Golden age porn actor Richard Bolla aka R Bolla has passed. There probably aren’t 5 people currently in porn who have a clue who he was but they all owe him to some degree. He like Sonny Landham had a pretty decent career in mainstream as well as porn…he was in Debbie Does Dallas and Spiderman…
His wiki page:
Robert Charles Kerman (born December 16, 1947),[1] also known as R. Bolla, is an American actor who had a noted 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. He grew up in a middle-class Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.[2] As R. Bolla (or Richard Bolla, a pun on slang terms for penis and testicles), he appeared in well over 100 pornographic films, most famously Debbie Does Dallas (1978).[2] He is one of the few adult performers to have an appreciable mainstream acting career.
Adult film career
Kerman’s on-screen sex appearances began with director Roberta Findlay’s Anyone But My Husband He became one of the most prolific male stars of the Golden Age of Porn. Unlike many of his adult-industry peers, Kerman bitterly regrets his participation in the adult film industry, especially being in the film Debbie Does Dallas, which he feels 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
Dual career
Although starting his paid career in adult films, Kerman was a trained actor who won minor parts in such mainstream productions such as The Goodbye Girl (1977) and The Concorde … Airport ’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 (1982), and Fritz von Holenwohl in the Henri Pachard directed Public Affairs (1984). 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. He 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 (in interview with Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski), 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 makes personal appearances at horror conventions to speak about his experiences on Cannibal Holocaust
One Response
R Bolla was excellent in Taboo American Style. I also liked him in The Devil in Miss Jones 2. He actually was a pretty good actor. He was one of the few that could have had a career in mainstream.
But yeah, he was resentful that he did porn. He said in the 80s his agent told him one day “I cant do anything for you anymore”. That his adult work blocked his chances from working in legitimate productions.
But in his old age he did seem surprised people remembered him and were fans of his work in adult films. He kinda seemed happy about that.
Mr Kerman, you will be missed.