Airwolf Cast Then and Now: Photos and Full Career Milestones Revealed
Balancing Vincent's volatile energy was Ernest Borgnine, playing Hawke's fiercely loyal father figure and Santini Air proprietor, Dominic Santini. Borgnine brought unmatched pedigree to the set. Having won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Marty (1955) and starred in landmark productions like The Dirty Dozen and The Wild Bunch, Borgnine treated the supersonic helicopter procedural with absolute professional gravity.
After Airwolf wrapped its initial broadcast run, Borgnine maintained an unrelenting work ethic. He worked steadily into his nineties, lending his voice to Mermaid Man on Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, appearing in ER, which earned him an Emmy nomination at age 92, and co-starring in the 2010 action comedy RED. Borgnine passed away from renal failure on July 8, 2012, at 95 years old, leaving behind one of the most prolific filmographies in cinema history.
Alex Cord offered an equally striking presence as Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III, code-named "Archangel." Dressed in tailored white suits, sporting a dark eye patch, and walking with an ebony cane, Cord delivered exposition for "The FIRM" with glacial sophistication. Cord was already a seasoned Western actor before donning the eye patch, having starred in the 1966 remake of Stagecoach. Following Airwolf, Cord gradually distanced himself from Hollywood sets, moving to Texas to establish a cattle ranch and write novels, including the Western fiction title A Feather in the Rain. Cord died at his home in Valley View, Texas, on June 26, 2021, at age 88.
