70's

WAMG Recommends the New Book JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT, EDGE OF GREATNESS

By Tom Stockman | October 3, 2016

He starred opposite Charles Bronson in THE MECHANIC in 1972 (see where that falls on my list of best Bronson movies HERE) and he played the title role in Disney’s THE WORLD’S GREATEST ATHLETE the next year. Jan-Michael Vincent went on to star in a string of modest hits in the ‘70s – BABY BLUE MARINE, BUSTER AND BILLIE, DEFIANCE, VIGILANTE FORCE and my favorite – WHITE LINE FEVER. He was in BITE THE BULLET with Gene Hackman in 1975 and costarred with Burt Reynolds in HOOPER in 1978. Jan-Michael Vincent has been somewhat forgotten over the last couple of decades, but now author David Grove has written a book about the actor; Jan-Michael Vincent Edge of Greatness

With his chiseled features, effortless screen presence, otherworldly vitality, striking blue eyes, Jan-Michael Vincent seemed destined for superstardom. However, the real Jan-Michael Vincent was a reluctant sex symbol plagued by doubt and low self-confidence, a perpetual misfit doomed to alcoholism.

Jan-Michael Vincent: Edge of Greatness covers Vincent’s entire life, beginning in his hometown of Hanford, California, and details the difference between Jan Vincent, a shy, small town boy, and Jan-Michael Vincent, Hollywood’s golden boy, who was thought to be the next James Dean in the early to mid-1970s, a period in which Vincent delivered memorable performances in films such as Buster and Billie, The Mechanic, Tribes, and The World’s Greatest Athlete.

Featuring interviews with Vincent’s childhood classmates and friends, as well as his former Hollywood colleagues, including Donald P. Bellisario, Alex Cord, and Robert Englund, Jan-Michael Vincent: Edge of Greatness reveals an eternal man-child, whose career and life symbolize the tragedy of unfulfilled potential.

David Grove is an author, film journalist, historian, and produced screenwriter. He is the author of the books Fantastic 4: The Making of the Movie, Jamie Lee Curtis: Scream Queen, Making Friday the 13th, and On Location in Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th. He lives in British Columbia, Canada.