Richard Kiel

Richard Kiel Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: September 13, 1939

Death Date: September 10, 2014

Birth Place: Detroit, Michigan

Actor Richard Kiel's towering 7'1.5" height granted him a five-decade career in Hollywood playing henchmen, strongmen and costumed creatures, as well as a brief flirtation with stardom as the steel-toothed Jaws in "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1976) and "Moonraker" (1979). Though rarely afforded top billing or even dialogue, Kiel was a memorable presence on countless television shows like "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1959-1964) and "The Wild, Wild West" (CBS, 1965-1969) and features like "The Longest Yard" (1974) and "Silver Streak" (1976).

His turn as Jaws opposite Roger Moore's James Bond in "Spy" struck a chord with audiences, which earned him a second franchise appearance in "Moonraker" and a newfound career as a heroic, even comic character actor in "Cannonball Run II" (1984) and other films. Health issues curtailed Kiel's acting career in the new millennium, though his popularity in the Bond films continued unchecked, thanks to voiceover reprisals as Jaws in various video game spin-offs. Though Kiel made his name playing larger-than-life or supernatural characters, his lasting fame came from the degree of humanity that he brought to each of those roles. His death on September 10, 2014 brought fond remembrances from co-stars and fans alike.

Born Richard Dawson Kiel in Detroit, MI on Sept. 13, 1939, his considerable height and unique features were the result of acromegaly, a pituitary condition that also affected motivational speaker Anthony Robbins, actor Rondo Hatton and wrestler André "The Giant" Roussimoff. He initially worked as a cemetery plot salesman before heading west to try his hand in the movies. Kiel was discovered while working as a bouncer at a bar in Los Angeles, which led to his television debut as a bare knuckles fighter in an episode of "Klondike" (NBC, 1960-61). He soon landed an agent and began a string of bit and supporting roles in movies and episodic television, usually as silent henchmen, oversized toughs and the occasional monster, as in the low-budget pictures "The Phantom Planet" (1961) and "House of the Damned" (1964).

His heavy-lidded features lent an air of menace to his turn as the Kanamit, a representative of an alien race with a promise of peace that hid a diabolical scheme in "To Serve Man," an iconic third-season episode of "The Twilight Zone." On occasion, he played agreeable types, most notably as a revived caveman with a gentle heart in the B-thriller "Eegah!" (1961), but for the most part, Kiel was a sort of living obstacle for the hero to overcome.

From 1965 to 1968, he enjoyed a recurring role as Voltaire, the towering, mute henchman to the diminutive but demonic Dr. Miguelito Loveless (Michael Dunn) on "The Wild, Wild West." Persistence eventually led to more substantive roles in the 1970s, including a member of the prison football team in "The Longest Yard" (1974) and series regular work on "Barbary Coast" (ABC, 1975-76). Despite these advances, Kiel was still frequently cast as monsters and goons, including two stints as supernatural creatures on the cult series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (ABC, 1974-75). He also briefly tested for the title role in "The Incredible Hulk" (CBS, 1977-1982), but his average build and difficulty with the contact lenses required for the creature resulted in his scenes being reshot with body builder Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.

However, a supporting turn as a criminal with sharp gold teeth in the comedy "Silver Streak" preceded his star-making turn as Jaws, an indestructible henchman with steel-capped teeth in the James Bond adventure "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1976). Fitted with prosthetic dentures so uncomfortable that he could only wear them for 30 seconds at a time, Kiel nevertheless won over audiences by virtue of the character's relentless pursuit of Roger Moore's 007, which earned him a reprieve from his intended death scene at the end of the film. Jaws would subsequently return for 1979's "Moonraker," which saw him not only switch allegiances to Bond in the picture's science fiction-styled finale, but also find love in the form of 5'1" actress Blanche Ravalec.

The character remained one of the most popular in the entire James Bond franchise, and was frequently revived in animated and video game spin-offs. The success of the Bond pictures led to a brief uptick in Kiel's career, which soon grew to include major supporting roles as a Communist Yugoslavian fighter in "Force 10 from Navarone" (1978) and a comic loan shark in "So Fine" (1981). A gentle man in real life who had become a born-again Christian after a debilitating bout with alcoholism, Kiel's innately kind nature soon came to the forefront in comic projects like "Cannonball Run II" (1984), which mined maximum broad laughs by casting him as the driver for Jackie Chan's pint-sized Mitsubishi.

