Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born November 15, 1939) is an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) as Lieutenant Al Giardello. His films include the science-fiction/horror film Alien (1979), and the Arnold Schwarzenegger science-fiction/action film The Running Man (1987). He portrayed the main villain Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (1973). He appeared opposite Robert De Niro in the comedy thriller Midnight Run (1988) as FBI Agent Alonzo Mosley.
Yaphet Kotto | |
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 Kotto in 1995 | |
| Born | Fredrick S. Kotto[1] November 15, 1939 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–2014 |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[2] |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Dittman
(m. 1959; div. 1976)Toni Pettyjohn
(m. 1975; div. 1989)Tessie Sinahon (m. 1998) |
| Children | 6 |
Early life
Kotto was born in New York City. His mother was Gladys Marie, a nurse and U.S. Army officer. His father is Avraham Kotto (according to his son, originally named Njoki Manga Bell), a businessman from Cameroon who immigrated to the United States in the 1920s.[4]
Career
By the age of sixteen, Kotto was studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio, and at 19, he made his professional acting debut in Othello. He was a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Kotto got his start in acting on Broadway, where he appeared in The Great White Hope, among other productions.
His film debut was in 1963, aged 23, in an uncredited role in 4 For Texas.[5] He performed in Michael Roemer's Nothing But a Man (1964) and played a supporting role in the caper film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). He played John Auston, a confused Marine Lance Corporal, in the 1968 episode, "King of the Hill", on the first season of Hawaii Five-O.
In 1967 he released a single, "Have You Ever Seen The Blues" / "Have You Dug His Scene" (Chisa Records, CH006).[6]
In 1973 he landed the role of the James Bond villain Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, as well as roles in Across 110th Street and Truck Turner. Kotto portrayed Idi Amin in the 1977 television film Raid on Entebbe. He starred as an auto worker in the 1978 film Blue Collar. The following year he played Parker in the sci-fi–horror film Alien. He followed with a supporting role in the 1980 prison drama Brubaker. In 1983, he guest-starred as mobster Charlie "East Side Charlie" Struthers in The A-Team episode "The Out-of-Towners". In 1987, he appeared in the futuristic sci-fi movie The Running Man, and in 1988, in the action-comedy Midnight Run, in which he portrayed Alonzo Moseley, an FBI agent. A memo from Paramount indicates that Kotto was among those being considered for Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role which eventually went to Patrick Stewart.[7]
Kotto was cast as a religious man living in the southwestern desert country in the 1967 episode, "A Man Called Abraham", on the syndicated anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor. In the story line, Abraham convinces a killer named Cassidy (Rayford Barnes) that Cassidy can change his heart despite past crimes. When Cassidy is sent to the gallows, Abraham provides spiritual solace. Bing Russell also appeared in this segment.[8]
Kotto portrayed Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running television series Homicide: Life on the Street. He has written the book Royalty and also wrote scripts for Homicide. In 2014, he voiced "Parker" for the video game Alien: Isolation, reprising the role he played in the movie Alien in 1979.[9]
Personal life
Kotto's first marriage was to a German immigrant, Rita Ingrid Dittman, whom he married in 1959. They had three children together before divorcing in 1976. Before his divorce, Kotto married Toni Pettyjohn, and they also had three children together, before divorcing in 1989. Kotto married his third wife, Tessie Sinahon, on July 12, 1998. Kotto is also Jewish.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 4 for Texas | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Nothing But a Man | Jocko | |
| 1968 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Carl | |
| 1968 | 5 Card Stud | Little George (Mama's bartender) | |
| 1970 | The Liberation of L.B. Jones | Sonny Boy Mosby | |
| 1970 | Night Chase | Ernie Green | |
| 1971 | Man and Boy | Nate Hodges | |
| 1972 | Bone | Bone | |
| 1972 | The Limit | Mark Johnson | Also director |
| 1972 | Across 110th Street | Lt. Pope | |
| 1973 | Live and Let Die | Dr. Kananga / Mr. Big | |
| 1974 | Truck Turner | Harvard Blue | |
| 1975 | Report to the Commissioner | Richard "Crunch" Blackstone | |
| 1975 | Sharks' Treasure | Ben Flynn |
1245 cube zero |
| 1975 | Friday Foster | Colt Hawkins | |
| 1976 | Drum | Blaise | |
| 1976 | The Monkey Hustle | Big Daddy Foxx | |
