Twoofsix.net

Website expanded with 'BEST SERIES ON DUTCH TV' section.                                 Updates for David Chockachi and Matthew McConaughey                                 New sites for Noah Wyle, Dylan McDermott, Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood                     IMPORTANT! Twoofsix.net is now online at two addresses: www.twoofsix.net and www.members.angelfire/film/vipermickey/index.htm  From February 1st only the Angelfire address will continue to exist. My old host is too expensive so I decided to move my site to a free host.                                     Please leave a message if you wish to be added to the mailing list for updates on this website                                         The first film in the Favourite Film section has been added! : LORD OF THE RINGS now playing in cinema's all over the Netherlands

Latest  update:   14-01-2002                    

You are visitor number: 

Jan Michael Vincent

Biography

Jan-Michael Vincent was born on 15 July 1945 and grew up in California. He has lived there ever since, keeping close to the beach, as he is a avid surfer. Jan landed his first acting role in 1967. Within a few years, Vincent became a leading man in major motion pictures. He retained this status for the next decade with such hits as The Mechanic and Big Wednesday. Jan-Michael claims that in addition to the big screen, he has performed nearly 5,000 hours of televison. Included amongst these performances are the role of Stringfellow Hawke in CBS Televison's Airwolf from 1984-1986 and the part of Byron Henry in Herman Wouk's war drama The Winds of War in 1983.

Despite numerous personal struggles throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, Jan-Michael has continued working profusely. Though no longer able to attract big television work or studio offers, he has single-handedly taken the B-movie industry to new heights. Alongside such co-stars as Heather Thomas and Shannon Tweed, Jan-Michael has burned up the screen in epics like Animal Insincts, Hidden Obsession, and Singapore Sling. In 1995, our hero even rebounded within mere days from a near-fatal car accident, in which his retina became detached, to film Red Line with Chad McQueen.

Currently, Jan-Michael wages the toughest battle of his rocky career. Having successfully recuperated from a broken neck and damaged spine suffered in a August 1996 auto wreck, Jan has completed an alcohol rehibilitation program and is trying to get his life back in order. Though his voice has been weakened by the ordeal, his spirits haven't. Jan has returned to the B-movie world with a recent appearance in the film Buffalo '66. Additionally, this past fall Jan-Michael guest starred in the television drama Nash Bridges where he played star Don Johnson's long-lost brother. Though filming only lasted two days and his screen time was limited, it marked a triumpant return to acting for Jan-Michael Vincent.

From your emails I can tell everybody would like to know exactly what Jan-Michael is up to these days. I cannot say for sure, but in response I've complied this outline of some tidbits from the past year. Some of it is factual information, other is more speculation. So take it for what it's worth. If there is info that I am either missing or have wrong, please do email me: jmvfan@mail.com

June 1998: Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66 is cinematically released. The movie contains Jan's return to the big screen in a small role as the owner of a bowling alley. His voice is gravely, but he pulls off the part to near perfection, signifying the actor's recovery from a series of life-threatening car accidents.

Fall 1998: Low-budget film White Boy goes into production with Jan-Michael playing a leading role. His character, Det. Ron Masters, is a white supremicist up to no good. I have been unable to locate additional information on the status of the film. While it is certainly a "straight-to-video" feature, I do not even know of it being offered for sale as of Fall 1999.

Fall 1998: Jan appears on the Howard Stern Show with friends William Katt and David Kreiff. He discusses his trials and tribulations and mentions a forthcoming book. The autobiography, to be titled The Best Dirt Road I Ever Lived On, has yet to be released.

March 1999: JMV is arrested 3 times for public intoxication near his home in Coto de Caza. "One arrest, he was found sleeping in a drainage ditch. Another one, he was found sitting on a curb. The third one, he was walking around banging on people's front doors," said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney's Office. A court appearance has been set for later in the summer.

April 1999: The short-lived official Jan-Michael Vincent homepage is apparently defunct. The web site was operational for a little over a year. It had described the possible formation of a fan club, but to my knowledge that never materialized. This fan site will continue to serve the needs of web surfers indefinetly as best as it can.

May 1999: Icon Magazine hits the news stands featuring an in depth profile of Jan by Dana Shapiro. The interview goes over his life "from the beach to the screen to the doghouse". JMV talks fondly about some of his favorite roles and good times of the past. He candidly discusses his alcohol problems and claims he is on the road to recovery. The story apparently went to press before word of his more recent troubles had surfaced.

