A familiar face on television in the ’70s and ’80s has passed away at the age of 62. Lance Kerwin who gained fame in the James at 15 movies and series, and Stephen King’s made for tv movie Salem’s Lot died in San Clemente California on Tuesday. The New York Times added that his family stated that an autopsy is pending to find out the cause of death.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/arts/television/lance-kerwin-dead.html
Kerwin was a quality actor who took on various roles and his IMDB is full of appearances on hit shows. He got his first acting job on popular series such as Emergency, Little House on the Prarie, and Police Story. No role seemed too big for him. From 1974-76 he was also a popular actor in the ABC After School specials.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/
He first gained fame playing alongside Scott Baio in the made for tv movie “The Boy Who Drank Too Much”. He will always be remembered though from the James at 15 television movie and then the subsequent James at 16 tv series which lasted only 20 episodes. With his sensitive delivery and big blue eyes, he was a fan favorite for kids and adults alike.
According to Wikipedia, James at 15 was the movie that was the pilot episode. It was so popular (a whopping 42% share of the television audience per Nielsen) that NBC quickly began the series which lasted only 20 episodes. Due to creative differences between the creator Dan Wakefield and the NBC sensors in regards to an episode where James loses his virginity to an exchange student, he resigned and the show soon was cancelled.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_at_15
Kerwin soon became a teenage heartthrob landing on the cover of several teen magazines. As he matured, he mainly kept busy doing television movies or being a guest star on various shows. People may remember him as a mercenary in the movie Outbreak in 1995.
He was married twice and leaves behind 5 children.
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