Richard Kiel

Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014)[1] was an American actor and voice artist. Standing 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979); he lampooned the role with a tongue-in-cheek cameo in Inspector Gadget (1999). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the tough but eloquent Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996). Other notable films include The Longest Yard (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Cannonball Run II (1984), Pale Rider (1985) and Tangled (2010).

Richard Kiel
Kiel at Supanova Pop Culture 2014
Born
Richard Dawson Kiel

(1939-09-13)September 13, 1939
DiedSeptember 10, 2014(2014-09-10) (aged 74)
Resting placeBelmont Memorial Park, Fresno, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, voice artist
Years active1960–2012
Notable credit(s)
Jaws in the James Bond films
Height7 ft 2 in (218 cm)
Spouse(s)
    Faye Daniels
    (m. 1960; div. 1973)
      Diane Rogers
      (m. 1974)
      Children4

      Early life

      Kiel was born in Detroit, Michigan.[2] His extraordinary height was a result of acromegaly, a condition caused by an excess of human growth hormone.[3] When he was 9 years old, his family moved to Los Angeles, where Kiel graduated from Baldwin Park High School.[4]

      Before becoming an actor, Kiel worked in several jobs, as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman,[4] a nightclub bouncer, and also as a cemetery plot salesman.[5] From 1963 to 1965, Kiel worked as a night-school mathematics instructor at the William B. Ogden Radio Operational School in Burbank, California.[6]

      Career

      Television

      Kiel appeared in many television shows throughout the 1960s to the 1980s such as The Twilight Zone ("To Serve Man", 1962), Laramie ("Street of Hate", 1961), I Dream of Jeannie, The Rifleman ("The Decision", 1961), Honey West, Gilligan's Island, The Monkees, Daniel Boone, Emergency!, Starsky & Hutch, Land of the Lost, Simon & Simon, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Fall Guy.

      Michael Dunn and Richard Kiel on the set of "The Wild Wild West"

      Due to his size, Kiel was often cast in villainous roles. He appeared as the towering  mute but lethal  assistant Voltaire to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in three first-season episodes of The Wild, Wild West. In the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Vulcan Affair" (1964), Kiel appeared as a guard in Vulcan's plant and he portrayed Merry in "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair". In 1967, he played a monster in The Monkees episode "I Was a Teenage Monster".

      He later appeared in an episode of The Wild Wild West, titled "The Night of the Simian Terror", as Dimas, the outcast son of a wealthy family, banished because of birth defects that distorted his body and apparently affected his mind. The episode first aired February 16, 1968. This episode is significant because it allowed Kiel the opportunity to really act rather than just look intimidating.

      In 1977, Kiel and Arnold Schwarzenegger were both considered for playing the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk. After Schwarzenegger was turned down due to his height, Kiel started filming the pilot. However, the producers quickly decided they wanted a more muscular Hulk rather than the towering Kiel, so he was dismissed. Kiel later said he did not mind losing the part because as he could only see out of one eye, he reacted badly to the contact lenses he had to wear for the role. He also found the green makeup unpleasant and difficult to remove.[5] His scenes were then reshot with Lou Ferrigno.

      Film

      Kiel broke into films in the early 1960s with Eegah (1962), which was later featured on Elvira's Movie Macabre and Mystery Science Theater 3000, as were The Phantom Planet (1961) and The Human Duplicators (1965). He also produced, co-wrote, and starred in The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991). He also had a brief non-speaking appearance leaving a gym in the Jerry Lewis movie The Nutty Professor (1963).

      The James Bond film producers spotted Kiel in Barbary Coast, and thought he was ideal for the role of Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). He was one of the few Bond villains to appear in two Bond films, later appearing in Moonraker (1979). He was often shot with his mouth closed or briefly showing his dangerous smile as he admitted the mouthpiece to simulate the metal teeth was extremely painful to wear and could only be used for a few minutes on every take. Because he suffered from acrophobia (fear of heights), a stunt double was used during the cable car stunt scenes because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a cable car more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above the ground. He reprised his role of Jaws in the video game called James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, supplying his voice and likeness. This was his second outing as a metal-toothed villain; a year before being cast in The Spy Who Loved Me, he had played Reace in the comedy-thriller film Silver Streak (1976). Kiel also played in the film Pale Rider (1985). Acting as the main antagonist's henchman, he redeems his character's status by saving the hero from a gunshot to the back.