By the middle of the decade, he had succeeded in leaving behind the menacing roles that had formed the backbone of his career; even his company thug in "Pale Rider" (1985) joined forces with director-star Clint Eastwood by the picture's end. In 1991, he co-wrote, produced and starred in the family film "The Giant of Thunder Mountain," about a hermit befriended by a young girl. The following year, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident that affected his balance. He subsequently curtailed his acting career, save for bit parts like his turn in "Happy Gilmore" (1996) as Adam Sandler's boss. Kiel subsequently wrote his autobiography, Making It Big in Hollywood (2002) before teaming with Oscar-winning screenwriter Pamela Wallace for Kentucky Lion: The True Story of Cassius Clay (2007), a biography of the 19th century abolitionist and ambassador.

Kiel's final film work came with a small voice role in the Disney animated hit "Tangled" (2010). Richard Kiel died at the age of 74 on September 10, 2014, in Fresno, California, after suffering complications from a broken leg.

Credits

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Actor
Show
2015

TangledStream

Actor
Vladimir
Movie
2010
89%

Dream of a Warrior

Actor
Movie
2001

Happy GilmoreStream

Actor
Mr. Larson
Movie
1996
62%

The Giant of Thunder Mountain

Actor
Eli Weaver
Movie
1991

The Giant of Thunder Mountain

Executive Producer
Movie
1991

The Giant of Thunder Mountain

Screenwriter
Movie
1991

Think Big

Actor
Irving
Movie
1990

Mystery Science Theater 3000Stream

Actor
Series
1988
87%

Mob Busters

Actor
Laszlo
Movie
1985

Pale RiderStream

Actor
Club
Movie
1985
93%

Mad Mission 3: Our Man From Bond Street

Actor
Movie
1984

Hysterical

Actor
Captain Howdy
Movie
1983

Simon & Simon

Guest Star
Mark Horton
Series
1981

The Fall GuyStream

Guest Star
Series
1981

So Fine

Actor
Eddie
Movie
1981

The Humanoid

Actor
Golob
Movie
1979

MoonrakerStream

Actor
Jaws
Movie
1979
59%

The Comedy ShopStream

Guest
Series
1978

Deseta postrojba s Navaronea

Actor
Movie
1978

Force 10 from NavaroneStream

Actor
Drazak
Movie
1978
67%

They Went That-A-Way and That-A-Way

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Duke
Movie
1978

War of the Wizards

Actor
Steel Hand
Movie
1978

The Spy Who Loved MeStream

Actor
Jaws
Movie
1977
82%

Silver StreakStream

Actor
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Movie
1976
76%

Barbary Coast

Actor
Moose Moran
Series
1975

Starsky & HutchStream

Guest Star
Series
1975

The Barbary Coast

Actor
Moose Moran
Movie
1975

Kolchak: The Night StalkerStream

Guest Star
Series
1974
100%

The Longest YardStream

Actor
Samson
Movie
1974
76%

The Wonderful World of Disney

Actor
Luke Brown
Series
1969

Las Vegas Hillbillys

Actor
Moose
Movie
1966

The Wild, Wild WestStream

Guest Star
Series
1965

I Dream of JeannieStream

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Ali
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1965

I SpyStream

Guest Star
Series
1965

My Mother the Car

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Cracks
Series
1965

Gilligan's IslandStream

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The Ghost/Russian Agent
Series
1964
90%

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Stream

Guest Star
Series
1964
100%

Lassie's Great Adventure

Actor
Chinook Pete
Movie
1964

Eegah!

Actor
Eegah
Movie
1962

The Phantom Planet

Actor
The Solarite
Movie
1961

ThrillerStream

Actor
Series
1960

The Twilight ZoneStream

Actor
Kanamit
Series
1959
92%

The RiflemanStream

Guest Star
Series
1958

Timmy & Lassie

Guest Star
Show
1957

Lassie

Guest Star
Chinook Pete
Series
1954