Richard Kiel: Difference between revisions
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In television, Kiel portrayed the Kanamit alien in the now-classic [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|''The Twilight Zone'']] episode "[[To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)|To Serve Man]]" (1962) and [[Dr. Loveless|Dr. Miguelito Loveless]]' assistant, Voltaire, in first-season episodes of ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' (1965-1966). |
In television, Kiel portrayed the Kanamit alien in the now-classic [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|''The Twilight Zone'']] episode "[[To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)|To Serve Man]]" (1962) and [[Dr. Loveless|Dr. Miguelito Loveless]]' assistant, Voltaire, in first-season episodes of ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' (1965-1966). |
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⚫ | Kiel was born in Detroit, Michigan. His height and features were a result of the hormonal condition of [[acromegaly]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/17/magazine/17mag-diagnosis.html | title = Why Was This Woman Gaining Weight Despite Her Diet? | accessdate=April 18, 2016}}</ref> In his prime, Kiel was {{convert|7|ft|1+1/2|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall. He noted in his 2002 autobiography ''Making It Big in the Movies'' that he used to state that he was {{convert|7|ft|2|in|cm|0|abbr=on}}, because it was easier to remember. He suffered from [[acrophobia]] (fear of heights), and during the cable car stunt scenes in ''Moonraker'', a stunt double was used because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a [[cable car]] over {{convert|2000|ft}} above the ground. |
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⚫ | In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which affected his balance. He was subsequently forced to walk with a [[walking stick|cane]] to support himself (as shown in his appearance in ''[[Happy Gilmore]]'', where he is seen leaning on a person or a cane). Later, Kiel used a [[mobility scooter|scooter]] or [[wheelchair]]. |
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⚫ | After his first marriage ended in divorce, Kiel was married to Diane Rogers for 40 years,<ref name="Guardian"/> and at the time of his death, had four children, and nine grandchildren. He co-authored a biography of the [[abolitionism|abolitionist]] [[Cassius Marcellus Clay (politician)|Cassius Marcellus Clay]] called ''Kentucky Lion''. Kiel was also a [[born-again Christian]]. His website states that his religious conversion helped him to overcome [[alcoholism]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.richardkiel.com/testimony.html | title = Richard Kiel's Testimony| last = Kiel | first = Richard| work = Official Richard Kiel Fan Club | accessdate=August 16, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Kiel's IMDb page indicates that he filmed a role for [[Gary T. Smith]]'s indie film ''[[The Engagement Ring (film)|The Engagement Ring]]'', although no production update has occurred since Kiel's passing. |
Kiel's IMDb page indicates that he filmed a role for [[Gary T. Smith]]'s indie film ''[[The Engagement Ring (film)|The Engagement Ring]]'', although no production update has occurred since Kiel's passing. |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | Kiel was born in Detroit, Michigan. His height and features were a result of the hormonal condition of [[acromegaly]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/17/magazine/17mag-diagnosis.html | title = Why Was This Woman Gaining Weight Despite Her Diet? | accessdate=April 18, 2016}}</ref> In his prime, Kiel was {{convert|7|ft|1+1/2|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} tall. He noted in his 2002 autobiography ''Making It Big in the Movies'' that he used to state that he was {{convert|7|ft|2|in|cm|0|abbr=on}}, because it was easier to remember. He suffered from [[acrophobia]] (fear of heights), and during the cable car stunt scenes in ''Moonraker'', a stunt double was used because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a [[cable car]] over {{convert|2000|ft}} above the ground. |
||
⚫ | In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which affected his balance. He was subsequently forced to walk with a [[walking stick|cane]] to support himself (as shown in his appearance in ''[[Happy Gilmore]]'', where he is seen leaning on a person or a cane). Later, Kiel used a [[mobility scooter|scooter]] or [[wheelchair]]. |
||
⚫ | After his first marriage ended in divorce, Kiel was married to Diane Rogers for 40 years,<ref name="Guardian"/> and at the time of his death, had four children, and nine grandchildren. He co-authored a biography of the [[abolitionism|abolitionist]] [[Cassius Marcellus Clay (politician)|Cassius Marcellus Clay]] called ''Kentucky Lion''. Kiel was also a [[born-again Christian]]. His website states that his religious conversion helped him to overcome [[alcoholism]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.richardkiel.com/testimony.html | title = Richard Kiel's Testimony| last = Kiel | first = Richard| work = Official Richard Kiel Fan Club | accessdate=August 16, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
