Robert Kerman


Robert Charles Kerman, also known as R. Bolla, was an American actor who had a pornographic acting career during what is considered to be the "golden age" period of the porn film industry during the mid-1970s to the early/mid-1980s. As R. Bolla, he appeared in well over 100 pornographic films, most famously Debbie Does Dallas. He was one of few adult performers to have an appreciable mainstream acting career, with a leading role as Professor Harold Monroe in the controversial horror film Cannibal Holocaust.

Early life

Born to a Jewish family in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, he grew up in a middle-class Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst. Kerman graduated from Brooklyn College in 1970. While in college, he began his acting career and appeared in numerous Off-Broadway plays. Later he also studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Adult film career

Kerman's onscreen sex appearances began with director Roberta Findlay's Anyone But My Husband. His name was abbreviated from Richard Bolla to R. Bolla after being called "Dick" by his peers, which annoyed him. He became one of the most prolific male stars of the Golden Age of Porn. Unlike many of his adult-industry peers, Kerman bitterly regretted his participation in the adult film industry, especially being in the film Debbie Does Dallas, which he felt ruined any prospect of him attaining mainstream acting success. He stated: "In retrospect I'm really sorry that I did it, because I probably ruined the best years of my life as an actor." He was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 1998. He performed in 230 films.

Film career

Although his professional career began in adult films, Kerman was a trained actor who played minor parts in such mainstream productions such as The Goodbye Girl and Concorde Affaire '79. In the 1980s, he starred in several Italian horror films, including Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, and Umberto Lenzi's cannibal films Mangiati Vivi and Cannibal Ferox. Still, he remained active in pornography throughout the first half of the decade, with roles including Lawyer Quim in Liquid A$$ets, and Fritz von Holenwohl in the Henri Pachard directed Public Affairs. In 1985, attempting to work solely in mainstream productions, he obtained a Hollywood agent and went on to play supporting roles in television series such as Hill Street Blues and Simon & Simon. In 1987 he appeared in the film No Way Out. However, he also continued to appear in pornographic cinema and was dropped by his agent. Unable to find work and feeling betrayed, he slid into years of depression and substance abuse.

''Cannibal Holocaust''

In the DVD commentary for Cannibal Holocaust, Kerman described film director Ruggero Deodato as "remorseless" and "uncaring". Incensed by the realization during filming that an animal's death was not being faked, Kerman physically tackled the director and stormed off the set. He was not present when other animals, including a coatimundi, were killed. Kerman was also a guest for the film's 35th-anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Yonkers, New York, on February 28, 2015.

Later career

In the 2000s, Kerman played a sea captain in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, and Dr. Monroe in the drama short Vic, directed by Sage Stallone. He made personal appearances at horror conventions to speak about his experiences on Cannibal Holocaust. Kerman died on December 27, 2018, at the age of 71 of complications of diabetes.

Filmography (selection)