Vincent was born on September 6, 1940, in
Michigan. His father, Charles Dingley (Carmelo Dingli), was an immigrant from
Rabat,
Malta. Vincent began his career in the 1960s in
regional theater and
Off-Broadway, doing work in a wide variety of behind-the-scenes jobs and positions for 12 years, including at theater companies such as the
Negro Ensemble Company, where he was a set designer, and he also spent 5 years as a stage manager at the
Tappan Zee Playhouse. In 1970 he made his first short film, which he called
The Appointment. He then moved on to doing feature-length softcore and hardcore pornography films. He was noted as one of the more sophisticated film makers in the industry. His most highly regarded work was his 1981 film
Roommates, which received wide acclaim both in the porn industry and the mainstream press. He also made
Summer Camp (1979). In the middle 1980s, Vincent moved away from hardcore to B movies. At one point he had a partnership with the
Playboy Channel, where he produced content for their network.
Preppies was the first film of the partnership. Vincent frequently cast
Veronica Hart in major roles in his films. He also directed the 1987 fantasy film
Warrior Queen, co-produced by
Harry Alan Towers and
Joe D'Amato, starring
Sybil Danning and
Donald Pleasence. In 1985, he had received a 10-picture agreement with
Vestron Video, in which Vestron received key access to the titles, starting with the first project released under the 10-picture agreement,
Sex Appeal. Openly gay, Vincent died of
AIDS complications on September 23, 1991. He was 51 years of age when he died, and he was living in Key West, Florida at the time of his death. ==Filmography==