American actor Richard Kiel – best known for his role as the towering steel-toothed henchman Jaws in the James Bond movie series – has passed away yesterday, aged 74. No cause of death has been released.
Born in Detroit in 1939, Kiel began his career in 1960 with a role in an episode of Laramie, before breaking into films in the early 60s with big screen appearances in the likes of House of the Damned, The Nutty Professor, Lassie’s Great Adventure and The Longest Yard alongside TV shows such as The Twilight Zone, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
In 1977, Kiel made his first appearance as Jaws alongside Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me, and became one of a handful of Bond villains to return for a subsequent movie, reprising the role for 1979’s Moonraker, as well as the 2004 video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.
Following his Bond work, Kiel would appear in the likes of Pale Rider, Happy Gilmore, Inspector Gadget and Tangled, although his career was limited somewhat following a severe head injury sustained in a car accident in 1992.
Originally published September 11, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