June 26 1999: I was written by a social worker that Jan has checked in to a detox center in Costa Mesa, California and was then not doing well.

August 1999: Jan fails to show for an interview on the Howard Stern Show. Mr. Stern had been promoting the segment for several days. JMV has been on the show on three prior occasions and Stern has claimed Jan is one of his all-time favorite guests. The unexplained absense only fuels speculation that Jan has fallen onto hard times again.

September 23 1999: Jan-Michael pleads guilty to three public drunkenness charges and was fined and sentenced to probation and alcohol treatment. As part of the settlement, he will pay an $800 fine, serve three years' probation and do six months in an outpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Already having completed two months, a pair of psychologists submitted reports to the court saying the actor was "doing well". Jan is due back before the court later this year on December 15.

September 25 1999: JMV appears briefly on the TV show America's Most Wanted. Thankfully the show does not profile him as a fugitive from justice. Instead, following with the episode's theme of substance abuse, he is interviewed on the grave consequences of alcoholism. Longtime friend Gary Busey also appears on the program.

January 6, 2000: Jan is the featured guest of popular TV newsmagazine show 20/20. He is interviewed about his ongoing struggle with and recovery from alcoholism. Following its broadcast, JMV goes online to chat with fans on the ABC News website. So many fans try to get onto the site that the system is overloaded within minutes. The interview is a hopeful one and Jan reiterates his hope of rebuilding both his life and acting career.

Link to the "Accident Update" (Documents Jan's recovery from a series of near-fatal car wrecks from 1995-1997.

Jan-Michael Vincent Filmography

"A Current Affair" Interview of Jan-Michael Vincent by reporter Steve Dunleavy (1995)

[the two sit in chairs facing one another]

JMV: "I'm an alcoholic. Hell, you know, we're not going to have to change cards on that one. Just put palms up. Jan's an alcoholic. But, he's not deaf, dumb or stupid. And he's not dead yet."

SD: "You've never denied your booze or drug problem?"

JMV: "I'm a miracle. [cough] No, ah, I'm a human experiment. I've taken things, ah, they've happened to me. It was a period of my time. It was a product of the time I went through. Yes, there was lots of drugs. I mean, trying to recollect it, and the amount of it, couldn't be counted."

SD: "How many movies did you make?"

JMV: "Almost 70."

SD: "70 movies?"

JMV: "And more than 5000 hours of television."

SD: "Right now, I get the sense that you're pretty far down."

JMV: "It might be the bottom, but it ain't gonna stay there. As I told you before, like a lizard, you cut its tail off, it grows back."

[over-narration of night-time shot of JMV walking down Hollywood Boulevard while looking at camera.]

SD: "Jan-Michael Vincent, the one time ultimate Hollywood hunk is now 50 and flat broke. Cliches can be oh so true. That boulevard of broken dreams - Hollywood - the ultimate horror story?"

[back to the interview]

JMV: "It gave me no bad times. I gave myself my own bad times. When money is flowing, and you got your mind going this way, and your mind going that way about girls and doing this thing and that thing, ah, it's pretty easy to slide. Because there's always somebody over here that wants to hand you some blow."

SD: "I suppose you get a little bit sick and tired of people saying, Jan, please go to rehab."

JMV: "I was in a rehab, I was the only alcoholic in there. Rest of them were homosexuals, murderers, overweight people. Ah, I don't know. I was the only real, established and for sure alcoholic in the place."

[over-narration as JMV wipes away a tear]

SD: "Sometimes, tough guys ain't so tough."

"The Howard Stern Show" Interview of Jan-Michael Vincent, broadcasted via syndicated radio and E! Television, by hosts Howard Stern and Robin Quivers (1995)

[Editor's note: I have taken three excerpts from the program. Jan-Michael is in Stern's New York studio with his manager promoting Red Line. He is dressed in a thick grey overcoat and wears a eyepatch covering his right eye.]

EXCERPT #1: TOUGH GUY JAN-MICHAEL

HS: "You're pretty tough."

JMV: "I'm more than tough."

HS: "Right, can you kick ass? I mean, could you kill a guy if you had too?"

JMV: "No. I don't play that. Homey don't play that. That's really silly to ask somebody."

HS: "What, do you think anything on this show is serious?"

JMV: "Huh?"

HS: "Yeah, but you're a tough man, aren't you?"

JMV: "F---ing a!"

