The Late, Very Great Kevin James

Withnail1986 · June 11th, 2021, 09:59 PM

Anyone have any info on his illness/death? Funeral? Family? Found a pic of his mom (findagrave); he looked very much like her. He is mentioned in her death notice, but--very curious as to the circumstances surrounding his cancer death. Thank you.

banquomerc · June 12th, 2021, 03:30 PM

testicular cancer I believe, maybe 1987

**burpman** · June 12th, 2021, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Withnail1986

Anyone have any info on his illness/death? Funeral? Family? Found a pic of his mom (findagrave); he looked very much like her. He is mentioned in her death notice, but--very curious as to the circumstances surrounding his cancer death. Thank you.

IIRC, he worked in the auto industry and was in some area that involved the car panels being treated chemically or electroplated or some combination thereof. He said that he was exposed to fumes or the byproducts and inhaling/interacting with that day in and day out caused his cancer.

Withnail1986 · June 12th, 2021, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burpman

IIRC, he worked in the auto industry and was in some area that involved the car panels being treated chemically or electroplated or some combination thereof. He said that he was exposed to fumes or the byproducts and inhaling/interacting with that day in and day out caused his cancer.

Thanks. Read about the chromium dye/auto painting. Just curious as to why no one in the industry had/has anything to say about him. I know he was close to Mike Ranger, but that guy refuses any requests for interviews. Jennifer Wren (Loni Sanders) doesn't do interviews, either. A shame--that late 70s/early 80s crowd are a quiet bunch. Maybe the Rialto Report will get them on the record.

banquomerc · June 13th, 2021, 04:37 PM

I suppose to be expected that interviews not granted-with the web, that whole past exposed potentially and now grandkids, colleagues, others who could get a whiff of a name and search. At the time of the golden age, who expected exposure to go beyond someones Super 8 or VHS tape-now, all have access to the record...hard to run from if you wanted to hide it....

**burpman** · June 13th, 2021, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banquomerc

I suppose to be expected that interviews not granted-with the web, that whole past exposed potentially and now grandkids, colleagues, others who could get a whiff of a name and search. At the time of the golden age, who expected exposure to go beyond someones Super 8 or VHS tape-now, all have access to the record...hard to run from if you wanted to hide it....

I would say that would be true back then if you only appeared in a couple of loops and maybe a magazine or two but if you were in 5, 10 or 15 film affairs I wouldn't expect any anonymity. Especially with rentals skyrocketing in the 80s, everyone would have known who you were.

Withnail1986 · June 13th, 2021, 10:06 PM

They ran and hid, most of them. Too many, for me, are still hyping their saggy selves. I respect the desire for anonymity for the very real reasons mentioned above, but the irony of these people expressing their sexuality (as 1970s-style revolutionaries) but now afraid to surface is profound. I know the Rialto Report people say they reach out to 50-60 Golden Age performers each week, but many want no one near their lives today.

**DARPA** · June 20th, 2021, 03:37 PM

I've told this story before but around 1989/90 Tracey Adams posted a letter to AVN where she just teed off on the industry in general. The kicker was the close where she wrote "You don't really think Kevin James died of cancer, do you?"

I always thought that weird.

**JayC79** · June 21st, 2021, 02:44 AM

There was an obituary for him in a local Kenosha, Wisconsin newspaper (where he was from originally). It said he had died after a two-year battle with cancer. After leaving porn, he worked as a realtor. It also mentioned him working at American Motors Corporation in Kenosha for about five years before moving to California. No mention of his porn career. He also married fellow porn star Ami Rodgers some time prior to his death.

There was a lot of AIDS paranoia in the porn industry around that time. That wasn't a very tactful comment from Tracey, but she was far from the only one casting aspersions around that time. Although most didn't do it in such a public way.

Porn Screen Writer Raven Touchstone said she seen Kevin about a year before his death at an industry event, he had came to visit friends. She said that he had lost all of his hair due to chemotherapy. From what she said, he was very well liked in the industry.

Withnail1986 · June 21st, 2021, 09:36 PM

Didn't know about the Kenosha obit. If you could include a link, I would very much appreciate it. In any event, thank you for the info.

June 11th, 2021, 09:59 PM	#1
Withnail1986 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 198 Thanks: 0 Thanked 877 Times in 159 Posts	The Late, Very Great Kevin James Anyone have any info on his illness/death? Funeral? Family? Found a pic of his mom (findagrave); he looked very much like her. He is mentioned in her death notice, but--very curious as to the circumstances surrounding his cancer death. Thank you.

June 12th, 2021, 03:30 PM	#2
banquomerc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 451 Thanks: 12,853 Thanked 3,066 Times in 419 Posts	Kevin James testicular cancer I believe, maybe 1987

June 13th, 2021, 04:37 PM	#5
banquomerc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 451 Thanks: 12,853 Thanked 3,066 Times in 419 Posts	I suppose to be expected that interviews not granted-with the web, that whole past exposed potentially and now grandkids, colleagues, others who could get a whiff of a name and search. At the time of the golden age, who expected exposure to go beyond someones Super 8 or VHS tape-now, all have access to the record...hard to run from if you wanted to hide it....

June 13th, 2021, 10:06 PM	#7
Withnail1986 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 198 Thanks: 0 Thanked 877 Times in 159 Posts	They ran and hid, most of them. Too many, for me, are still hyping their saggy selves. I respect the desire for anonymity for the very real reasons mentioned above, but the irony of these people expressing their sexuality (as 1970s-style revolutionaries) but now afraid to surface is profound. I know the Rialto Report people say they reach out to 50-60 Golden Age performers each week, but many want no one near their lives today.

June 20th, 2021, 03:37 PM	#8
DARPA Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Trapped inside a scanner Posts: 4,317 Thanks: 6,130 Thanked 79,973 Times in 4,229 Posts	I've told this story before but around 1989/90 Tracey Adams posted a letter to AVN where she just teed off on the industry in general. The kicker was the close where she wrote "You don't really think Kevin James died of cancer, do you?" I always thought that weird.

June 21st, 2021, 02:44 AM	#9
JayC79 Vintage Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,290 Thanks: 8,085 Thanked 65,082 Times in 1,291 Posts	There was an obituary for him in a local Kenosha, Wisconsin newspaper (where he was from originally). It said he had died after a two-year battle with cancer. After leaving porn, he worked as a realtor. It also mentioned him working at American Motors Corporation in Kenosha for about five years before moving to California. No mention of his porn career. He also married fellow porn star Ami Rodgers some time prior to his death. There was a lot of AIDS paranoia in the porn industry around that time. That wasn't a very tactful comment from Tracey, but she was far from the only one casting aspersions around that time. Although most didn't do it in such a public way. Porn Screen Writer Raven Touchstone said she seen Kevin about a year before his death at an industry event, he had came to visit friends. She said that he had lost all of his hair due to chemotherapy. From what she said, he was very well liked in the industry.

June 21st, 2021, 09:36 PM	#10
Withnail1986 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 198 Thanks: 0 Thanked 877 Times in 159 Posts	Didn't know about the Kenosha obit. If you could include a link, I would very much appreciate it. In any event, thank you for the info.