Robert Charles Kerman (December 16, 1947 – December 27, 2018), also known as R. Bolla, was an American actor who had a pornographic acting career during what is considered to be the "golden age" period of the porn film industry during the mid-1970s to the early/mid-1980s. As R. Bolla (named after a box of Bolla wine he was overlooking while being asked for a stage name), he appeared in well over 100 pornographic films, most famously ''

Debbie Does Dallas ''Debbie Does Dallas'' is a 1978 American pornographic film produced and directed by Jim Clark, and starring Bambi Woods. The plot focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to ...

'' (1978). He was one of few adult performers to have an appreciable mainstream acting career, with a leading role as Professor Harold Monroe in the controversial

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

Cannibal Holocaust ''Cannibal Holocaust'' is a 1980 Italian cannibal film directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici. It stars Robert Kerman as Harold Monroe, an anthropologist who leads a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to locate a ...

'' (1980).

Early life

Born to a Jewish family in the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

borough of

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, he grew up in a middle-class Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst. Kerman graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

in 1970. While in college, he began his acting career and appeared in numerous Off-Broadway plays. Later he also studied acting at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

Adult film career

Kerman's onscreen sex appearances began with director Roberta Findlay's ''Anyone But My Husband''. His name was abbreviated from Richard Bolla to R. Bolla after being called "Dick" by his peers, which annoyed him. He became one of the most prolific male stars of the

Golden Age of Porn The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, in which sexually explicit films experienced positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the genera ...

. Unlike many of his adult-industry peers, Kerman bitterly regretted his participation in the adult film industry, especially being in the film ''

'', which he felt ruined any prospect of him attaining mainstream acting success. He stated: "In retrospect I'm really sorry that I did it, because I probably ruined the best years of my life as an actor."Interview, '' Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered'' (2005

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

documentary). timestamp??? He was inducted into the

AVN Hall of Fame The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.The Goodbye Girl ''The Goodbye Girl'' is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on ...

'' (1977) and ''

Concorde Affaire '79 ''Concorde Affaire '79'' (), also known as ''The Concorde Affair'', is a 1979 Italian action thriller directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Renzo Genta. Released in the same year as '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' and ...

''. In the 1980s, he starred in several

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

horror films, including

Ruggero Deodato Ruggero Deodato (; 7 May 1939 – 29 December 2022) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. His career spanned a wide-range of genres including Sword-and-sandal, peplum, Comedy film, comedy, Drama (film and television), drama, P ...

's ''

'', and

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unre ...

's cannibal films '' Mangiati Vivi'' and ''

Cannibal Ferox ''Cannibal Ferox'', also known as ''Make Them Die Slowly'' in the US and as ''Woman from Deep River'' in Australia, is a 1981 Italian cannibal exploitation horror film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film's US distri ...

''. Still, he remained active in pornography throughout the first half of the decade, with roles including Lawyer Quim in ''Liquid A$$ets'' (1982), and Fritz von Holenwohl in the

Henri Pachard Henri Pachard, Jackson St. Louis and Crystal Blue were the pseudonyms of the American film director Ron Sullivan (June 4, 1939 – September 27, 2008). In the late 1960s, using his real name, Sullivan directed a number of sex-and-sadism Sexpl ...

directed ''Public Affairs'' (1984). In 1985, attempting to work solely in mainstream productions, he obtained a Hollywood agent and went on to play supporting roles in television series such as ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'' and ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

''. In 1987 he appeared in the film '' No Way Out''. However, he also continued to appear in pornographic cinema and was dropped by his agent. Unable to find work and feeling betrayed, he slid into years of depression and substance abuse.

''Cannibal Holocaust''

In the

DVD commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

for ''

'' (in interview with

Sage Stallone Sage Moonblood Stallone (May 5, 1976 – July 13, 2012) was an American actor. He was the eldest child of actor Sylvester Stallone. Early life Sage Stallone was born in Los Angeles, California, the elder son and first child of Sasha Czack and a ...

and

Bob Murawski Bob Murawski (born June 14, 1964) is an American film editor. He was awarded the 2010 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on ''The Hurt Locker'', which he shared with his wife, fellow editor Chris Innis. He often works with film di ...

), Kerman described film director

as "remorseless" and "uncaring". Incensed by the realization during filming that an animal's death was not being faked, Kerman physically tackled the director and stormed off the set. He was not present when other animals, including a

coati Coatis (from Tupí), also known as coatimundis (), are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera '' Nasua'' and '' Nasuella'' (comprising the subtribe Nasuina). They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, ...

mundi, were killed. Kerman was also a guest for the film's 35th-anniversary screening at the

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the film, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, on February 28, 2015.

Later career

In the 2000s, Kerman played a sea captain in

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

's ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'', and Dr. Monroe in the drama short ''

Vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...

'', directed by

. He made personal appearances at horror conventions to speak about his experiences on ''Cannibal Holocaust''. Kerman died on December 27, 2018, at the age of 71 of complications of diabetes.

Filmography (selection)

*1975: ''Anyone But My Husband'' (as Robert Kerr) - Director: Roberta Findlay *1976: ''Blow Dry'' (as Richard Bolla) – Director:

David Secter David Secter is a Canadian film director. He is best known for the 1965 film ''Winter Kept Us Warm'', the first English Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival.Geoff Pevere"David Secter, the Varsity visionary: How a low-budget stu ...

