# Lance Kerwin
**Lance Kerwin** (Lance Michael Kerwin; November 6, 1960 – January 24, 2023) was an American actor who rose to fame as a teenage star in the 1970s, best known as the title character of the NBC coming-of-age series *[James at 15](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-at-15)* (retitled *James at 16* during its run) and as Mark Petrie in the 1979 miniseries *[Salem's Lot](https://www.edgepedia.org/salems-lot-film)*, adapted from [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s novel.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) • [2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) He appeared in more than 50 roles during his career, left acting in the mid-1990s to become a youth pastor, and returned to the screen once, in 2022.[3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/) • [4](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1960, Newport Beach, California; January 24, 2023, San Clemente, California, aged 62[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) |
| Cause of death | Ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) |
| Signature role | James Hunter in *James at 15* / *James at 16* (NBC, 1977–1978, 21 episodes, Emmy-nominated)[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) |
| Horror landmark | Mark Petrie in *Salem's Lot* (CBS, November 1979), Tobe Hooper's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 novel[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) |
| Career span | TV debut 1974 on *Emergency!*; last role before retirement *Outbreak* (1995); comeback in *The Wind & the Reckoning* (2022)[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [4](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/) |
| Later life | Youth pastor in Hawaii; in 2010 sentenced to five years probation for falsifying welfare documents[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) |
| Family | Married Yvonne Kerwin in 1998, four children; a daughter, Savanah, from his first marriage to Kristen Lansdale[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) • [5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) |
## Early career
Kerwin grew up in [Lake Elsinore, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/lake-elsinore-california), in a family already in the business: his father was an [acting coach](https://www.edgepedia.org/acting-coach) and his mother a performer and agent.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) He made his television debut on a 1974 episode of *Emergency!* and quickly became a fixture of 1970s television, guesting on *Shazam!* (1974), *Little House on the Prairie* (1974), *Cannon* (1974), *Gunsmoke* (1975), *Wonder Woman*, and *The Bionic Woman*.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/) In 1975 he became a regular on the period drama *The Family Holvak*, playing Ramey Holvak, the son of a Depression-era reverend played by [Glenn Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-ford); the series lasted ten episodes.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [4](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/)
**Made-for-TV movies.** His work on several *ABC Afterschool Specials* (1974–1976) and his starring role in *The Loneliest Runner* (1976) built the reputation that led to his own series.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) *The Loneliest Runner*, an Emmy-nominated TV movie written by [Michael Landon](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-landon), cast Kerwin as a chronically bed-wetting boy who becomes an Olympic marathon champion; the story drew on Landon's own childhood.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [7](https://obits.pennlive.com/news/lance-kerwin-1960-2023-james-at-15-star) He later starred in the 1980 after-school special *The Boy Who Drank Too Much* alongside [Scott Baio](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-baio).[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/)
## James at 15 and James at 16
Kerwin was cast as James Hunter at age 16 in the pilot TV movie *James at 15*, which NBC quickly greenlit as a series in 1977.[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) The show followed a photography-loving teenager whose family moves from rural Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts.[3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/) When the title character celebrated a birthday, the series was renamed *James at 16*.[3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/)
The series dealt frankly with teenage subjects including sex and sexually transmitted disease, and it was Emmy-nominated.[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) Its most discussed episode, "The Gift," showed James losing his virginity to a Swedish exchange student with whom he had fallen in love, a plotline that drew consternation from some parents.[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) • [9](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2001/11/a-nation-loses-its-virginity-w/) The show ran just 21 episodes before cancellation, but it made Kerwin a major teen heartthrob and put him on the covers of teen magazines.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) In a 2019 interview, Kerwin argued the show's appeal came from authenticity: unlike *Welcome Back, Kotter* or *Happy Days*, whose teenagers were played by adults, "I was really portraying a character who was more, ya know, real."[7](https://obits.pennlive.com/news/lance-kerwin-1960-2023-james-at-15-star)
