On Saturday, June 15, 2019, Kevin Killian passed away. I shot this video of Kevin and Cedar Sigo in 2004, Kevin is reading one of Cedar’s poems, Theme, and his own poem, Who.
Kevin played the demanding and unforgiving father in my 1991 video, Coal Miner’s Granddaughter, and he played Peggy, the enterprising literary agent of Joe Orton, in the collaborative bio-pic, Joe-Joe, which I created with Leslie Singer in 1993. Kevin was not an interpretive sort of actor. He created his characters from a sense of the total intention of the communicative enterprise and his contributions were enlightened and enlightening.
In the letter I received with Mirage Period(ical) #5, Kevin said he would like to talk to me on the phone. I emailed him saying I’d love to talk and when would be good for him. I was definitely completely out of it, didn’t know that he was dying, and had no sense of his invitation for one last conversation as a wish that he knew would not be granted. Not a wish from me, but just from time itself.
Goodbye, Kevin. I will miss you.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter
Joe-Joe
Mirage Period(ical) #5
Kevin Killian and Dodie Bellamy edited two more issues of Mirage Period(ical). Issue #5 December 2018, cover above, finally brings my 1997 conversation with Yvonne Rainer to light. Thank you! You can read the conversation here. Read about Mirage here.
Thanks, Kevin! Thank you, Dodie! Sending love.
I also was friends with Kevin. I had no idea he was sick with cancer and I miss him tremendously.
I miss him, too! I hear his voice in my head once in a while and it is reassuring. I think I recall his voice and personality as a way to stay in touch.