William Kerwin (April 17, 1927 – October 27, 1989) was an American actor and filmmaker. He was most well known for his character roles in the films of

Herschell Gordon Lewis Herschell Gordon Lewis (June 15, 1926 – September 26, 2016) was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the " splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore" (a title also given to Lucio Fulci), though hi ...

Career

Kerwin enjoyed some success on the stage and screen before being discovered by Herschell Gordon Lewis through the promotional short ''Carving Magic''. His first feature film with Lewis was '' Living Venus'', and he went on to star in some of the director’s best known works such as ''

Blood Feast ''Blood Feast'' is a 1963 American splatter film. It was composed, shot, and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, written by Allison Louise Downe from an idea by Lewis and David F. Freidman, and stars Mal Arnold, William Kerwin, Connie Mason, ...

''. In addition to playing principal roles, Kerwin served variously as the assistant director, makeup technician, gaffer, key grip and prop man for Lewis’ films. Kerwin was thus often involved in creating the gory practical effects that would become Lewis’ trademark. Whether working with Lewis or other directors, Kerwin was closely associated with the

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

movement. In particular, he was known for work in nudist films and

splatter film A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...

s. Throughout his career, Kerwin often performed under pseudonyms such as Thomas Wood in order to appear in non-union productions. He was registered with the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

under the name Willam Kerwin.

Personal life

Kerwin’s first marriage was to actress

Hanna Hertelendy Hanna Hertelendy (born Taylor Silami; October 5, 1919 – May 15, 2008), also known as Hanna Landy, was a Hungarian-American film and television actress. Early years She was born as Taylor Silami near Miramichi. She married Bryce Hertelendy in ...

from 1953 to 1958. Kerwin had one daughter from his marriage to Hertelendy, costume designer Barbara Kerwin. In 1964, Kerwin married

Connie Mason Connie Mason (born August 24, 1937) is an American model and actress who was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for its June 1963 issue. Mason then acted in the gore movies pioneered by Herschell Gordon Lewis, ''Blood Feast'' and ''Tw ...

, who he met while filming ''

''. The couple had two daughters, Denise and Kim, and remained married until Kerwin's death in 1989. Kerwin was the brother of director Harry Kerwin and appeared in several of his films throughout the 1970s including ''God's Bloody Acre'', ''

Barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

'' and '' Tomcats''. All three of Kerwin’s daughters pursued film careers for at least a decade. Half-sisters Barbara and Kim Kerwin had bit roles in Herschell Gordon Lewis’ '' The Gruesome Twosome'' as children; William Kerwin himself did not appear in this movie. Both girls also collaborated with their uncle Harry Kerwin; Barbara had a small role in ''Sweet Bird of Aquarius'' while Kim acted in ''Cheering Section''. Denise, William Kerwin’s youngest daughter, is the only of the three to never work with Lewis or Harry Kerwin during her acting career.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerwin, William 1927 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors