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| Remembered: Richard Kiel - posing here in 2012 behind a shot of him as Bond villain Jaws - has died aged 74, TMZ reports |
Tributes have poured in for the actor Richard Kiel, best known for his role as the steel-toothed villain Jaws in two 1970s James Bond films, who died yesterday aged 74.
The statuesque 7ft 2in actor portrayed the mercenary assassin Jaws in the 1977 movie The Spy Who Loved Me and the 1979 thriller Moonraker both opposite Sir Roger Moore as Agent 007.
Kiel died yesterday afternoon at a hospital in Fresno, California, according to a report on Wednesday by TMZ.
Sir Roger Moore, 86, took to Twitter to express his grief at the sad news, posting: 'I am totally distraught to learn of my dear friend Richard Kiel's passing.
'We were on a radio programme together just a week ago. Distraught.'
He later added: 'Can't take it in'.
Former NFL player Carl Waethers, who appeared in 1996's Happy Gilmore and 1978's Force 10 from Navarone alongside Kiel, tweeted: 'RIP Richard Kiel. Had the pleasure to work with you twice. #BePeace.'
American actress, Barbara Eden, who appeared with the actor in the sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, also wrote: 'Many fond memories of Richard Kiel, sweet man & gentle giant. My thoughts & prayers to his family & friends. -Barbara.'
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| Metal teeth: Richard as Jaws in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me puts a strangehold on Agent 007 played by Roger Moore |
Kiel was a patient at Saint Agnes Medical Center and his death was confirmed by Kelley Sanchez, director of communications at the hospital.
The towering star recently broke his leg and received treatment at the medical center, according to TMZ.
A cause of death has not yet been reported.
Kiel's other memorable film and television performances included imposing boss Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore starring Adam Sandler, lethal assistant Voltaire in The Wild, Wild West and the extraterrestrial Kanamit in the memorable 1962 The Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man.
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| Richard is shown battling Roger Moore in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker |
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| Kiel is shown as Jaws biting through a cable with his steel teeth |
The Twilight Zone episode that he starred in famously ends with a cryptologist sharing the true nature of the alien's To Serve Man tome as she revealed: 'It's a cookbook!'
He also portrayed a prisoner who played a bruising game of football against the guards in the 1974 film The Longest Yard starring Burt Reynolds and was a killer in the 1976 comedy Silver Streak starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.
His character Jaws ranks among the top Bond villains alongside Goldfinger, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Rosa Klebb.
Jaws was known for his enormous size and strength plus those sharp steel teeth that he could use to bite through cables and to chomp on the neck of his victims.
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| Larger than life: Jaws with his towering height and metal teeth proved a formidable villain in The Spy Who Loved Me and again in Moonraker |
Moore, who played the fictional British secret agent in seven films, wrote an August 2012 article in MailOnline about his favourite Bond villains.
'The most memorable of all, however, has to be Jaws, sidekick to the evil Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me,' Moore, 86, wrote in the article.
'Jaws was played by my good friend Richard Kiel, who stands 7ft 2½ in. Jaws got his name from the ominous, glinting steel teeth he wore, of course. Poor devil, they were so uncomfortable to wear – Richard could only keep them in for about half a minute at a time,' Moore wrote.
Bond movie producer Albert R. Broccoli has been credited with adding steel teeth to the Jaws character for The Spy Who Loved Me.
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| Gentle giant: Richard, shown in May 2013 in London, was described by Moore as 'so kind, so gentle' |
Earlier this year, Kiel told the Daily Mail: 'To this day, I go out in sunglasses and a hat because people will shout "Hey, Jaws!" at me from across the street.
'The only way I can explain it is that he's like the Road Runner, which Coyote keeps trying to blow up, but he keeps going.'
Before finding fame as a Bond villain, Kiel got his career breakthrough starring as Voltaire to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in The Wild, Wild West in 1965.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Kiel made his acting debut in the television series Laramie, in an episode titled Street Of Hate.
He suffered a severe head injury in a 1992 car accident that affected his balance and forced him to walk with a cane, as shown in his appearances in Happy Gilmore, or use a scooter to get around.
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| Bond favourite: Kiel, shown as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, ranks among the top Bond villains |
Moore in his 2009 memoir My Word Is My Bond described how Kiel was starkly different from his Jaws character.
'Richard is so kind, so gentle,' Moore wrote of his co-star.
Kiel's abnormal height and distinct features were a result of a hormonal condition called acromegaly that is often associated with gigantism.
Kiel published an autobiography in 2002 titled Making It Big in the Movies.
He also co-authored the 2007 book Kentucky Lion: The True Story of Cassius Clay about the politician who worked for the abolition of slavery.
In 2009, Kiel worked with former Star Trek actor, Robert Picardo, on horror science-fiction film, The Awakened.
Today Picardo tweeted: 'Rest in peace gentle giant Richard Kiel. I am so glad we met through our mutual friend Mr. Marlowe and had the opportunity to work together.'
Culled from DAILY MAIL
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