Stringfellow Hawke
Encyclopedia
Stringfellow Hawke 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 division of the CIA known as the F.I.R.M., Hawke serves as pilot and custodian of the prototype supersonic attack helicopter for which the show is named.
Born in 1950, Vietnam War
veteran Stringfellow Hawke lives in seclusion in a log cabin by a California
lake, alongside his Bluetick Coonhound
"Tet", named after the 1968 communist Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War
. When Hawke was twelve, he and his parents were in a boating accident on the lake. He was rescued by his brother Saint John, but their parents drowned. Beginning with this incident, Hawke grows to believe that anyone he loves is destined to die tragically, a belief that subsequent events only serve to reinforce. The orphaned Hawke brothers are raised by Dominic Santini
(Ernest Borgnine
), a friend and fellow military aviator of their father's, and an acknowledged but unexplained exception to Hawke's "curse".
Upon reaching adulthood, both Saint John and Stringfellow enlist in the U.S. Army and are dispatched to the front lines of the Vietnam War. Both Hawke brothers prove their valor and piloting skills during the conflict. In 1969, tragedy occurs again when Saint John is separated from his brother and the rest of their unit during a mission. Stringfellow was hospitalized prior to the fall of Saigon and lost contact with his Vietnamese girlfriend, Nhi Huong. Saint John is listed as M.I.A.
in Southeast Asia
, causing Stringfellow to further withdraw from society.
Hawke returns from the war and earns a Master's degree
in Applied Physics
. He lives a solitary life in the mountains and uses his cabin’s dock as a helicopter
landing pad. He serenades eagles with Levay
on his Stradivarius
cello
, and is an avid fisherman. Hawke has a first-rate art collection, which his grandfather collected for his grandmother. He works with Dominic Santini, his adopted father and mentor (and now also his employer) and the owner of Santini Air (a helicopter service for hire, mostly to the movie-making business).
Hawke also works for Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III (intelligence code name: "Archangel"), deputy project director for the F.I.R.M. As Hawke had been chief test pilot for Airwolf during its development program, he is recruited by Archangel as the logical--indeed, the only--candidate to retrieve the helicopter after its designer and builder, Charles Henry Moffet, absconds with it to Libya
. Hawke is further convinced to accept the mission by Archangel's assistant Gabrielle Ademaur (Belinda Bauer), with whom Hawke ultimately becomes romantically involved. Hawke accepts the mission on the condition that the Firm hand over classified information on the whereabouts of his missing brother. Thus, Hawke and Santini run the mission to take back Airwolf, and they discover that Moffet has used it to destroy various targets for the Libyans, including an American Destroyer.
Gabrielle goes undercover to thwart Moffet's nefarious plans, but she is detected and captured by Moffet, then tortured and left to die in the desert. At the same time, Hawke and Santini have stolen Airwolf from its compound. Hawke finds Gabrielle, only to have her die in his arms. Hawke hunts Moffet across the desert, and finally kills the fiendish engineer with his own invention. With Airwolf secured, Hawke fulfills his part of the deal with the F.I.R.M., but Archangel claims to as yet have no further information about Saint John. Unsatisfied, Hawke hides and booby traps Airwolf in a desert cave and becomes custodian of the aircraft, vowing not to hand it over until the F.I.R.M. finds his brother. Over the next two and a half years, Hawke pilots Airwolf on a number of national security missions at Archangel's request. Hawke also occasionally pilots Airwolf to save or protect endangered innocents he encounters, to help friends in peril, or to correct injustices. In these adventures, Hawke is commonly supported by Santini, former Texas Highway Patrol
officer Caitlin O'Shannessy (Jean Bruce Scott
), and occasionally, Archangel himself, who does supply them with the unusual fuel and ammunition which "the Lady" (Dom's nickname for Airwolf) requires. Caitlin is first encountered in the second season premiere, as a helicopter-flying state police officer. Having seen Airwolf in the air and met Stringfellow Hawke separately on the ground, she resigns her position and traces Hawke, by his unusual name, to Santini Air. Both men deny any knowledge of the aircraft she describes, but Dom gives her a job. Eventually, an ill-timed injury to Santini forces them to recruit Caitlin into the Airwolf operation.
