Jan-Michael Vincent, star of Airwolf and The Winds of War, dies at 74

Airwolf ran for three series between 1984 and 1986

Jan-Michael Vincent, best known for playing daredevil pilot Stringfellow Hawke in 1980s TV series Airwolf, has died at the age of 74, it has emerged.

The US actor also appeared with Charles Bronson in The Mechanic, with Burt Reynolds in Hooper and in seminal surfing film Big Wednesday.

He was nominated for a Golden Globe for 1971 film Going Home and again in 1984 for miniseries The Winds of War.

Vincent died on 10 February, according to his death certificate.

The document, which was only obtained by the media on Friday, states he was an inpatient at a hospital in North Carolina and is survived by his third wife, Patricia Ann Christ.

Vincent and co-star Ernest Borgnine (right) in Airwolf

Vincent was born 15 July 1944 in Denver, Colorado.

He made his first appearance on screen in the 1967 television film The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk, under the name Mike Vincent.

Vincent worked steadily throughout the 1970s and 80s, notably working with Kris Kristofferson and Victoria Principal on the 1976 film Vigilante Force.

He also starred alongside Kim Basinger in 1981's Hard Country.

Vincent in Airwolf

Vincent took on his most famous role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the CBS action series Airwolf in 1984, in which he starred with the late Ernest Borgnine.

He was reportedly paid $200,000 for every episode he starred in.

Vincent's career waned after his Airwolf heyday and he retired from acting in 2009.

His last feature film was the 2002 gang movie White Boy.

In 2012 a leg infection required him to have the lower half of his right leg amputated.