      Although earlier roles had offered him little dialogue, his role in Happy Gilmore (1996) was quite the opposite. As Mr. Larson, Happy Gilmore's former employer, Kiel exchanges several one-liners with both Adam Sandler's Happy and Christopher McDonald's Shooter McGavin. Kiel took a quieter profile after Happy Gilmore's release, but left semi-retirement to record a role for Tangled (2010). In the acclaimed animated Disney film, he portrayed Vlad, a surprisingly softhearted thug who collects ceramic unicorns.

      Personal life

      Kiel's first marriage was to Faye Daniels in 1960. They divorced in the early 1970s. He later married Diane Rogers Kiel, who was 5 ft 1 in (154 cm) tall, and their marriage lasted for forty years until Richard Kiel died.[5] They had four children and nine grandchildren.[2] He co-authored a biography of the abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay called Kentucky Lion. In 2002, Kiel published his autobiography, Making It Big In The Movies. Kiel was also a born-again Christian. His website states his religious conversion helped him to overcome alcoholism.[7]

      Health

      In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which later affected his sense of balance. Kiel subsequently often used a cane for support. Later in life, Kiel used a scooter.

      Death

      On September 10, 2014, three days short of his 75th birthday, Kiel died at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, of a heart attack. One week prior to his death, he had been admitted to the hospital for a broken leg.[1][8]

      Filmography

      Kiel as Eegah (1962)

      Features

      YearTitleRoleNotes
      1960The D.I.Ugly MarineUncredited
      1961Run of the HuntedToland's AssistantUncredited
      1961The Phantom PlanetThe Solarite
      1962EegahEegah
      1963House of the DamnedGiant
      1963The Nutty ProfessorBodybuilder #1Uncredited
      1963Lassie's Great AdventureChinook Pete
      196330 Minutes at GunsightTv Short
      1964RoustaboutStrong ManUncredited
      1964The Nasty RabbitRanch ForemanUncredited
      1965Two on a GuillotineTall Man at FuneralUncredited
      1965The Human DuplicatorsDr. Kolos
      1965BrainstormPsychiatric Hospital PatientUncredited
      1966The Las Vegas HillbillysMoose
      1967A Man Called DaggerOtto
      1968Now You See It, Now You Don'tNoriTV Movie
      1968SkidooBeany
      1970On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverBlacksmithUncredited
      1973Deadhead MilesBig Dick
      1974The Longest YardSamson
      1975Flash and the FirecatTracker
      1976GusLarge Man
      1976Silver StreakReace
      1977The Spy Who Loved MeJaws
      1977The Incredible Hulk0TV Series, One scene, Uncredited
      1978Wu zi tian shiSteel Hand
      1978Force 10 from NavaroneCaptain Drazak
      1978They Went That-A-Way & That-A-WayDuke
      1979The HumanoidGolob
      1979MoonrakerJawsNominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
      1981So FineEddie
      1983HystericalCaptain Howdy
      1983PhoenixSteel Hand
      1984Aces Go Places 3Big G
      1984Cannonball Run IIArnold / Mitsubishi Driver
      1985Pale RiderClub
      1985Qing bao long hu menLaszlo
      1989Think BigIrving
      1989The Princess and the DwarfUnknown role
      1991The Giant of Thunder MountainEli Weaver
      1996Happy GilmoreMr. Larson
      1999Inspector GadgetFamous Big Guy With Silver TeethParody of Jaws. Part of "The Minion Recovery Group"
      2009The AwakenedJasper
      2010The Corpse of Albert CradetteAlbert Cradette
      2010TangledVladimirVoice (final film role)