*1976: ''Sex Wish'' – Director: Zebedy Colt & Victor Milt *1977: ''Punk Rock'' (as Richard Bolla) – Director:

Carter Stevens Carter Stevens (October 17, 1944 – December 30, 2020) was a pornographic film actor, director, grip, gaffer, and film processing lab technician. Stevens earned a degree in photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology, worked at ...

*1977: ''

Inside Jennifer Welles ''Inside Jennifer Welles'' is a 1977 pornographic film starring Jennifer Welles, an American porn star chiefly active in the soft and hardcore genres of the 1970s, although she began her acting career in the late 1960s in the sexploitation genre ...

'' – Director:

Jennifer Welles Jennifer Welles (March 15, 1937 – June 26, 2018) was an American former pornographic actress in films of the 1970s, although she began her acting career in the late 1960s in the softcore sexploitation genre films produced in New York. Some of ...

*1977: ''

The Goodbye Girl ''The Goodbye Girl'' is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on ...

'' – Director:

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

*1978: ''

'' (as Richard Balla) – Director: Jim Clark *1979: ''For Richer, for Poorer'' (as Richard Bolla) – Director:

Gerard Damiano Gerardo Rocco "Gerard" Damiano (August 4, 1928 – October 25, 2008) was an American director of adult films. Damiano wrote and directed the 1972 pornographic film '' Deep Throat,'' which starred Linda Lovelace. He also directed '' The Devil ...

*1979: ''

'' – Director:

*1979: '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' – Director:

David Lowell Rich David Lowell Rich (August 31, 1920 – October 21, 2001) was an American film director and producer. He directed nearly 100 films and TV episodes between 1950 and 1987. He was born in New York City. He began directing on a regular basis in 1 ...

*1980: ''

The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue ''The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue'' is a 1981 American pornographic science fiction film directed by Gerard Damiano and starring Robert Kerman, Herschel Savage and Lysa Thatcher. Plot In a futuristic society called 'Alpha Blue', sexual needs are f ...

'' (as R. Bolla) – Director:

*1980: ''

'' (Director:

) *1980: ''

Eaten Alive! ''Eaten Alive!'' ( — same meaning but with plural expressed) is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Umberto Lenzi. The film is about a young woman (Janet Agren) who is searching for her sister after her abduction by a cult in the jungles of ...

'' (Director:

) *1981: ''Amanda by Night'' (as R. Bolla) (Director:

Gary Graver Gary Foss Graver (July 20, 1938 – November 16, 2006) was an American film director, editor, screenwriter and cinematographer. He was a prolific filmmaker, working in various roles on over 300 films, but is best known as Orson Welles' final cine ...

) *1981: ''Debbie Does Dallas Part II'' (as R. Bolla) *1981: ''

'' (Director:

) *1982: ''The Devil in Miss Jones Part II'' (as R. Bolla) (Director:

) *1982: ''

The Clairvoyant A clairvoyant is someone who allegedly has the power of clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as ext ...

'' (Director:

Armand Mastroianni Armand Mastroianni (born August 1, 1948) is an American film director and producer. Biography Armand Mastroianni's directorial debut was the 1980 horror film '' He Knows You're Alone'' which was also the screen debut of actor Tom Hanks. He has ...

) *1982: ''Center Spread Girls'' (as R. Bolla) *1982: ''Mission Hill'' (Director: Bob Jones) *1983: ''Public Affairs'' (as R. Bolla) (Director:

) *1984: ''Liquid A$$ets'' (as R. Bolla) *1984: ''Death Mask'' (Director: Richard Friedman) *1985: ''Hot Blooded'' (as R. Bolla) *1985: ''Spitfire'' (as R. Bolla) *1986: ''

Night of the Creeps ''Night of the Creeps'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film written and directed by Fred Dekker in his feature directorial debut, starring Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow, and Tom Atkins. The film is an earnest attempt at a B movi ...

'' (Director:

Fred Dekker Fred Dekker (born April 9, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for his cult classic horror comedy films '' Night of the Creeps'' and ''The Monster Squad'' (written with Shane Black). He contributed the story ideas fo ...

) *1987: ''Street Heat'' (as Richard Bolla) *1987: ''Corporate Assets'' (as R. Bolla) *1987: '' No Way Out'' (Director:

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian and New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer. His 1977 debut film, ''Sleeping Dogs (1977 film), Sleeping Dogs'', is considered landmark work of Cinema of New Zealand ...

) *1998: ''Men Under Water'' (Director: Douglas Morse) *2002: ''

'' (Director:

) *2006: ''

'' (Director:

)

Awards

* 1981

Adult Film Association of America The Adult Film Association of America (AFAA) was the first American association of pornographic film producers. It fought against censorship laws, attempted to defend the industry against prosecution for obscenity, and held an annual adult fil ...

Award – Best Supporting Actor (''Outlaw Ladies'') tied with Richard Pacheco * 1983 Critics Adult Film Award – Best Supporting Actor ('' Devil in Miss Jones 2'') * 1997

AVN Hall of Fame The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Awards. The first XRCO Awards were presented in Hollywood on February 14, 198 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerman, Robert 1947 births 2018 deaths People from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Male actors from Brooklyn Jewish American male actors Jews from New York (state) American male pornographic film actors Pornographic film actors from New York (state) American male film actors American male stage actors Brooklyn College alumni Lafayette High School (New York City) alumni 21st-century American Jews Deaths from diabetes in New York (state)