Jan-Michael Vincent Net Worth

How much was Jan-Michael Vincent worth?

“I never thought about being the highest paid. I just wanted to be someone that people cared about watching, and I feel I’m a good actor.” Jan-Michael Vincent

About Jan-Michael Vincent

Jan-Michael Vincent was an American film and television actor from Colorado. He attained mainstream recognition with his role as the helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the acclaimed television series Airwolf from 1984 to 1987.

During his career in the show business, which spanned over five decades, he also took part in many other productions such as The Mechanic, Whine Line Fever, Hooper, and Big Wednesday to name a few.

Jan-Michael Vincent received fame when he joined the cast of the popular 1980s series Airwolf. He was born in Denver, Colorado on July 15, 1944. He spent most of his childhood in different locations because of his father (Lloyd Vincent) that worked in the United States Army. His mother, Doris Jane, was a part-time model and worked as a crew member for various television projects. Vincent attended various elementary and high schools but spent most of his time in Hanford.

After his graduation from the Hanford High School in 1963, he attended the Ventura College for three years. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he began working as a California Army National Guard and remained there until 1971. Prior to that, he ventured into an acting career and won a few auditions. His first appearance on television was in the year 1967 as part of the adventure and mystery film The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk. That year, he also took part in the television series Lassie and The Bandits.

As well as the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film Big Wednesday. He also starred as Byron Henry in The Winds of War.

While Jan-Michael Vincent earned millions of dollars during his career, by the time of his death he was left with very little. His battle with alcoholism and a seeming disrespect for the law that landed him in repeated legal trouble in his personal life. We have no first hand knowledge of any of Vincent’s alleged crimes, however Wikipedia has listed offenses that go all the way back to 1977. Which coincides with the year of his finalized divorce from Bonnie Portman.

Not only has Vincent been arrested for illegal drugs, but also for bar brawls in 1984 and 1985. Then in 1986, he was charged with assault. Then in 1995 he had to pay a $374,000 default judgment to his ex-girlfriend, according to Daily Mail. Then in 1996 he was charged with drunk driving again following an accident, eventually being placed on probation and sentenced to a $2,000 fine, and rehab.

Jan-Michael Vincent earned a substantial amount of money and was/is considered a genius actor. Jan-Michael earned an estimated $500,000 adjusted for inflation at the peak of the Airwolf series. However like with so many men of great genius they often struggle with addiction. By the age of 74, he died with an estimated net worth of only a couple of hundred thousand.

Becoming a full-time actor and landing roles in various projects is what made Jan-Michael Vincent. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he landed recurring roles on the likes of Bonanza, The Undefeated, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, and The Mechanic.

Thanks to his acting abilities, he was able to earn an estimated $75,000. His first main role on a television series came in the short-lived 1969 series The Survivors, from which he received an an estimated $20,000. To give you an idea, that’s about the equivalent of $155,000 in 2022 inflation adjusted dollars today.

Vincent’s breakthrough came in the 1984 action military drama Airwolf, where he was given the leading role of Stringfellow (String) Hawke. He appeared on three seasons of the show from 1984 to 1986 and earn himself as much as an estimated $500,000 per episode in its peak, and adjusted for inflation.

He spent the next two decades working in the series Hotel, Six Against the Rock, Tarzan in Manhattan, and Renegade, as well as the films Hard Country, Last Plane Out, and Get Out of My Room. By the last years of the century, the actor’s net worth could have been as high as an estimated $10 million in the early ’90s.

In his time, he had the perfect look, simply ideal for TV. In 1995, he made his producing debut in the action thriller Red Line, where he also had a supporting role. Around the same time, he worked in other productions – Singapore Sling, Renegade, Body Count, The Last Kill, Lethal Orbit, and Jurassic Women. His last roles came in the early 2000s in the films Escape to Grizzly Mountain, The Thundering 8th, and White Boy.

Apart from his work in various television projects, the personal life of the eminent actor has been a hot topic highlighted by the news and media. At the end of his acting career, he had two more marriages both ending in divorce and battled alcoholism and derailed by drug use, according to LA Times. In this same linked article it says that while Jan-Michael Vincent was a golden boy of 1970s Hollywood action films and star of the TV adventure series Airwolf. His erratic behavior and cocaine consumption was a reason the show was canceled.

After his retirement from acting, prior to his passing away in February 2019, he had several appearances on the documentaries Biography, Chop Suey, and Hollywood Don’t Surf!. His last role was on an episode of the television series Studio 10 from March 2016.

Summing-Up

Jan-Michael Vincent is a well-known film (and television) actor that began his career during his twenties in the late 1960s. At the time of his death in 2019, Jan-Michael Vincent’s net worth was only an estimated $150 thousand dollars. Which is surprising considering he earned many millions of dollars during his career. However not so surprising when you take into account his battle with alcoholism and multiple linked arrests.

Vincent had to spend nearly two decades to finally break through with his career. In 1983, he won the leading role of the supernatural series Airwolf, where he remained for three of the fours seasons the show was on the air. He continued to partake in multiple television projects until the early 2000s.

Despite failing to achieve international popularity or win prestigious awards (such as Academy or Golden Globes), this television star still managed to earn millions from his talent and land roles in over 50 critically acclaimed films and television series. However unfortunately owing to a number of personal problems and legal troubles he died with an estimated $150,000 to his name.

“I’m sure I’ve been in an accident because I’m wild and crazy and go too fast, but I don’t remember having an accident.” Jan-Michael Vincent