Jan-Michael Vincent death: Airwolf actor passes away aged 74

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent has died at the age of 74.

The star, who was best known for playing pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series Airwolf, died on February 10 according to a death certificate obtained by US publication TMZ.

Born in Denver, Colorado in 1944, Vincent was a member of the California Army National Guard when he was spotted by a talent scout, and began his screen career in 1967 with an appearance in Hardy Boys adaptation The Mystery of the Chinese Junk and a part in war film The Bandits.

He received critical plaudits for his turn in the TV movie Tribes in 1970. He went on to star opposite Robert Mitchum in Going Home and alongside Charles Bronson in The Mechanic.

In 1983, he starred in the TV adaptation of Golden Globe-nominated World War II epic The Winds Of War and landed his biggest role to date when he was cast as Hawke in the action series Airwolf.

His salary for the series was reportedly $200,000 per episode, thought to be the highest received by any actor in American television at the time.

Following his success on Airwolf, Vincent sought out smaller roles, and his final screen appearance came in the 2002 film White Boy

In a 2014 interview with the National Enquirer, the actor revealed that he had had his right leg amputated just below the knee in 2012, after contracting a leg infection following complications from peripheral artery disease.

He is survived by his third wife, Patricia Ann Christ.