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“Innovation is taking two things that already exist and putting them together in a new way.”
~ Tom Freston, American Media Financier
Having grown up in Ponca City, with a great amount of time spent at the gym—Kem’s Gym and Dance—Kevin Kem was primed for the physical work offered by the world of entertainment.
Kem’s first stunt show was in Texas, and he remembers the help he received from Banzai Vitali, who now teaches and has a school for stunt work in California. Kem said at the time Vitali was in Texas and worked with him, trading the training in stunts for work with his dad, the late Bill Kem, in gymnastics. It was a wonderful give-and-take opportunity that created a professional friendship for the men that has continued through their careers, and it certainly indicated right from the beginning how fruitful Kem’s longtime gymnastics’ work would benefit his career in the entertainment field.
Kem has worked with numerous live productions including Frontier City, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farms and The Hanging, which was the largest outdoor stunt show in Los Angeles (where he not only performed but served as stunt coordinator and script writer), and he’s worked on television and film, including Black Panther II, Breach, Suicide Squad and many more. He says one of his favorites to work on was Bruce Willis’ low-budget sci-fi movie Breach since “the smaller the film, the more you get to do.”
Kem has recently done film work on many short films that emphasize the military and the importance of the issues they and veterans may deal with. One of the short films he has worked with is the powerful, “Gone the Sun,” which deals with veterans and suicide. Kem did camera work and editing on this film.
When talking about his interest in the military, Kem mentions the overlap of those who are in the military or are veterans who work in stunts in the film industry. He mentioned that it’s a natural move since they are trained for real-life battle and taking care of themselves in situations that are harmful. To move to situations that are re-enactments is an easy one for them, so many of those he works with have come out of active service into this line of work. He considers it an honor to shoot some films representing them, their service or issues they may deal with in their lives.
Today, homebase for Kem is Atlanta. He says a lot of production has moved to that area of the country, and he has changed much of his work to being behind the camera now. He shoots scenes and does editing work rather than just performing in front of the camera. It’s another type of creativity that he enjoys.
Much of the filming work he and others had enjoyed slowed down quite a lot between the pandemic and then the strike, so he’s taking work as he finds it now. It takes a bit for the economy to rebuild and filming projects to take off again. Luckily, he has a solid group of colleagues with various projects he works on. As a matter of fact, he was headed to Norman to work with a friend on another project when he left Ponca City before he went on to California.
I was lucky to catch up with him when he had come to visit his family, mom Suzanne and sis Cara, and help with a recital for the studio. The students at the gym were lucky to have him with them for their Ninja Warrior Workout.
I asked Kem about it, and he said it was like a “very fun, structured recess.” I can imagine the students in the class had quite a fun time with him at the helm.
Kem remembers growing up in Ponca City, practically living at the gym since that’s where his folks spent their time. However, he also remembers being in Po-Hi Chorale in high school and Mr. Robert Moore being so passionate about the students doing well. He sees Mr. Moore and his “tough-love statements” as some of the most influential lessons from teachers, and he’s always appreciated Moore’s passion.
Kem plans to keep producing work, both behind and in front of the camera. He will be heading to shoot some work with a faith-based company in California soon. His training and experiences have taken him on many paths that still seem to be diverging in different directions. He says it was harder to get started and to learn back when he began than it is now, but hard work will always matter. To those interested in getting started in any field, Kem says, “The internet has generally anything you need to find, so there’s a way to get information on anything you want to know! Had I not run into the right person, I might not be here now. Remember, you may not always be the smartest person in the room, but you can always be the hardest working!”
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