Lance Michael Kerwin[1](November 6, 1960 – January 24, 2023) was an American actor, known primarily for roles in television and film during hischildhood and teen yearsin the 1970s. He played lead roles in the TV seriesJames at 15[2]as well as the TV filmsThe Loneliest RunnerandSalem's Lot.
Lance Kerwin | |
|---|---|
 Kerwin in 1977 inJames at 15 | |
| Born | Lance Michael Kerwin November 6, 1960 |
| Died | January 24, 2023(aged 62) |
| Years active | 1974–1995; 2022 |
| Spouse(s) | Kristen Lansdale (divorced) Yvonne Kerwin (m.1998) |
| Children | 5 |
Early life and career
editKerwin was raised inLake Elsinore, California.[3]His father, Don Kerwin, was anacting coach,who brought home scripts for his son to read.[4]His mother, Lois, was also a performer and later, atalent agent.[3][5]He was the youngest of five brothers. His brother Shane was his stand-in.
In the 1970s, Kerwin appeared in a number of TV movies and series. He was, said former theater critic andBritish Film Institutegovernor John Holmstrom, "probably America's leading boy actor of the late Seventies... a handsome lad... [with] considerable sensitivity as an actor".[6]His serious acting roles often portrayed anguished characters facing difficult challenges, such as inThe Loneliest Runner,The Boy Who Drank Too Much,andChildren of Divorce.
In 1985, he co-starred in the "Snow Queen",a retelling ofHans Christian Andersen's classic tale in an episode ofShelley Duvall's children's television seriesFaerie Tale Theatre.[7]
Personal life and death
editKerwin had a daughter, Savanah Paige, with Kristen Lansdale, and four children with his wife Yvonne Kerwin. He gave up acting in the mid-1990s, but returned to the screen in 2022 forThe Wind & the Reckoning,filmed in Hawaii.
In July 2010, it was reported that Kerwin was working as a pastor atCalvary Chapelin Kapaa, Hawaii, and a program leader at U-Turn for Christ, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization. The report also stated that Kerwin and his wife Yvonne pled guilty to falsifying documents to obtain state medical assistance in Hawaii after neglecting to report his ownership of three properties on the mainland. Kerwin was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours of community service.[8]
Kerwin died inSan Clemente, California,on January 24, 2023.[5]An immediate cause was not listed, but later reported it was due toischemic heart diseaseandatheroscleroticcoronary artery disease.[citation needed]
Filmography
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2022) |
- Emergency!(1973, TV series) – Wheeler Boy
- The Healers(1974, TV movie) – Kennedy Brown
- Little House on the Prairie(1974, TV series) – Danny Peters
- Shazam!(1974 TV series) – Season 1 Episode 2 – Chad Martin
- Cannon(1974 TV series) – Season 4 Episode 6 – Unnamed Delivery Boy
- The Greatest Gift(1974, TV movie) – Ramey Holvak
- Reflections of Murder(1974, TV movie) – Chip
- The Meanest Men in the WestakaBad Men of the West(1974, TV series)
- ABC Afterschool Specials(1974–1976, TV series) – P.J. / The President's Son / Buzz / Peter Finley / Adam Rush / Ezzie
- Gunsmoke(1975, TV series) – Tommy Harker
- Escape to Witch Mountain(1975) – Boy in Blue-Striped Shirt (uncredited)
- The Family Holvak(1975, TV series) – Ramey Holvak
- Sara(1976, TV series) – Derek
- Amelia Earhart(1976, TV movie) – David Putnam
- The Loneliest Runner(1976, TV movie) – John Curtis as a Youth
- The Death of Richie(1977, TV movie) – Russell Werner
- Wonder Woman(1977, TV series) – Jeff Hadley
- The Bionic Woman(1977, TV series) – Prince Ishmail
- Cheering Section(1977) – Bob
- Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy(1977, TV movie) – Joe, Jr. (age 14)
- James at 15(1977–1978, TV series) – James Hunter
- The Busters(1978, TV movie)
- Family(1978, TV series) - Dexter Bates
- Salem's Lot(1979, TV movie) – Mark Petrie
- Once Upon a Midnight Scary(1979, TV series)
- The Boy Who Drank Too Much(1980, TV movie) – Billy Carpenter
- Children of Divorce(1980, TV movie) – Tony Malik
- Side Show(1981, TV movie) – Nick Pallas
- Advice to the Lovelorn(1981, TV movie) – Larry Ames
- CBS Schoolbreak Special(1982, TV series) – Billy Lee Daniels
- The Mysterious Stranger(1982, TV movie) – #44
- Trapper John, M.D.(1982–1985, TV series) – Gary Gordon/42
- A Killer in the Family(1983, TV movie) – Ray Tison
- Faerie Tale Theatre: The Snow Queen(1985, TV series) – Kay
- The Fourth Wise Man(1985, TV movie) – Passhur
- Enemy Mine(1986) – Wooster
- Murder, She Wrote(1989, TV series) – Eddie Frayne
- Final Verdict(1991, TV movie) – Harry Johnson
- Outbreak(1995) – American Mercenary
- The Wind & the Reckoning(2022) –Anderson
References
edit- ^"Lance M Kerwin, Born 11/06/1960 in California".Californiabirthindex.org.Retrieved2023-01-25.
- ^Labov, William; Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat, eds. (2001).The Guide to United States Popular Culture.Madison: Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 252.ISBN978-0-8797-2821-2.
- ^ab"Lance is 'Off And-Running'"The Robesonian.Lumberton, N.C. January 15, 1977. p. 10.
- ^The Instructor1979 vol. 88; p. 18.
- ^abDiaz, Johnny (January 26, 2023)."Lance Kerwin, 'James at 15' and 'Salem's Lot' Star, Dies at 62".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 7,2023.
- ^Holmstrom, John (1996).The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995.Norwich: Michael Russell. pp.328–329.ISBN978-0859551786.
- ^"The Snow Queen (Faerie Tale Theatre Series) (TV) (1985)".FilmAffinity.RetrievedJanuary 26,2023.
- ^"Former 'James at 15' star Lance Kerwin sentenced".The Washington Times.Associated Press.July 27, 2010.RetrievedNovember 9,2024.