Jan-Michael Vincent, who became nationally recognizable on the 1980s television series “Airwolf,” but whose career later foundered, in part because of problems with drugs and alcohol, died on Feb. 10 at a hospital near his home in Asheville, N.C. He was 73.

The cause was cardiac arrest, according to a death certificate released by the Buncombe County Register of Deeds. His death was not widely reported until Friday.

Mr. Vincent, who had electric blue eyes and a taut surfer’s physique, began acting in the late 1960s, appearing on television shows including “Bonanza,” “Lassie” and “Gunsmoke.” He later had lead roles in films like “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973) and “Buster and Billie” (1974).

He had a particularly nuanced turn in “White Line Fever” (1975), an action movie in which he played a truck driver who battles corruption.