| 1976 | Crunch | Richard "Crunch" Blackstone | |
| 1976 | Raid on Entebbe | President Idi Amin Dada | Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1978 | Blue Collar | Smokey James | |
| 1979 | Alien | Technician Dennis Parker | |
| 1980 | Othello | Othello | No Commercial Release |
| 1980 | Brubaker | Richard 'Dickie' Coombes | |
| 1980 | Rage! | Ernie | |
| 1982 | A House Divided: Denmark Vessey's Rebellion | Denmark Vessey | |
| 1982 | Fighting Back | Ivanhoe Washington | |
| 1983 | The Star Chamber | Det. Harry Lowes | |
| 1983 | For Love and Honor | Sgt. China Bell | |
| 1983 | Women of San Quentin | Sgt. Therman Patterson | |
| 1984 | Terror in the Aisles | Himself | |
| 1985 | Playing With Fire | Fire Chief Walker | |
| 1985 | Warning Sign | Major Connolly | |
| 1985 | The Park is Mine | Eubanks | |
| 1985 | Badge of the Assassin | Det. Cliff Fenton NYPD | |
| 1986 | Harem | Agha Kislar | |
| 1986 | Eye of the Tiger | J. B. Deveraux | |
| 1987 | Prettykill | Harris | |
| 1987 | Desperado | Bede | |
| 1987 | In Self Defense | Lt. Tyrell | |
| 1987 | Terminal Entry | Conl. Styles | |
| 1987 | The Running Man | William Laughlin | |
| 1988 | Midnight Run | FBI Special Agent Alonzo Mosely | |
| 1989 | The Jigsaw Murders | Doctor Filmore | |
| 1989 | Whisper To A Scream | Jules Tallard | |
| 1989 | Prime Target | Gilmore Brown | |
| 1989 | Ministry of Vengeance | Mr. Whiteside | |
| 1989 | Tripwire | Lee Pitt | |
| 1990 | After the Shock | William McElroy | |
| 1991 | Hangfire | Police Lieutenant | |
| 1991 | Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Doc | |
| 1992 | Chrome Soldiers | Perry Beach | |
| 1993 | Extreme Justice | Larson | |
| 1994 | The Puppet Masters | Ressler | |
| 1995 | Out of Sync | Quincy | |
| 1996 | Two If by Sea | FBI Agent O'Malley | |
| 2008 | Witless Protection | Ricardo Bodi (alias Alonzo Mosley) | Final Film Role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Big Valley (Death Valley Days) | Lobo Brown Damien Abraham |
Season 2, episode 11: "The Iron Box" Season 3, episode 15: "The Buffalo Man" Season 15, episode 26: "A Man Called Abraham" |
| 1968 | Bonanza | Joshua "Child" Barnett | Season 10, episode 2: "Child" |
| 1968 | The High Chaparral | Sergeant Major | Episode 38: "The Buffalo Soldiers" Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Fictional Television Drama |
| 1968 | Daniel Boone | Luke | Season 5, episode 11: Big, Black and out There |
| 1969 | Mannix | black jazz musician Gabe Johnson | Season 2, episode 18: "Death in a Minor Key" |
| 1969 | Hawaii Five-O | Marine Lance Corporal John T. Auston | Season 1, episode 14: "King of the Hill" |
| 1969 | Daniel Boone | Jonah | Season 5, episode 18: "Jonah" |
| 1970 | Gunsmoke | Piney Biggs | Episode 294: "The Scavengers" |
| 1971 | Night Gallery | Buckner | Season 2, episode 13: "The Messiah on Mott Street" |
| 1977 | Roots | ||
| 1983 | The A-Team | East-Side Charlie Struthers | Series 1 Episode 8 "The Out-0f-Towners" (1983) |
| 1983 | For Love and Honor | Platoon Sgt. James "China" Bell | "The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel" (1987) |
| 1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Convict | Season 1, Episode 10: "Prisoners" |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Lt. Bradshaw | Season 4, Episode 8: "Steal Me a Story" (1987) |
| 1993 | seaQuest DSV | Captain Jack Clayton | Season 1, episode 6: "Treasures of the Tonga Trench" |
| 1993–2000 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Lieutenant Al Giardello | Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (1996-1999) |
| 1994 | The Corpse Had a Familiar Face | Detective Martin Talbot | Television film |
| 1994 | TV Nation | Himself | Pilot episode |
| 2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Al Giardello | Television film |
Video game
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Alien: Isolation | Technician Dennis Parker | Voice role; Nostromo Edition |
References
- New York Birth Index, 1910-1965.
- Williams, Monte (January 31, 1994). "The Soul of Diversity". People. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985, California Department of Health, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410.
- Faxx, Israel (May 6, 1999). "Lt. Giardello Doesn't Skip His Prayers". allbusiness.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- "Yaphet Kotto Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- https://www.45cat.com/record/ch006
- Letters of Note: STAR TREK/Casting, lettersofnote.com; August 2010.
- "A Man Called Abraham on Death Valley Days". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- Yaphet Kotto at IMDb
Further reading
- The Royalty: A Spiritual Awakening (1997), autobiography; ISBN 0-9655950-1-3
External links
- Yaphet Kotto at IMDb
- Yaphet Kotto at the Internet Broadway Database
- Yaphet Kotto at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
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