Lance Kerwin Death: James At 16 And Salem’s Lot Star, Dies At 62

Famous 1970s TV actor Lance Kerwin has passed away. His roles included James at 16 and Salem’s Lot. He was 62. On Wednesday, Savanah, Kerwin’s daughter, reported on Facebook that her father had passed away the previous day. There was no mention of what killed the person.

She added next to a photo of the Kerwin clan, “I am very sorry to those we have not been able to reach out to personally to notify, but Lance Kerwin died away yesterday morning.” “We are grateful for the outpouring of sympathy, memories, and prayers. I’ll write more about funerals and other afterlife rites in the coming weeks.”

She concluded the tweet by saying, “He adored every one of you.” Kerwin, a native of California, was inspired to pursue acting by his mother (a booking agent) and father (an acting coach) in the early 1970s.

Lance Kerwin Death

His breakthrough role was on The Family Holvak, starring Glenn Ford and Julie Harris in 1975. A year later, he had his big break in The Loneliest Runner, Michael Landon’s autobiographical drama about a teen bedwetter.

“I’d had some experience along those lines myself,” he told PEOPLE at the time of his play. Classmates teased me, but I also got the sense that the show resonated with them on a personal level.

Read more at the link about famous people’s causes of death

In 1977, he played the lead part of James in James at 15, a two-hour TV movie about a sincere Boston high school student. Kerwin’s performance sparked the idea for James’s TV show at 16, and he became the highest-paid child actor in television history.

 

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Soon later, in 1979, he played a starring role in the miniseries adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel Salem’s Lot. He has also guest-starred on shows including Wonder Woman and ABC’s After School Specials’ Little House on the Prairie.

Although he continued to act on occasion throughout the ’80s, he eventually gave up the Hollywood lifestyle in the ’90s to become a youth minister. Finally, he worked for the U-Turn for Christ ministry in Perrin, California.

Kerwin joined the U-Turn for Christ ministry on Kauai, Hawaii’s tiny island, in 2006, as stated in a GoFundMe effort established to assist his comeback to act in 2021. He was mourned by fellow child star Ike Eiseman in a heartfelt Instagram post when word of his death spread.

Eiseman wrote in the post’s description, “I am utterly heartbroken to hear of the passing of one of my greatest friends and co-stars I have ever worked with, Lance Kerwin.” “He was the greatest child actor I’d ever seen and motivated me to achieve my full potential. Dear Friend, I pray that you may finally find peace.”

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