      Television

      Kiel as Ali with Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman in I Dream of Jeannie, 1965
      YearTitleRoleNotes
      1960KlondikeDuff BranniganEpisode: "Bare Knuckles"
      1961LaramieRake - Tolan's helperEpisode: "Run of the Hunted", Uncredited
      1961The PhantomBig Mike
      1961ThrillerMaster StyxEpisode: "Well of Doom"
      1961The RiflemanCarl HazlittEpisode: "The Decision"
      1962The Twilight ZoneKanamitEpisode: "To Serve Man"
      1963The Paul Bunyan ShowPaul Bunyan
      1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Henchman for Mr. VulcanEpisode: "The Vulcan Affair"
      Uncredited
      1965The Man from U.N.C.L.E.MerryEpisode: "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair"
      1965I Dream of JeannieAliEpisode: "My Hero"
      1966Honey WestGroalgoEpisode: "King of the Mountain"
      1966My Mother the CarCracksEpisode: "A Riddler on the Roof"
      1966The Wild Wild WestVoltaireEpisodes: "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth"
      1965: "The Night That Terror Stalked the Town"
      1965: "The Night of the Whirring Death"
      1966Gilligan's IslandGhostEpisode: Ghost-a-Go-Go"
      1967The MonkeesMonsterEpisode: "I Was a Teenage Monster"
      1967The MonroesCasmirEpisode: "Ghosts of Paradox"
      1968I SpyTinyEpisode: "A Few Miles West of Nowhere"
      1968The Wild Wild WestDimasEpisode: "The Night of the Simian Terror"
      1968It Takes a ThiefWillie TrionEpisode: "The Galloping Skin Game"
      1969Daniel BooneLe MoucheEpisode: "Benvenuto...Who?"
      1970DisneylandLuke BrownEpisode: "The Boy Who Stole the Elephant: Part 1 & 2"
      1974Kolchak: The Night StalkerThe DiableroEpisode: "Bad Medicine"
      1974Emergency!CarloEpisode: "I'll Fix It"
      1974Kolchak: The Night StalkerThe "Père malfait"Episode: "The Spanish Moss Murders"
      1975SwitchLoachEpisode: "Death Heist"
      1976Starsky & HutchIggyEpisode: "Omaha Tiger"
      1975 – 1976Barbary CoastMoose Moran14 episodes, 1975–1976
      1977Land of the LostMalakEpisodes: "Survival Kit"
      "Flying Dutchman"
      1977The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesManagerEpisode: "The Mystery of the Haunted House"
      1977Young Dan'l BooneUnknown roleEpisode: "The Game"
      1980Match Game PMSelf - PanelistOne episode
      1981The Fall GuyAnimalEpisode: "That's Right, We're Bad"
      1983Simon & SimonMark HortonEpisode: "The Skeleton Who Came Out of the Closet"
      1988Out of This WorldNormanEpisode: "Go West, Young Mayor"
      1989SuperboyVlkabokEpisode: "Mr. and Mrs. Superboy"
      2000Bloodhounds Inc.MortimerEpisode: "Fangs for the Memories"

      Video games

      YearTitleRoleNotes
      1997GoldenEye 007JawsLikeness only
      1998James Bond 007Jaws
      2000007: The World Is Not EnoughJawsLikeness only
      2000007 RacingJawsArchival footage
      2004James Bond 007: Everything or NothingJawsVoice work & likeness
      2010GoldenEye 007JawsLikeness only
      2012007 LegendsJawsLikeness only

      See also

      References

      1. Weber, Bruce (September 11, 2014). "Richard Kiel Dies at 74; Played Jaws in Bond Films". The New York Times.
      2. "Richard Kiel obituary". The Guardian (UK). September 11, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
      3. "Why Was This Woman Gaining Weight Despite Her Diet?". Retrieved April 18, 2016.
      4. Steve Chawkins. Actor was "Jaws" in Bond films, The Los Angeles Times, 12 September 2014
      5. "The Den of Geek interview: Richard Kiel". Den of Geek. January 6, 2009.
      6. "Actor Richard Kiel taught math at Ogden's Radio School in '63". www.modestoradiomuseum.org.
      7. Kiel, Richard. "Richard Kiel's Testimony". Official Richard Kiel Fan Club. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
      8. "Bond Villain Died Of Heart Disease". TMZ. October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
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