Lance Michael Kerwin (November 6, 1960 – January 24, 2023) was an American actor, known primarily for roles in television and film during his
childhood and teen years in the 1970s. He played lead roles in the TV series ''
James at 15
''James at 15'' (later ''James at 16'') is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–78 season.
The series was preceded by the 1977 TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977 and was intended as a telev ...
'' as well as the TV films ''
The Loneliest Runner'' and ''
Salem's Lot''.
Early life and career
Kerwin was raised in
Lake Elsinore, California.
["Lance is 'Off And-Running'"]
''The Robesonian''. Lumberton, N.C. January 15, 1977. p. 10. His father, Don Kerwin, was an
acting coach
An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepar ...
, who brought home scripts for his son to read. His mother, Lois, was also a performer and later, a
talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...
.
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 and
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
governor John Holmstrom, "probably America's leading boy actor of the late Seventies ... a handsome lad ...
ithconsiderable sensitivity as an actor".
His serious acting roles often portrayed anguished characters facing difficult challenges, such as in ''
The Loneliest Runner'', ''
The Boy Who Drank Too Much'', and ''Children of Divorce''.
In 1985, he co-starred in the "
Snow Queen", a retelling of
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fai ...
's classic tale in an episode of
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall (July 7, 1949 – July 11, 2024) was an American actress and producer. She is known for her distinctive screen presence, her portrayals of eccentric characters, and her later productions in children's programming. Her acco ...
's children's television series ''
Faerie Tale Theatre
''Faerie Tale Theatre'' (also known as ''Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre'') is an American award-winning live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series created and presented by actress Shelley Duvall. The series originally ...
''.
Personal life and death
Kerwin 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 for ''
The Wind & the Reckoning'', filmed in Hawaii.
In July 2010, it was reported that Kerwin was working as a pastor at
Calvary Chapel in 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.
Lance also continued to work in theater while on the island of Kauai.
Kerwin died in
San Clemente, California
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the ...
, on January 24, 2023.
[ An immediate cause was not listed, but later reported it was due to ]ischemic heart disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of heart disease involving the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to a build-up of atheromatous plaque in the ...
and atherosclerotic
Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by elev ...
coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of cardiovascular disease, heart disease involving Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to a build-up ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerwin, Lance
1960 births
2023 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Calvary Chapel Association
Criminals from California
Male actors from Newport Beach, California
People from Lake Elsinore, California
Drug-related deaths in California