Revision as of 10:55, 7 July 2018
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
Richard Kiel | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Dawson Kiel[1] September 13, 1939[2] |
Died | September 10, 2014 Fresno, California, U.S. | (aged 74)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Resting place | Belmont Memorial Park, Fresno, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Actor, voice artist, comedian |
Years active | 1960–2014 |
Notable credit | Jaws in the James Bond films |
Height | 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) |
Spouse(s) |
Faye Daniels
(m. 1960; div. 1973)Diane Rogers
(m. 1974; "his death" is deprecated; use "died" instead. 2014) |
Children | 4 |
Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Jaws in the James Bond franchise, portraying the character in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979); he lampooned the role with a tongue-in-cheek cameo in Inspector Gadget (1999). His 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), Pale Rider (1985) and Tangled (2010).
In television, Kiel portrayed the Kanamit alien in the now-classic The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" (1962) and Dr. Miguelito Loveless' assistant, Voltaire, in first-season episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965-1966).
Personal life
Kiel was born in Detroit, Michigan. His height and features were a result of the hormonal condition of acromegaly.[3] In his prime, Kiel was 7 ft 1+1⁄2 in (217 cm) tall. He noted in his 2002 autobiography Making It Big in the Movies that he used to state that he was 7 ft 2 in (218 cm), because it was easier to remember. He suffered from acrophobia (fear of heights), and during the cable car stunt scenes in Moonraker, a stunt double was used because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a cable car over 2,000 feet (610 m) above the ground.
In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which affected his balance. He was subsequently forced to walk with a cane to support himself (as shown in his appearance in Happy Gilmore, where he is seen leaning on a person or a cane). Later, Kiel used a scooter or wheelchair.
After his first marriage ended in divorce, Kiel was married to Diane Rogers for 40 years,[2] and at the time of his death, had four children, and nine grandchildren. He co-authored a biography of the abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay called Kentucky Lion. Kiel was also a born-again Christian. His website states that his religious conversion helped him to overcome alcoholism.[4]
Career
Kiel made his acting debut in the Laramie episode "Street of Hate". He also acted in an unaired TV pilot featuring Lee Falk's superhero The Phantom, where Kiel portrayed an assassin called Big Mike.
Before film and television, Kiel worked in numerous jobs, including a nightclub bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman.[5]
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 and The Human Duplicators. He also produced, co-wrote, and starred in The Giant of Thunder Mountain. Kiel appeared as the towering — and lethal — assistant Voltaire to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in first-season episodes of The Wild, Wild West. He later appeared in the episode "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. This episode is significant because it allowed Kiel the opportunity to really act rather than just look intimidating. Kiel also had a cameo role in a 1961 episode of The Rifleman.
From 1963 to 1965, Kiel worked as a night school math instructor in Burbank, California.[6]
In the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Vulcan Affair", 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 an episode of The Monkees ("I was a Teenage Monster").
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kiel were the original choices to portray the title character in The Incredible Hulk. Schwarzenegger was turned down due to his height. Kiel participated in the filming of the pilot. During the shoot, producers decided their Hulk needed to be muscular rather than just towering, and Kiel was dismissed because he possessed more body fat than the producers deemed necessary. According to a Den of Geek interview,[5] Kiel, who saw properly out of only one eye, also reacted badly to the contact lenses used for the role and found the green makeup difficult to remove, so he did not mind losing the part. All recognizable footage of Kiel was cut, except one scene where the Hulk saves the little girl from drowning; the scenes were then reshot with Lou Ferrigno.
