RICHARD KIEL - dies aged 74 - R.I.P.

Richard Dawson Kiel will forever be etched in our cinematic memories as 'Jaws' the villainous towering steel toothed henchman in two Bond movies of the late 70's starring Roger Moore. His first outing in 1977's 'The Spy Who Loved Me' was so popular with audiences that the Producers were forced to bring him back in 1979's 'Moonraker' - the only villain in the history of Bond to make a return in a successive film. He did ultimately redeem himself when he switched from the bad guy at the beginning of one to being the good guy at the end of the other - helping Bond to thwart the evil enemy and save the world . . . yet again, and as a result he lived - unlike every other unsavoury Bond opponent!

Richard Kiel was born in Detroit, Michigan on 13th September 1939, and on the day of writing this would have turned 75 years of age. He passed away earlier this week just three days before that milestone birthday at The St. Agnes Medical Centre in Fresno, California on 10th September.










He was a towering giant of a man coming in at 7feet 2inches tall (217cms) due to a hormonal condition known as 'acromegaly'. Before breaking in to the world of film and television he worked as a nightclub bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman. his first screen break came in 1960 in an episode of 'Klondike' with film roles folioing the next year and then almost a continuers run of television series appearances and B-Grade type films throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's. The 90's saw a slow down in his career with occasional film appearances only, video game work on several Bond games, and voice work most recently on 'Tangled' in 2010. In 1992 he suffered a car accident and took a serious head injury which left his dependant on a walking cane to aid his balance, and later on confined to a wheelchair or automated scooter for mobility.

He had 78 acting credits to his name over his career including a long list of TV series appearances including 'The Twilight Zone' in 1962, 'Lassie' in 1963, 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' in 1965, 'I Dream of Jeanie' in 1965, 'The Monkeys' in 1967, 'The Wild Wild West' in 1968, 'Barbary Coast' in 1976 and 'The Fall Guy' in 1981.









His film career kicked off in 1961 with 'The Phantom Planet' and went on to include 'The Human Duplicators', 'Eegah', 'The Longest Yard', 'Silver Streak', 'The Humanoid', 'Phoenix', 'Skidoo', 'Force 10 from Navarone', 'Canonball Run II', 'Pale Rider', 'The Giant of Thunder Mountain' (which he co-wrote, Produced and starred in), 'Happy Gilmore' and 'Inspector Gadget' among others.

He was married to Faye Daniels from 1960 to 1973 and then to Diane Rogers from 1974 to the time of his death. He has four children and nine grandchildren.

He nearly always played type-cast large, menacing, fearsome characters, and more than once appeared in other films with the character name 'Jaws'. Despite his own belief that his character of 'Drazak' in 1978's 'Force 10 from Navarone' was his finest hour, it is for those two Bond outings in the 70's that he will forever live in our memories.

Richard Kiel - Rest In Peace.
1939-2014.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-