Actor Richard Kiel Dead at 74 – Played Bond Villain ‘Jaws’

Sad but not surprising. I’d met Richard Kiel several times over the years and he was always in a wheelchair – never saw him stand up to his 7’2” height. He was always super-nice though and posed with my young nephew while pretending to crush his head. He was probably best known for two roles: as ‘Jaws’ in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and MOONRAKER, he was the only recurring 007 villain to be played by the same actor, and the Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man is part of TV folklore. He starred at age 23 as a caveman in EEGAH and had roles in the horror films HOUSE OF THE DAMNED, TWO ON A GUILLOTINE, and THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS. He had a small part in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR with Jerry Lewis and acted opposite Clint Eastwood in PALE RIDER, Burt Reynolds in THE LONGEST YARD (“I think I broke his fucking neck!”) and Adam Sandler in HAPPY GILMORE. Kiel acted in tons of Television shows. He was in The Man From U.N.C.L.E pilot, played a ghost on Gilligans Island, and a swamp monster in the The Spanish Moss Murders episode of The Night Stalker. Richard Kiel died from complications following a fall last week as his home in Fresno, California. He was 74. RIP big guy.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Richard Kiel, the 7-foot-2 actor who played Jaws, the James Bond villain with the teeth of steel, died Wednesday, according to TMZ. He was 74. Kiel broke his leg last week and was in a hospital in Fresno, Calif., a family member told the website. Kiel’s signature character appeared in the Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). The actor also played an alien in the famed 1962 Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man,” a hitman in the Gene Wilder–Richard Pryor comedy Silver Streak (1976) and Adam Sandler‘s boss in the classic golf comedy Happy Gilmore (1996)…..

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/james-bond-villain-richard-kiel-732088