He appeared on many other television episodes, such as Laramie, I Dream of Jeannie, Honey West, Gilligan's Island, The Monkees, Daniel Boone, Emergency!, Starsky & Hutch, Land of the Lost, The Fall Guy, and Simon & Simon, and "Kolchak: The Night Stalker".
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 reprised his role of Jaws in the video game called James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, supplying his voice and likeness. Prior to becoming Jaws, Kiel gave a similarly menacing performance as another metal-toothed villain, Reace, in Silver Streak (1976).
While Kiel's roles as Jaws and Reace 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. 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 soft-hearted thug who collects ceramic unicorns.
Kiel's IMDb page indicates that he filmed a role for Gary T. Smith's indie film The Engagement Ring, although no production update has occurred since Kiel's passing.
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, possibly caused by coronary artery disease.[1][7]
Filmography
Features
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | The D.I. | Ugly Marine | Uncredited |
1961 | The Phantom Planet | The Solarite | |
1962 | Eegah | Eegah | |
1963 | House of the Damned | Giant | |
1963 | The Nutty Professor | Bodybuilder #1 | Uncredited |
1963 | Lassie's Great Adventure | Chinook Pete | |
1963 | 30 Minutes at Gunsight | Tv Short | |
1964 | Roustabout | Strong Man | Uncredited |
1964 | The Nasty Rabbit | Ranch Foreman | Uncredited |
1965 | Two on a Guillotine | Tall Man at Funeral | Uncredited |
1965 | The Human Duplicators | Dr. Kolos | |
1965 | Brainstorm | Psychiatric Hospital Patient | Uncredited |
1966 | The Las Vegas Hillbillys | Moose | |
1967 | A Man Called Dagger | Otto | |
1968 | Now You See It, Now You Don't | Nori | TV Movie |
1968 | Skidoo | Beany | |
1970 | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Blacksmith | Uncredited |
1973 | Deadhead Miles | Big Dick | |
1974 | The Longest Yard | Samson | |
1975 | Flash and the Firecat | Tracker | |
1976 | Gus | Large Man | |
1976 | Silver Streak | Reace | |
1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Jaws | |
1977 | The Incredible Hulk | The Hulk | TV Series, One scene, Uncredited |
1978 | Wu zi tian shi | Steel Hand | |
1978 | Force 10 from Navarone | Captain Drazak | |
1978 | They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way | Duke | |
1979 | The Humanoid | Golob | |
1979 | Moonraker | Jaws | Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
1981 | So Fine | Eddie | |
1983 | Hysterical | Captain Howdy | |
1983 | Phoenix | Steel Hand | |
1984 | Aces Go Places 3 | Big G | |
1984 | Cannonball Run II | Arnold / Mitsubishi Driver | |
1985 | Pale Rider | Club | |
1985 | Qing bao long hu men | Laszlo | |
1989 | Think Big | Irving | |
1989 | The Princess and the Dwarf | Unknown role | |
1991 | The Giant of Thunder Mountain | Eli Weaver | |
1996 | Happy Gilmore | Mr. Larson | |
1999 | Inspector Gadget | Jaws | |
2009 | The Awakened | Jasper | |
2010 | The Corpse of Albert Cradette | Albert Cradette | |
2010 | Tangled | Vladimir | Voice |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | Klondike | Duff Brannigan | Episode: "Bare Knuckles" |
1961 | Laramie | Rake - Tolan's helper (uncredited) | Episode: "Run of the Hunted" |
1961 | The Phantom | Big Mike | |
1961 | Thriller | Master Styx | Episode: "Well of Doom" |
1961 | The Rifleman | Carl Hazlitt | Episode: "The Decision" |
1962 | The Twilight Zone | Kanamit | Episode: "To Serve Man" |
1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Henchman for Mr. Vulcan | Episode: "The Vulcan Affair" Uncredited |
1965 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Merry | Episode: "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair" |
