BBC News - Bond villain actor Kiel dies aged 74
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Actor Richard Kiel - who played steel-toothed villain Jaws in two James Bond films - has died in California aged 74. The towering American star, who appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and Moonraker in 1979, died in hospital in Fresno on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Saint Agnes Medical Center confirmed Kiel's death, but did not reveal the cause. The 7ft 2in (2.18m) actor also appeared in the sports comedy Happy Gilmore, starring Adam Sandler, in 1996. Kiel made his name as cable-chomping henchman Jaws opposite Roger Moore as 007. He was a guest on BBC's Radio 4 programme The Reunion, which aired on Sunday, along with Moore and Bond actress Britt Ekland, recalling their parts in the spy series. During the programme, he said he initially thought playing Jaws - a man who killed people with his teeth - could appear "over the top". 'Monster part' "I was very put off by the description of the character and I thought, well they don't really need an actor, he's more a monster part," he said. "So I tried to change that view of it... I said if I were to play the part, I want to give the character some human characteristics, like perseverance, frustration." Christopher Lee, Richard Kiel, Rick Yune and Toby Stephens Kiel, pictured with fellow Bond villains Christopher Lee, Rick Yune and Toby Stephens, was 7ft 2in tall Born in Detroit, Michigan, Kiel had the hormonal condition acromegaly, which was said to have contributed to his height. His first break came in 1959 when he played the alien Kanamit in Twilight Zone. He published an autobiography in 2002, called Making It Big In The Movies. His many other acting roles included deadly assistant Voltaire in the 1960s TV series The Wild, Wild West, playing opposite William Shatner in the 1970s TV sitcom Barbary Coast, taking on the lead character of Eli Weaver in the movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain and spoofing his most famous role as "Famous big guy with silver teeth" in the movie version of Inspector Gadget. |