Actor Vincent in a New Role for New Year’s Eve

Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, the blue-eyed bad-boy star of the 1978 cult surfing movie “Big Wednesday” and numerous films and TV movies, will have a new role Friday as grand marshal of the city’s New Year’s Eve party at Van Nuys Airport.

Vincent, 54, was once one of the most highly paid actors in television, earning $250,000 a week for his lead role in the CBS series “Airwolf” in the 1980s. But despite his professional success, his personal life foundered.

“He had become another casualty of the Hollywood lifestyle--booze, women fans and drugs, and they all took their toll,” his publicity biography states.

These days, he is almost better known for his off-screen dramas than his on-screen performances. But he was not available to talk about it because of an exclusive agreement with Barbara Walters for an upcoming TV special on recovering actors from the 1970s, said Darryl Harrelson, president of the California Country Music Assn., who helped book Vincent for the party.

Vincent broke his neck in a drunk driving accident in 1996 and has battled domestic violence and assault allegations in the last decade. In 1997, Vincent sued the paramedics who rescued him in his 1996 accident, charging that they improperly placed a breathing tube in his throat, which reduced his voice to just above a whisper. He has been in and out of substance abuse programs for almost 15 years.

Festival organizers say that his serving as grand marshal at the alcohol-free, family oriented event is another step on his road to recovery.

“We picked him because he is on his comeback,” said line dance coordinator Mike Bendavid, who will lead an anticipated 2,000 line dancers on New Year’s Eve. “People love a comebacker. Look at how many years John Travolta was gone.”

But anti-drinking advocates question whether Vincent is the kind of role model the city should have at its millennium event, even in a ceremonial capacity.

“When the city holds a parade that is alcohol-free and is a family oriented event, you want role models that not only we, as adults, can look up to, but that children can look up to,” said Tina Pasco of the Los Angeles chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “And when the individual has a criminal record, that is not someone that children can look up to.”

Originally, Paula Abdul was on board for the Van Nuys party, Bendavid said, but that fell through. Organizers also tried to get celebrities such as Patrick Swayze, John Travolta and Tanya Tucker.

“Trying to get a celebrity on the last day of the year on the millennium is very difficult,” Bendavid said.

Vincent is being paid about $4,000 for his grand marshal appearance, organizers said.

When Earl Sherburn of the city’s Cultural Affairs Department initially proposed Vincent, his boss voiced concerns about the actor’s past, he said.

“I was not aware of [his past] until my boss said, ‘Isn’t that the same guy that . . . ‘ “ Sherburn said.

But Harrelson persuaded city officials that Vincent is reformed, Sherburn said.

“He’s overcome his demons and is doing everything he can to put his life back together,” Harrelson said this week. “He’s been clean and sober for quite a while.”

Harrelson listed several credentials that he said made Vincent an ideal candidate for the job: His experience writing country songs, his friendship with country music artists, his appreciation of country music and his experience working with such western film stars as John Wayne.

City officials who have met Vincent praise his warmth and down-to-earth qualities.

As grand marshal, Vincent will be expected to wave to the crowd and add a little celebrity flavor to the event.

Grand marshals at the four other city-sponsored millennium parties are Arthur C. Bartner, director of USC’s Trojan Marching Band; Timothy Pollard, a.k.a. Charro Negro, a mariachi and bolero singer; Poncho Sanchez, a Chicano conga drummer; and Pastor Andrae Crouch and his sister, Sandra, of the Christ Memorial Church of God in Pacoima, who have won numerous Grammy Awards.