Robert Kerman

Professional Trajectory

Robert Kerman was an American film actor and adult film performer. Starting out in off-Broadway acting, Kerman got involved in the NYC adult film industry in non-sex roles, and eventually began doing sex scenes, most commonly billed as Richard Bolla or R. Bolla. Kerman always thought of himself as an actor first, and attempted to maintain a mainstream acting career, appearing in The Goodbye Girl (1977) and famously acting in the horror movie Cannibal Holocaust (1980) among other smaller projects, but largely found himself shut out due to his adult work. Years after retiring from adult work, director Sam Raimi asked him to audition for a small role in Spider-Man (2002), which he won, and appeared in a short but memorable role as a tugboat captain. Kerman died on December 27, 2018 at home in New York City from complications of diabetes.