In the first episode of Airwolf 's fourth and final season, Stringfellow is critically injured when a bomb planted in one of Dominic Santini's helicopters explodes, killing Santini. "Company" (the F.I.R.M. having been replaced) administrator Jason Locke (Anthony Sherwood
) recruits Major Mike Rivers (Geraint Wyn Davies
), who ingeniously locates Airwolf's "Lair" with satellite photos that show the helicopter's prop wash in the surrounding desert sands. To their surprise, Dominic Santini's niece, Jo Santini (Michele Scarabelli
) has already found the lair and insists on being part of the operation. They use Airwolf to liberate Saint John Hawke (Barry Van Dyke
), who has been working under very deep cover for another agency of US intelligence, from an assignment gone bad. Saint John and Stringfellow reunite in the United States, and Saint John subsequently replaces his wounded brother as the primary pilot of Airwolf (and as the central character of the Airwolf
television series). String tells Saint John, "I don't want to die in this place," and his brother carries him out of the hospital. To where and to what fate is not specified.
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
(1984-1987). During the series' first three seasons, Hawke is its central character. A freelance agent of a division of the CIA known as the F.I.R.M., Hawke serves as pilot and custodian of the prototype supersonic attack helicopter for which the show is named.
Born in 1950, Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran Stringfellow Hawke lives in seclusion in a log cabin by a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
lake, alongside his Bluetick Coonhound
Bluetick Coonhound
The Bluetick Coonhound is a breed of dog. It is a type of coonhound and typically bred in the southern United States.- Appearance :The overall body style of the Bluetick Coonhound is muscular and speedy, not chunky or clumsily built. The head is carried well up and the tail carried over the back,...
"Tet", named after the 1968 communist Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. When Hawke was twelve, he and his parents were in a boating accident on the lake. He was rescued by his brother Saint John, but their parents drowned. Beginning with this incident, Hawke grows to believe that anyone he loves is destined to die tragically, a belief that subsequent events only serve to reinforce. The orphaned Hawke brothers are raised by Dominic Santini
Dominic Santini
Dominic Santini is a fictional character on the U.S. television series Airwolf, which ran from 1984 to 1987. Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine portrayed the character during the series' first three seasons....
(Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
), a friend and fellow military aviator of their father's, and an acknowledged but unexplained exception to Hawke's "curse".
Upon reaching adulthood, both Saint John and Stringfellow enlist in the U.S. Army and are dispatched to the front lines of the Vietnam War. Both Hawke brothers prove their valor and piloting skills during the conflict. In 1969, tragedy occurs again when Saint John is separated from his brother and the rest of their unit during a mission. Stringfellow was hospitalized prior to the fall of Saigon and lost contact with his Vietnamese girlfriend, Nhi Huong. Saint John is listed as M.I.A.
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, causing Stringfellow to further withdraw from society.
Hawke returns from the war and earns a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Applied Physics
Applied physics
Applied physics is a general term for physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use.It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between "pure" physics and engineering....
. He lives a solitary life in the mountains and uses his cabin’s dock as a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
landing pad. He serenades eagles with Levay
Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay is a Hungarian composer. He was born 16 May 1945 in Subotica , in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia ; his name is pronounced in English similarly to "lave-ah-ee."...
on his Stradivarius
Stradivarius
The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and is an avid fisherman. Hawke has a first-rate art collection, which his grandfather collected for his grandmother. He works with Dominic Santini, his adopted father and mentor (and now also his employer) and the owner of Santini Air (a helicopter service for hire, mostly to the movie-making business).
Hawke also works for Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III (intelligence code name: "Archangel"), deputy project director for the F.I.R.M. As Hawke had been chief test pilot for Airwolf during its development program, he is recruited by Archangel as the logical--indeed, the only--candidate to retrieve the helicopter after its designer and builder, Charles Henry Moffet, absconds with it to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Hawke is further convinced to accept the mission by Archangel's assistant Gabrielle Ademaur (Belinda Bauer), with whom Hawke ultimately becomes romantically involved. Hawke accepts the mission on the condition that the Firm hand over classified information on the whereabouts of his missing brother. Thus, Hawke and Santini run the mission to take back Airwolf, and they discover that Moffet has used it to destroy various targets for the Libyans, including an American Destroyer.
