The man behind one of the greatest foes that James Bond ever faced is no longer with us.
Actor Richard Kiel, who starred as the metal-toothed Jaws in multiple installments in the Bond franchise, passed away on Wednesday (September 10) in a Fresno, California hospital. No cause of death was revealed. Kiel was 74 years old.
With a hulking stature of just over seven feet, Kiel worked regularly from the 1960s until the time of his death, often playing imposing figures that matched his height. Most memorably, Kiel was Jaws, a brutal henchman who squared off against Roger Moore’s James Bond in 1977′s “The Spy Who Loved Me” and 1979′s “Moonraker.” He lent his voice to Jaws in other Bond projects over the years, lending his voice and likeness to video games like “007: Everything or Nothing.”
Kiel’s other credits were many and varied, including “The Wild, Wild West,” “Barbary Coast” and “The Giant of Thunder Mountain.” His acting credits slowed starting in the 1990s, but he delivered a scene-stealing turn in 1996′s “Happy Gilmore” as Mr. Larson, Gilmore’s ex-employer who turns from foe to friend, with a special distaste for Gilmore’s rival Shooter McGavin.
Even more recently, he lent his voice to Disney’s 2010 movie “Tangled,” playing Vladamir.
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