Stringfellow Hawke

Stringfellow Hawke (portrayed by American actor Jan-Michael Vincent) is a fictional character on the American action-adventure television series Airwolf (1984-1987). During the series' first three seasons, Hawke is its central character. A freelance agent of a divison of the CIA known as the Firm (or F.I.R.M.), Hawke serves as pilot and custodian of the prototype supersonic attack helicopter for which the show is named.

Related Topics:
Jan-Michael Vincent - Airwolf - CIA

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Born in 1950, Vietnam veteran Stringfellow Hawke is a complex, Byronic individual who lives with his hound, Tet, in a cabin by a lake high in the mountains. When Hawke was twelve, he and his parents were in a boating accident on the lake. He was rescued by his brother, but their parents drowned. Beginning with this catastrophe, Hawke grows to believe that anyone he loves is destined to die tragically, a belief which subsequent events only serve to reinforce. In 1969, his brother Saint John was listed as missing-in-action in Vietnam, which served to strengthen Hawke's belief further. "Damn you," CIA agent Gabrielle Ademaur tells him at one point. "You're too late," Hawke replies. "God already has." The statement seems only too true; against his better judgment, Hawke becomes involved with Gabrielle, only to have her die in his arms during a mission. Thereafter Hawke grows colder and more distant than ever.

Related Topics:
Vietnam - Tet

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Hawke uses his dock as a helicopter landing pad. He serenades eagles with Prokofiev on his Stradivarius cello; he is an avid fisherman; and he has a first-rate art collection, which his grandfather collected for his grandmother. He works with Dominic Santini (portrayed by Ernest Borgnine), who was his father's best friend. Santini raised Hawke from an early age, and is now his employer as owner of "SANTINI AIR," a helicopter service for hire.

Related Topics:
Helicopter - Prokofiev - Stradivarius - Cello - Ernest Borgnine

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Hawke also works for Michael Coldsmith Briggs III (known as "Archangel"), project director for the FIRM. As chief test pilot for Airwolf, Hawke is the logical--indeed, the only--candidate to retrieve the helicopter after its designer and builder, Charles Henry Moffett, absconds with it to Libya. Thereafter Hawke hides Airwolf in the California desert and agrees to fly missions for Archangel, with the condition that the Firm will help find Saint John.

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In the first episode of Airwolf's fourth and final season, Stringfellow was critically injured when a bomb planted in one of Dominic Santini's helicopters exploded, killing Santini. Although delirious and near death, Hawke was able to reveal Airwolf's location to Santini's niece, Jo. Jo Santini and several Firm agents (Jason Locke, Mike Rivers) were able to use Airwolf to liberate Saint John Hawke (Barry Van Dyke) from imprisonment in Cambodia. Saint John and Stringfellow reunited in the United States, and Saint John replaced his wounded brother as the primary pilot of Airwolf.

Related Topics:
Airwolf - Barry Van Dyke - Cambodia

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