EXCERPT #2: SOFT GUY JAN-MICHAEL

HS: "Were you crying over losing her?" [reference to ex-wife]

JMV: "I was crying this morning."

HS: "Boy, she must be some knockout."

JMV: "She is."

HS: "Yeah, but you can get a lot of other girls. Don't be too down."

JMV: "How many times are you going to go around the corner?"

HS: "Not enough as far as I'm concerned. You've had a lot more fun than I have. See, while you were married, Jan-Michael, you had girls. I haven't. I've been with the same woman for 21 years."

JMV: "What do you mean while I was married. I didn't have girls."

RQ: "You've been faithful the entire time."

JMV: "Um, that's a lie."

EXCERPT #3: ANIMAL LOVER JAN-MICHAEL

JMV: "Wait a minute. I want to clear one thing up. I'm banging on this wood here. [JMV knocks on desk] Listen to me. One thing I want to make sure it's understood. I never stomped no kitty! Jesus Christ, man, I miss my dog so bad and the kitty."

HS: "What was your dog's name."

JMV: "My dog's named Daisy. She's a poisonous dog."

HS: "Wonder what happened to that dog?"

RQ: "The dog is with his wife."

HS: "Oh, I see."

JMV: "I didn't get her."

Second "The Howard Stern Show" Interview of Jan-Michael Vincent, broadcasted via syndicated radio, by hosts Howard Stern and Robin Quivers (June 6, 1997)

[Editor's note: Jan-Michael is in Stern's New York studio with friend David Kreiff and Big Wednesday co-star William Katt. I have divided the interview into a series of conversations.]

The Entrance

HS: "Wow, look at you. Jan-Michael looking all healthy and stuff."

RQ: "That's really Jan-Michael Vincent? Who was that guy that was here before?"

HS: "Jan-Michael, I thought I lost you. I swear to God I thought I lost you. I said, I lost one of the best guests I ever had."

JMV: [barely audible in a whisper-like voice] "I've lost my voice."

HS: "You're kidding me. That doesn'tmake for good radio Jan-Michael."

JMV: "No."

HS: "You sort of sound like the Godfather actually."

The Girlfriend

JMV: "I live in Orange County now."

HS: "You got a girlfriend?"

JMV: "Yeah."

RQ: "There's always a girl in waiting."

HS: "Lucky bastard!"

JMV: "I live with this girl called Karen. I've known her since she was a baby."

HS: "Can everyone hear Jan-Michael? I think you gotta get even closer to that microphone. I think we have to jam it down your throat."

JMV: "They've jammed everything else down my throat."

RQ: "But how old is this girl you're with now?"

HS: "I bet she's a real young girl."

JMV: "No. She's a couple of years younger than I am."

The Bionic Man

RQ: "Can you see?"

JMV: "Out of one eye."

HS: "Really?"

DK: "That's all he needs!"

JMV: "This one had a detached retina."

RQ: "I don't doubt it!"

JMV: "They are going to do radial caritology."

HS: "You know what, no matter how many time you put your head through a windshield, they can fix you. Trust me."

RQ: "He's like the bionic man at this point."

The Accident

HS: "So Jan-Michael, the next thing we read is that you broke your neck. I figured you were on your way out. I mean, didn't you think you were going to die?"

JMV: "No."

HS: "How did you beak your neck?"

JMV: "Well, I had been at the beach with this girl."

HS: "There's always a girl."

JMV: "She had her car and her mother's car."

HS: "It's always a car and a girl. Do you notice a pattern?"

JMV: "She wanted me to follow her back with the other car."

HS: "Oh, so you were thinking of maybe having some sex with her?"

JMV: [Laughs] "I'm just snake-bit, gut-shot, broke-leg and dragging nine sucking puppies uphill."

RQ: "Whatever!"

JMV: "So I was following her."

HS: "And then what happened?"

JMV: "We left the beach and we were somewhere. She stopped at a yellow light and I was getting ready to go through it."

RQ: "But you were following her!"

HS: "Well, everyone goes through a yellow light, right? Doesn't a yellow light mean speed up and hurry through the intersection."

JMV: "It does to me."

RQ: "My point is that when you are following somebody, you do what they do."

HS: "Yeah, but you don't understand. He's a guy with a penis and thinking he's gonna get laid."

Rehab

HS: Did they put you in the hospital?

DK: There is no hospital for Jan. [laughter]

JMV: I had to wear a haylow.