Gabrielle goes undercover to thwart Moffet's nefarious plans, but she is detected and captured by Moffet, then tortured and left to die in the desert. At the same time, Hawke and Santini have stolen Airwolf from its compound. Hawke finds Gabrielle, only to have her die in his arms. Hawke hunts Moffet across the desert, and finally kills the fiendish engineer with his own invention. With Airwolf secured, Hawke fulfills his part of the deal with the F.I.R.M., but Archangel claims to as yet have no further information about Saint John. Unsatisfied, Hawke hides and booby traps Airwolf in a desert cave and becomes custodian of the aircraft, vowing not to hand it over until the F.I.R.M. finds his brother. Over the next two and a half years, Hawke pilots Airwolf on a number of national security missions at Archangel's request. Hawke also occasionally pilots Airwolf to save or protect endangered innocents he encounters, to help friends in peril, or to correct injustices. In these adventures, Hawke is commonly supported by Santini, former Texas Highway Patrol
Texas Highway Patrol
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and has the responsibility for general police traffic supervision, traffic, and criminal law enforcement on the rural highways of Texas...
officer Caitlin O'Shannessy (Jean Bruce Scott
Jean Bruce Scott
Jean Bruce Scott is an American television actress, best known for her role as former Texas Highway Patrol helicopter pilot "Caitlin O'Shannessy" in the 1984-1986 CBS action thriller drama television series Airwolf, starring Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, and Alex Cord...
), and occasionally, Archangel himself, who does supply them with the unusual fuel and ammunition which "the Lady" (Dom's nickname for Airwolf) requires. Caitlin is first encountered in the second season premiere, as a helicopter-flying state police officer. Having seen Airwolf in the air and met Stringfellow Hawke separately on the ground, she resigns her position and traces Hawke, by his unusual name, to Santini Air. Both men deny any knowledge of the aircraft she describes, but Dom gives her a job. Eventually, an ill-timed injury to Santini forces them to recruit Caitlin into the Airwolf operation.
In the first episode of Airwolf 's fourth and final season, Stringfellow is critically injured when a bomb planted in one of Dominic Santini's helicopters explodes, killing Santini. "Company" (the F.I.R.M. having been replaced) administrator Jason Locke (Anthony Sherwood
Anthony Sherwood
Anthony Sherwood is an award-winning Canadian actor, producer and director.-Biography:Sherwood's mother was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and his father was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Anthony’s mother was a fifth generation Canadian whose ancestors escaped to Canada using the "underground railroad"...
) recruits Major Mike Rivers (Geraint Wyn Davies
Geraint Wyn Davies
Geraint Wyn Davies is a British-Canadian-American actor.He was born on 20 April 1957 in Britain, at Swansea. He was the son of a Congregationalist preacher...
), who ingeniously locates Airwolf's "Lair" with satellite photos that show the helicopter's prop wash in the surrounding desert sands. To their surprise, Dominic Santini's niece, Jo Santini (Michele Scarabelli
Michele Scarabelli
Michele Scarabelli is a Canadian actress. She is probably best known for her role as Tenctonese Newcomer Susan Francisco on the Fox Network science fiction series Alien Nation and the 5 television movies that followed....
) has already found the lair and insists on being part of the operation. They use Airwolf to liberate Saint John Hawke (Barry Van Dyke
Barry Van Dyke
Barry Van Dyke is an American actor and the second son of actor and entertainer, Dick Van Dyke, and nephew of Jerry Van Dyke. He has one older brother, Christian, and two younger sisters, Stacy and Carrie Beth...
), who has been working under very deep cover for another agency of US intelligence, from an assignment gone bad. Saint John and Stringfellow reunite in the United States, and Saint John subsequently replaces his wounded brother as the primary pilot of Airwolf (and as the central character of the Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
television series). String tells Saint John, "I don't want to die in this place," and his brother carries him out of the hospital. To where and to what fate is not specified.