Alexander Viespi Jr. (May 3, 1933 – August 9, 2021), known professionally as Alex Cord, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the television series Airwolf (1984–1986). Early in his career, he was credited as Alex Viespi. Early life Cord was born to an Italian family in Floral Park, New York, the son of Marie (Paladino) and Alexander Viespi, who was in the construction business. Cord was stricken with polio at the age of 12. His family then moved to Wyoming, where doctors advised him to take up horseback riding as a therapeutic exercise. This helped him recover from the disease by the time he was 16. Cord attended New York University in New York City and the American Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford, Connecticut. Career In July 1960, Cord (billed under his real name) acted in a production of The Curious Savage in Canal Fulton, Ohio. He had a role in the 1961 episode "The Mountain Men" of the TV series Laramie. Cord's second role came a month later as Nino Sanchez in the episode "Winter Quarters" of Frontier Circus. In 1962, he appeared as Larry Rome in the episode "Take a Number" of the crime drama Cain's Hundred. Cord appeared in the 1962 film The Chapman Report, directed by George Cukor. He briefly enjoyed a leading man status on the big and small screen during the 1960s and 1970s, and starred or co-starred in mostly crime dramas, action films, and westerns. In 1963 and 1964, Cord was cast as different characters in five episodes of the series Route 66, including the role of Michael in the two-part "Where There's a Will, There's a Way." In 1964, he played the part of Sam in the episode "If Your Grandmother Had Wheels" of East Side/West Side. During this same period, he appeared twice on Naked City. In 1965, Cord was cast as Jed Colbee in the episode "Survival" of Branded. In 1966, he played the Ringo Kid in a remake of Stagecoach, which arguably remains Cord's most heavily publicized endeavor, during which he was ballyhooed in the press as a former football player since the role was originally portrayed by minor college football player John Wayne (who had since starred in eighty Western movies, usually with his name above the title, throughout the 1930s) in John