RQ: That's right. He had that haylow cast on.

HS: Did you start to say to yourself, Geez, here I just went through the windshield of a car not too long ago and I broke my jaw and everything, and now here I am again. Maybe I shouldn't drive.

JMV: I have not been driving lately.

HS: Really! [laughter]

HS: You're a pretty wealthy man. You could afford a limo or something.

JMV: Not with all the lawyers I've been paying.

HS: Right. So there was a lot of legal action after something like that.

JMV: I went into a rehab right after that.

RQ: So were you a little bit tipsy when you did this?

JMV: Well....I don't recall. [laughter]

HS: At this point, you could probably be a lawyer.

JMV: I could teach 12 step programs!

RQ: What rehab did you go to?

HS: Did you go to Betty Ford?

JMV: They were going to take me in Betty Ford. But I went to Capo by the Sea.

HS: That sounds fun. [Were there] A lot of cool celebrities there?

JMV: No I think I was the only one.

HS: So they don't even let you have a cocktail there?

JMV: Oh no.

HS: Really, not even a little beer? So you went into rehab to get off all drinking, all drugs, everything?

JMV: Yeah everything.

HS: What were you on? Drinking mostly, right?

JMV: Mostly.

HS: And then some painkillers?

JMV: No, I have never taken pills much.

HS: You just liked alcohol.

JMV: Yeah.

RQ: Any other substances?

HS: You must have had some weed.

JMV: I've tried it all.

HS: You can still do weed once you go to rehab, right?

JMV: I burned out on weed a long time ago.

HS: Oh, geez, very sad.

JMV: It just doesn't thrill me.

HS: So anyway, what did you love to drink?

JMV: I drank beer and tequila.

HS: We should tempt you now. Bring Jan-Michael a beer quickly! Wanna try some tequila? We got the world's best tequila. [laughter]

JMV: No.

HS: Look at you. You really have stopped.

JMV: Yeah, I have.

RQ: Now how long was rehab?

HS: A week. Jan-Michael can kick that damn problem in a week.

JMV: I was there a couple of months.

HS: Really! What the hell is that all about? So what did you do, clean toilets?

JMV: No, just a lot of group meetings.

HS: Any broads in rehab or is it all guys?

JMV: Oh yeah.

HS: Can you get laid in rehab?

JMV: If that's a trip to you.

HS: And were you up to that?

JMV: No. [laughter] I've pulled everything back.

HS: Really. Even getting laid?

JMV: Well, I manage to do that still.

HS: So how'd you lose your voice?

JMV: They did an intubation. They put a garden hose down my throat.

HS: So how does that wreck your voice?

RQ: It goes right through your vocal chords.

HS: So if I ever get a tube down my thoat...

RQ: It doesn't necessarily have to happen but sometimes it does.

JMV: They took it out one time and put it back in. I think the second time they put it back in, they had an orderly do it or something.

RQ: No, no, no, no, no!

HS: Where was your friend David? Weren't you looking out for Jan-Michael?

DK: No, I gave up on Jan-Michael at that point! [laughter]

HS: So in the hospital could you screw any of the nurses with your neck broken?

JMV: No.

HS: You really did go cold turkey. So was there a lot of pain?

JMV: No, it wasn't a lot of pain.

HS: Boy you're amazing!

JMV: I had to learn to sleep on my back.

HS: Big deal!

JMV: And I had this gear all over my head.

HS: [laughter] You got any pictures of yourself like that?

JMV: No, I don't think so.

RQ: Well, gee, Jan-Michael, that would have been good for the book.

HS: We can recreate that. We'll just put you in a car and have you drive for awhile.

JMV: I sent the haylow to Mexico.

HS: You know the thing is you're probably a good driver, but you've had some bad luck.

JMV: When I pay attention I'm a good driver.

The Return to Glory

HS: What about movies now. Can you do any more movies and stuff?

JMV: Yeah. I did a character part in one that had Bruce Willis.

HS: Was it fun?

JMV: Yeah. I only worked a few days in Buffalo.

HS: Well, Jan-Michael Vincent, thank god you're alright. God bless you. You're one of the greatest all time guests. I don't care if they stick tubes down your throat. I don't care if you have no voice. You can come in here anytime. You're the best guest that there is.

JMV: What did you say once...I was the best mumbler?

HS: Yes, I've never heard anyone mumble with more grace and intelligence than you! [laughter] It's great to see you again.