a movie where the protagonist dispatches a mobster with this line:

    "Hey, Freddie! I'm gonna fix your dandruff problem for ya!"

    And then Freddie starts screaming, like a little girl, even before he flips the switch on the detonator.

    I'm sorry, I'm just tired of movies about criminals who get away with heinous acts, like the Godfather. For me, ti was refreshing to see something where these guys not only get their comeuppance, but they get it in suitably memorable fashion.

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    By the time you get through the Godfather II it's pretty apparent that no one got away with anything. There was always a price to be paid.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    By the time you get through the Godfather II it's pretty apparent that no one got away with anything. There was always a price to be paid.
    I dunno, I got the impression both Vito and Michael get away with murder several times over in the two movies.

  18. #18
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    One could argue that Vito escaped unscathed but losing a son pretty much took the stuffing out of him. He's a shadow of his former self when he dies in the garden. Michael survives as well, but he takes his own body blows. He has to kill his own brother, his wife aborts rather than give him another child. By the end of II he's alone in the world, facing that he has become the monster that in the beginning of the films he didn't want to be. He's rich, he has escaped the law, but the cost is too great and his soul has been forfeited. And he has just enough self-awareness to realize that.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  19. #19
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Well, yes, and also the inspiration of the Hawkwind song (Hawkwind had several songs that shared titles with Zelazny's work, including Lords Of Light, and Jack Of Shadows...dammit, I just realized I never finished reading Jack Of Shadows).
    Yes. What I said.

    I happen to rather like the Death Wish pictures. Sure, they're ridiculous, not exactly "great cinema" but they're highly entertaining in their own way. I mean, how can you not love a movie where the protagonist dispatches a mobster with this line:

    "Hey, Freddie! I'm gonna fix your dandruff problem for ya!"
    I love that scene.


  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by dropforge View Post
    Yes. What I said.
    Sometimes I think my high school let me graduate just to get me off their hands. How else do you explain someone with absolutely zero reading comprehension being given a diploma?

    (Emily Lintilla mode) Ohhhh....never mind! (Emily Lintilla mode off)


    I love that scene.
    Me too. Another good one is in the fourth movie, when he lures the two crime families into meeting out in the desert. He sits on a hill with a sniper rifle, fires one single shot, I think he hits a guy in the leg or something, and the rest is just a blood bath.

  21. #21
    Member lak611's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    Sometimes I think my high school let me graduate just to get me off their hands. How else do you explain someone with absolutely zero reading comprehension being given a diploma?

    (Emily Lintilla mode) Ohhhh....never mind! (Emily Lintilla mode off)




    Me too. Another good one is in the fourth movie, when he lures the two crime families into meeting out in the desert. He sits on a hill with a sniper rifle, fires one single shot, I think he hits a guy in the leg or something, and the rest is just a blood bath.
    You certainly seem to have read a lot about music from your posts on this board, which is evident given the fact that you are too young to have personally experienced that which you describe in your posts.

    So do you feel that your teachers were correct or incorrect?

    Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
    Laura

  22. #22
    Member mnprogger's Avatar
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    Being an 80's kid, I knew him in Airwolf.

    Also albeit a small role, I liked him in Buffalo'66.

    RIP.

  23. #23
    [QUOTE=mnprogger;887494)

    Also albeit a small role, I liked him in Buffalo'66.

    RIP.[/QUOTE]

    Almost everything thing here on P.E. is YES-related/ six degrees of YES. ;-)

  24. #24
    I read that one of his Airwolf young cast members got killed during filming and that set him off on his downward spiral.

  25. #25
    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    I remember a movie of his from the late 60s or early 70s called Tribes. It was about a pacifist hippie (JMV) who gets drafted and the trouble between him and his drill sergeant. Not goofy like Gomer Pyle. Haven't seen it since it was first aired.
    Lou

    Looking forward to my day in court.

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