1965 | I Dream of Jeannie | Ali | Episode: "My Hero" |
1966 | Honey West | Groalgo | Episode: "King of the Mountain" |
1966 | My Mother the Car | Cracks | Episode: "A Riddler on the Roof" |
1966 | The Wild Wild West | Voltaire | Episodes: "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth" 1965: "The Night That Terror Stalked the Town" 1965: "The Night of the Whirring Death" |
1966 | Gilligan's Island | Ghost | Episode: Ghost-a-Go-Go" |
1967 | The Monkees | Monster | Episode: "I Was a Teenage Monster" |
1967 | The Monroes | Casmir | Episode: "Ghosts of Paradox" |
1968 | I Spy | Tiny | Episode: "A Few Miles West of Nowhere" |
1968 | The Wild Wild West | Dimas | Episode: "The Night of the Simian Terror" |
1968 | It Takes a Thief | Willie Trion | Episode: "The Galloping Skin Game" |
1969 | Daniel Boone | Le Mouche | Episode: "Benvenuto...Who?" |
1970 | Disneyland | Luke Brown | Episode: "The Boy Who Stole the Elephant: Part 1 & 2" |
1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | The Diablero | Episode: "Bad Medicine" |
1974 | Emergency! | Carlo | Episode: "I'll Fix It" |
1974 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Peremalfait | Episode: "The Spanish Moss Murders" |
1975 | Switch | Unknown role | Episode: "Death Heist" |
1976 | Starsky & Hutch | Iggy | Episode: "Omaha Tiger" |
1975 – 1976 | Barbary Coast | Moose Moran | 14 episodes, 1975–1976 |
1977 | Land of the Lost | Malak | Episodes: "Survival Kit" "Flying Dutchman" |
1977 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | Manager | Episode: "The Mystery of the Haunted House" |
1977 | Young Dan'l Boone | Unknown role | Episode: "The Game" |
1981 | The Fall Guy | Animal | Episode: "That's Right, We're Bad" |
1983 | Simon & Simon | Mark Horton | Episode: "The Skeleton Who Came Out of the Closet" |
1988 | Out of This World | Norman | Episode: "Go West, Young Mayor" |
1989 | Superboy | Vlkabok | Episode: "Mr. and Mrs. Superboy" |
2000 | Bloodhounds Inc. | Mortimer | Episode: "Fangs for the Memories" |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | GoldenEye 007 | Jaws | Likeness only |
2000 | 007: The World Is Not Enough | Jaws | Likeness only |
2000 | 007 Racing | Jaws | Archival footage |
2004 | James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing | Jaws | Voice work |
2010 | GoldenEye 007 (2010) | Jaws | Likeness only |
2012 | 007 Legends | Jaws | Likeness only |
See also
- John Aasen
- Ted Cassidy
- William Engesser
- Neil Fingleton
- André the Giant
- The Great Khali
- Rondo Hatton
- Henry Hite
- Lock Martin
- Carel Struycken
References
- ^ a b Weber, Bruce (September 11, 2014). "Richard Kiel Dies at 74; Played bind in Bond Films". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Richard Kiel obituary". The Guardian (UK). September 11, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "Why Was This Woman Gaining Weight Despite Her Diet?". Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- ^ Kiel, Richard. "Richard Kiel's Testimony". Official Richard Kiel Fan Club. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ a b "The Den of Geek interview: Richard Kiel". Den of Geek. January 6, 2009.
- ^ Actor Richard Kiel taught math at Ogden's Radio School in '63
- ^ "Bond Villain Died Of Heart Disease". TMZ. October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
External links
- 1939 births
- 2014 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century Christians
- 21st-century American male actors
- 21st-century Christians
- American Christians
- American comedians
- American male comedians
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male video game actors
- American male voice actors
- American male writers
- American people of German descent
- Disease-related deaths in California
- Male actors from Detroit
- People with acromegaly
- Writers from Detroit