VINCE EDWARDS

 

Vince Edwards was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Julia and Vincento Zoine, a bricklayer, both immigrants from Italy. He had a twin brother and was the youngest of seven children. He was a standout on his high school swim team and went on to study at Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship. There, he was part of the university's swim team that won the United States National Championships.

 

 

Edwards studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and in 1950 made his film debut as in 1951's Mr. Universe then played the lead next year in Hiawatha.

 

Although he had major or lead roles in several films, including the film noirs Murder by Contract (1958) and The Scavengers (1959), it was not until he was featured in the title character on the highly successful Ben Casey television series that he achieved a level of stardom.

 

 

 

The medical drama show, which he occasionally directed, ran from 1961 to 1966 and, as a result of the show's and his own popularity, Edwards also released several music albums. Vince was represented by one of Hollywood's first "Super Agents", Abbey Greshler of Diamond Artists in Hollywood.

 

 

Early in his career Edwards posed for a series of nude photographs as shown below.

 

 

When the television series ended, Edwards returned to acting in motion pictures with a major role in the 1968 war drama, The Devil's Brigade. In 1983, he played the main protagonist, Hawk, in the sci-fi film Space Raiders. He continued to act in film as well as in guest spots on television, including playing a villain in the pilot episode of Knight Rider, Knight Of The Phoenix in 1982. He directed a number of episodes in a variety of television series including the original Battlestar Galactica. Some twenty-two years after the series ended, Edwards returned to television as Dr. Ben Casey in 1988. Edwards made his last film in 1995, The Fear, after the filming of which he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died in Los Angeles, California the following year and was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.