Vince Edward Zoine was born in 1928 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, to Julia and Vincento Zoine, an Italian-American bricklayer. He and his twin brother, Anthony, were the youngest of seven children. He studied aviation mechanics at East New York Vocational High School, graduating in June 1945.
An excellent swimmer, he worked as a lifeguard at Coney Island and swam for the Flatbush Boys Club. He was a standout on his high school swim team, also playing on the school’s baseball and track teams. He studied at Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship. He was part of the university’s swim team that won the United States National Championships. After two years at Ohio State, he transferred to the University of Hawaii where he spent much time training as a swimmer for the Olympics.
Edwards studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; his classmates included Anne Bancroft, John Cassavetes, and Grace Kelly. In 1950, he was signed to a contract by Paramount Pictures, making his film debut as Vincent Edwards in 1951’s Mister Universe. The following year he played the lead role in Hiawatha. Although he had major roles in several films, including film noirs The Killing (1956) and Murder by Contract (1958), it was not until he was featured as the title character in the highly successful Ben Casey television series that he achieved stardom. The medical drama, which he occasionally directed, ran from 1961 to 1966. As a result of the show’s success and his own popularity, Edwards released several music albums and appeared in the all-star war film The Victors in 1963.
When the Ben Casey television series ended, Edwards returned to acting in motion pictures with a major role in the 1968 war drama The Devil’s Brigade, together with films such as Hammerhead (1968), The Desperados (1969), and The Mad Bomber (1973). In 1983, he played the main protagonist, Hawk, in the sci-fi film Space Raiders. He directed a number of episodes in a variety of television series including the original Battlestar Galactica. He was also the voice of Jake Rockwell in the 1986 animated series Centurions. Twenty-two years after the series ended, Edwards returned to television as Dr. Ben Casey in a 1988 TV movie, The Return of Ben Casey. He made his last film, The Fear, in 1995. After the filming he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. During his acting career he ventured occasionally into the recording studios and there were a number of singles released in his name. Sadly, the most important one was never issued and in 1959 Ray Peterson was credited with the first version of ‘The Wonder of You’ which became an International Hit for him and Elvis Presley – however, the very first recording was made by Vince Edwards.
Edwards died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California, on March 11, 1996.