Lance Kerwin, who played horror-loving vampire hunter Mark Petrie in the television movie Salem’s Lot, has died. He was 62.
Lance Kerwin’s death was announced by his daughter on social media this week, with a post that read, “I am so sorry to those we have not been able to reach out to personally to notify but Lance Kerwin passed away yesterday morning. We appreciate all the kind words, memories, and prayers that have been shared. As the coming weeks progress, I will share more information about after life ceremonies. He loved each and every one of you.”
Lance Kerwin had several television credits on his resume, but none garnered more attention than that of Salem’s Lot, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. In the film’s most iconic moment–and, really, one of the great scenes in any horror movie–Mark Petrie lies in bed as one of his former classmates–now a vampire–floats outside his bedroom window. Petrie also has one of the key lines in Salem’s Lot. When asked why he loves all things horror, he says, “I can’t explain it. It’s the way I am.” Lance Kerwin made him a character that spoke not just from the viewpoint of Stephen King, but horror fans alike. A new version of Salem’s Lot is due out in the future, aiming to top Tobe Hooper’s 1979 classic.
Prior to Salem’s Lot, Lance Kerwin also starred in the television series James at 15 (later titled James at 16 to coincide with the character’s birthday), about a teenager coping with a major family move across the country through Walter Mitty-esque fantasies. He also starred in the TV movie The Loneliest Runner, partly based on the life of writer/director Michael Landon.
Lance Kerwin also had small roles on other shows from the 1970s and 1980s, like Emergency!, Little House on the Prairie, Shazam!, ABC Afterschool Special, Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Murder She Wrote, and more. After nearly two decades out of business, his final credit is 2022’s The Wind & the Reckoning.
As with so many young actors before him, Lance Kerwin also had some issues. In 2010, he pleaded guilty after he “was caught falsifying documents to obtain state medical assistance and food stamps.” He was sentenced to five years of probation and 300 hours of community service.
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