Richard Kiel
| Richard Kiel | |
|---|---|
Kiel with Jon Provost in Lassie's Great Adventure, 1965
|
|
| Born |
Richard Dawson Kiel September 13, 1939 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Died | September 10, 2014 (aged 74) Fresno, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Belmont Memorial Park, Fresno, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, voice artist, comedian |
| Years active | 1960–2014 |
| Notable credit(s) | Jaws in the James Bond films |
| Height | 7 ft 1.5 in (2.17 m) |
| Spouse(s) |
Faye Daniels (m. 1960; div. 1973) Diane Rogers (m. 1974; his death 2014) |
| Children | 4 |
Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Jaws in the James Bond franchise, portraying the character in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979); he lampooned the role with a tongue-in-cheek cameo in Inspector Gadget (1999). His next-most recognized role is the tough, but eloquent Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996). Other notable films include The Longest Yard (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Pale Rider (1985) and Tangled (2010).
In television, Kiel portrayed the Kanamit alien in the now-classic The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (1962) and Dr. Miguelito Loveless' assistant, Voltaire, in first-season episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965-1966).
Kiel made his acting debut in the Laramie episode "Street of Hate". He also acted in an unaired TV pilot featuring Lee Falk's superhero The Phantom, where Kiel portrayed an assassin called Big Mike.
Before film and television, Kiel worked in numerous jobs, including a nightclub bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman.
Kiel broke into films in the early 1960s with Eegah (1962), which was later featured on Elvira's Movie Macabre and Mystery Science Theater 3000, as were The Phantom Planet and The Human Duplicators. He also produced, co-wrote, and starred in The Giant of Thunder Mountain. Kiel appeared as the towering — and lethal — assistant Voltaire to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in first-season episodes of The Wild, Wild West. He later appeared in the episode "The Night of the Simian Terror" as Dimas, the outcast son of a wealthy family, banished because of birth defects that distorted his body and apparently affected his mind. This episode is significant because it allowed Kiel the opportunity to really act rather than just look intimidating. Kiel also had a cameo role in a 1961 episode of The Rifleman.
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