Actor Richard Kiel, who menaced Roger Moore’s James Bond as the villainous character Jaws in “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker,” has died at the age of 74, according to TMZ. When asked in “Moonraker” by Lois Chiles’ Dr. Holly Goodhead if he “knows him,” Bond famously quipped, “Not socially. His name’s Jaws; he kills people.”
In addition to the steel-toothed henchman in the 007 films, Mr. Kiel appeared in nearly 80 films and television series throughout his half-century career, often in intimidating or monstrous roles.
Mr. Kiel, who stood at a mammoth 7-foot-2, sent up his own image in the Adam Sandler comedy “Happy Gilmore” in 1996, where he played Mr. Larson, a titanic golfer who promised to wait “…for you in the parking lot” as he threatened Christopher McDonald’s smug fellow golfer Shooter McGavin.
An immediate cause of death was not reported, according to TMZ, although Mr. Kiel suffered a broken leg and had recently been hospitalized in Fresno, California.
• Eric Althoff can be reached at twt@washingtontimes.com.
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