The tragic downfall of 80s heartthrob Jan-Michael Vincent
Once the highest paid actor on TV, Jan-Michael Vincent now lives out his days as a recovering alcoholic who almost died two years ago after an infection forced him to have his right leg amputated.
In the mid-80s, Vincent earned $200,000 an episode as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the top rated television series Airwolf.
Yet even while filming the TV show, Vincent had admitted to issues with drugs and alcohol and admits that he still struggles with alcoholism.
When the show ended in 1986, acting roles dried up for Vincent as his demons got the better of him.
He also suffered his fair share of bad luck including two serious car accidents.
In the first incident in 1996, Vincent broke three vertebrae in his neck and sustained a permanent injury to his vocal cords that left him with a permanently raspy voice.
The second crash happened in 2008, but worse was to follow in 2012 when he contracted a leg infection as a result of complications from peripheral artery disease.
‘An infection in my leg got steadily worse,’ he told The Enquirer. ‘I felt like I was beaten with a whip.’
Vincent’s third wife, Anna, admits that doctors told her he might not survive the infection and in the end they were left with no option but to amputate the lower half of his right leg.
Pumped full of powerful pain medication, including propofol, Vincent bravely battled to stay alive.
After a month in a recovery ward, he developed another infection that forced doctors to remove even more of his right leg.
Now the ex-heartthrob walks with a prosthetic limb and is sometimes forced to use a wheelchair.
The actor also admits that he still struggles with alcoholism and won’t discuss how long he has been sober.
As well as struggles with numerous health issues, Vincent is also fighting to keep a roof over his head and he owes $70,000 in back taxes.
The couple, who live near Vicksburg, Mississippi, first meet during the actor’s Airwolf days, although they didn't marry until after they reconnected in 2000.
The troubled actor has been married twice before, first to Bonnie Poorman, his ‘college classmate sweetheart’ in 1969.
The pair had a daughter, Amber Vincent, who is now 41 and Vincent says one his two wishes would be to reconnect with his only child.
His second wife, Joanne Robinson, left him and had a restraining order entered against him in 1994, alleging that he had abused her since their marriage in 1985.
As a young actor, Vincent won rave reviews for his role in 1978 cult surfing movie Big Wednesday.
Once an avid surfer, his other great wish is to get out on the waves once again - even if it is on a belly board now that he can no longer stand on a surf board.