## Salem's Lot and the 1980s
Kerwin's most famous role came in 1979, when he played Mark Petrie in *[Salem's Lot](https://www.edgepedia.org/salems-lot-1979-miniseries)*, Tobe Hooper's two-part CBS miniseries adapted from Stephen King's 1975 horror novel, with [David Soul](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-soul) and [James Mason](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-mason) as costars.[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) Mark, a young horror-movie fan, helps defend his town against vampires, including his own best friend, who appears outside his bedroom window after becoming one of them.[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) The acclaimed miniseries was enough of a hit that it was released as a feature film overseas, and Kerwin's role earned him regular invitations to horror conventions for decades afterward.[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [4](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/)
He worked steadily through the 1980s, appearing in the feature film *Enemy Mine* (1985) and guesting on series including *Trapper John, M.D.*, *Simon & Simon* (1986), and *Murder, She Wrote* (1989).[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [7](https://obits.pennlive.com/news/lance-kerwin-1960-2023-james-at-15-star) His acting slowed considerably in the 1990s and ended with a role as an American mercenary in the 1995 pandemic thriller *Outbreak*, which starred [Dustin Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-hoffman), Rene Russo, and [Morgan Freeman](https://www.edgepedia.org/morgan-freeman).[5](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/) • [3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/)
## Later life
After leaving acting in the mid-1990s, Kerwin became a Christian and dedicated himself to ministry, working as a youth pastor and speaking at churches and youth groups about his experiences.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) • [6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) He moved to Hawaii, where in 2010, at age 49, he was arrested for falsifying welfare documents and theft; he was sentenced to five years probation and issued a public apology.[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html) A GoFundMe campaign was later set up in his name to help with debt amid health problems.[6](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html)
In 2022 he returned to acting with a role in *The Wind & the Reckoning*, a Hawaiian Western set in 1893, his first film role since *Outbreak*.[4](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/) His agent, John Boitano, said Kerwin had been looking forward to resuming his career.[8](https://www.eonline.com/news/1362735/former-child-star-lance-kerwin-dead-at-62)
## Death
Kerwin died on January 24, 2023, in [San Clemente, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-clemente-california), at age 62. His daughter Savanah announced the death on Facebook the next day.[2](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/) No cause of death was given at the time, and an autopsy was underway according to his family; IMDb later listed the cause as ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.[3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/) The actor [Michael McKean](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-mckean), remembering the 1970s child actors he had watched, wrote that Kerwin "had a terrific humanity you didn't see just everywhere."[3](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/)
## References
1. [Lance Kerwin – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450130/bio/)
2. [Lance Kerwin, Star of 'Salem's Lot' and 'James at 15' Series, Dies at 62, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/lance-kerwin-star-of-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-series-dies-at-62/)
3. [Lance Kerwin, 'Salem's Lot' and 'James at 15' star, dead at 62, The Spokesman-Review / New York Daily News](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/26/lance-kerwin-salems-lot-and-james-at-15-star-dead-/)
4. [Lance Kerwin, 'Salem's Lot' actor, dead at 62, CNN via WRAL](https://www.wral.com/archive/20689437/)
5. [Lance Kerwin, Star of '70s Coming-of-Age Series 'James at 16,' Dies at 62, ExtraTV](https://extratv.com/2023/01/25/lance-kerwin-star-of-70s-coming-of-age-series-james-at-16-dies-at-62/)
6. [Lance Kerwin: What Happened to the 'James at 15' and 'Salem's Lot' Star, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lance-kerwin-happened-james-15-132520916.html)
7. [Lance Kerwin (1960–2023), "James at 15" star, Legacy.com / pennlive](https://obits.pennlive.com/news/lance-kerwin-1960-2023-james-at-15-star)
8. [Former Child Star Lance Kerwin Dead at 62, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news/1362735/former-child-star-lance-kerwin-dead-at-62)
9. [A nation loses its virginity with `James at 15′, TVWeek](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2001/11/a-nation-loses-its-virginity-w/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames I to Kh*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license