Lance Kerwin

Actor · Died January 24, 2023, aged 62 · Newport Beach, California, USA

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, and the made-for-TV films The Loneliest Runner and Salem's Lot. Kerwin was raised in Lake Elsinore, California. His father was an acting coach, who brought home scripts for his son to read. His mother was also a performer and, later, a talent agent. He was the youngest of five brothers. His brother Shane was his stand-in. In the 1970s, Kerwin appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies and series. He was, said former theater critic and British Film Institute governor John Holmstrom, "probably America's leading boy actor of the late Seventies ... a handsome lad ... [with] considerable 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. Kerwin had a daughter 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. Kerwin died in San Clemente, California, on January 24, 2023, at the age of 62. [preceding biography, edited, from Wikipedia]

What are Lance Kerwin's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.

Genres

Drama3 titles47^th

Adventure2 titles83^rd

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight

Bonds

39%

Survival

27%

Morality

16%

Power

8%

Society

8%

Ideas

3%

Family bonds5 Addiction2 Sacrifice2 Grief2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7

Serious

Tone · Weight

lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 4

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 4

Steady

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

Heavy

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 5

Resolved

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles

Usually the Ally: 3 of 3 analyzed roles.

Ally

3 of 3

Allyas Mark Petrie in Salem's Lot (1979)
Allyas Billy Carpenter in The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980)
Allyas Ray Tison in A Killer in the Family (1983)

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

5

Dread

3

Melancholic

4

Hopeful

3

Contemplative

2

Other

1

How their films linger

Hopeful5 Haunting3 Unsettling2 Thought-provoking2

How their films end

Happy2
Bittersweet4
Tragic2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Lance Kerwin's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Roku Channel (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Lance Kerwin's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

48 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

The Wind & the Reckoning(2022)
as Anderson
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
100 Greatest Kid Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Show 4 episodes · Actor
Outbreak(1995)
as American Mercenary
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Final Verdict (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
as Harry Johnson
Challenger(1990)
Actor
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
The New Lassie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Enemy Mine(1985)
as Joey Wooster
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Fourth Wise Man(1985)
as Passhur
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Snow Queen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
as Kay
Murder, She Wrote(1984)
Show 1 episode · as Eddie Frayne
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
Finder of Lost Loves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Show 1 episode · as Adam Hill
A Killer in the Family(1983)
as Ray Tison
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
The Mysterious Stranger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
as #44
Faerie Tale Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Show 1 episode · as Kay
Hotel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Show 1 episode · as Ron Kerwin
Advice to the Lovelorn(1981)
as Larry Ames
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Simon & Simon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Side Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
as Nick Pallas
Children of Divorce (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
as Tony Malik
The Boy Who Drank Too Much(1980)
as Billy Carpenter
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Salem's Lot(1979)
Show 2 episodes · as Mark Petrie
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows
CBS Library (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Show 1 episode · as Russ
Trapper John, M.D. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Bad Men of the West(1974)
Actor
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
as Joe, Jr. (Age 14)
James at 15 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
as James Hunter
James at 16 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Show 21 episodes · as James Hunter
Cheering Section (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
as Bob
The Death of Richie(1977)
as Russell Werner
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
The Loneliest Runner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
as John Curtis as a Youth
Battle of the Network Stars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Show 2 episodes · Actor
Amelia Earhart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
as David Putnam
Good Heavens (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Show 1 episode · Actor
The Bionic Woman(1976)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
Wonder Woman(1975)
Show 1 episode · as Jeff Hadley
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Long Way Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
as Ramey Holvak
The Family Holvak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Show 10 episodes · Actor
Reflections of Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
as Chip
The Greatest Gift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
as Ramey Holvak
The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
as Todd Swimmer
Little House on the Prairie(1974)
Show 1 episode · as Danny Peters
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
The Healers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
as Kennedy Brown
Pssst! Hammerman's After You! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
as Ezzie
Police Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Show 1 episode · as Joey Jr.
ABC Afterschool Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Show 1 episode · as Adam Rush · as Buzz · as Ezzie · as P.J. / The President's Son · as Peter Finley
Emergency!(1972)
Show 1 episode · as Wheeler Boy
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Cannon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Gunsmoke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Show 1 episode · as Tommy Harker

Career shape

Star power in the 53^rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 48 titles from 1955 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Enemy Mine (1985)

$12M worldwide

Highest rated

Enemy Mine (1985)

Midcredits 77^th

Film career

1985Screen debut· Enemy Mine

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting48 of 48 · 66^th

By decade

1950s1 · acting1970s27 · acting1980s15 · acting1990s3 · acting2000s1 · acting2020s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Lance Kerwin's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66^th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

74^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

46^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

75^th and up5
50^th to 74^th5
25^th to 49^th4
Below 25^th2

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

Universally Loved1
Crowd Pleaser8
Broadly Agreed2
Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Advice to the Lovelorn (1981)

74^th percentile spread · 46% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Wind & the Reckoning (2022)

Midcredits 88^th · 79% liked

Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Lance Kerwin work with?

People who share at least 2 of Lance Kerwin's MovieCove titles; Eileen Brennan shares the most, 2.

Eileen Brennan2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Eileen Brennan