Biography for
Richard Kiel More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 September 1939, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Birth Name

Richard Dawson Kiel

Height

7' 1½" (2.17 m)

Mini Biography

Towering 7' 2" tall actor who has cornered the market on playing giants, intimidating henchman, bayou swamp monsters and steel toothed villains! Kiel worked in numerous jobs including as a night club bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman, before breaking into film & TV in several minor roles in the late 1950s / early 1960s. Noted amongst these was the alien "Kanamit" in the classic "The Twilight Zone" (1959) episode "To Serve Man", and terrorizing Arch Hall Jr. while clad in a loincloth in the prehistoric caveman meets virile teenage drama Eegah (1962).

Kiel turned up in two episodes of the classic horror TV series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (1974). On one occasion playing a Native American evil spirit with the ability to transform into various animals. On his second appearance, Kiel was unrecognizable as a Spanish moss covered, Louisiana swamp monster bought to life by a patient involved in deep sleep therapy.

However, his biggest break came in 1977 when he was cast as the unstoppable, steel toothed henchman "Jaws" in the finest Roger Moore film of the Bond series The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Such was Kiel's popularity with movie audiences, that his character was brought back for the next Bond outing Moonraker (1979). However, audiences were quite split on opinions when Kiel's "Jaws" character changes sides near the film's conclusion and assists 007, Roger Moore, in saving the Earth.

Over the next few years, Kiel appeared in relatively non-demanding comedy or fantasy type films taking advantage of his physical stature and presence. Kiel then decided to try his hand behind the camera and co-wrote and produced, plus took the lead role, in the well received family movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991). Demand for Kiel's unique attributes dropped very sharply in the 1990's, leading to only a handful of roles including reprising his "Jaws" character in the Matthew Broderick film Inspector Gadget (1999). In 2002, Kiel penned his informative autobiography entitled "Making it BIG in the movies".

IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Spouse

Diane Rogers	(1974 - present) 4 children
Faye Daniels	(1960 - 1973) (divorced)

Trivia

He is best known for playing Jaws, a giant and seemingly unstoppable assassin with steel teeth who battled James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).

Original choice to play the title character in the television series "The Incredible Hulk" (1978). After 2 days of filming, it was decided that he was not "bulky" enough for the role. He was paid for the two movies of the week and replaced by Lou Ferrigno. Kiel was happy this happened because he only had sight in one eye and the full contact lens were bothering him.

Once said that people are always confusing him with André the Giant, Fred Gwynne ("Herman Munster" from "The Munsters" (1964)), or Ted Cassidy ("Lurch" from "The Addams Family" (1964)), all of whom are deceased.

In 1992, he was in a serious automobile accident which affected his auto-balance and now walks using a walking stick or rides a battery powered scooter around if he has to go very far. In the movie Happy Gilmore (1996), he is never seen walking and almost all of his scenes are from the waist up. There are only two full body scenes and both times he is leaning on something. The first is a post, the second is a man.

Worked as a bouncer at a Los Angeles nightclub, before being recruited by Arch Hall Sr. for the lead role in Eegah (1962).

Owns a film production company in Oakhurst, California.

Appeared in a National Geographic special produced by David L. Wolper in which he portrayed Big Foot.

His son "Richard George" appears in the film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). He is the little boy on the beach pointing out to the upcoming car that "James Bond" is driving from the water.

Interviewed about "Eegah" in Tom Weaver's book "Eye on Science Fiction" (McFarland & Co., 2003).

Where Are They Now

(October 2003) Attended The Scandinavian Sci-Fi, Game & Film Convention in Stockholm, Sweden.

(2002) Wrote his autobiography "Making It BIG In The Movies. Published by Reynolds & Hearne of London, England.

(2003) Completed Kentucky Lion, The Cassius Marcellus Clay Story, a historical novel which is co-authored by Pamela Wallace who co-wrote the Academy Award winning screenplay for the movie, Witness (1985), with Harrison Ford.

(2003) Working on his third book which is "You can be a supersalesman using Christian principles."

(January 2004) Signing autographs at a DVD-Trading market in Cologne, Germany.

(September 2004) Signing autographs at the Sims and Hankow Astronaut Autograph Show in Burbank, California, due to his portrayal of "Ali" in "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965). Uses a walking stick normally, but at convention he uses a battery powered scooter.

(May 2000) Attended The Scandinavian Sci-Fi, Game & Film Convention in Malmö, Sweden.

(December 2006) Autograph session at Bally's Hotel/Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.

(March 2008) Signed autographs and sold books at OmegaCon.

(February 2009) Attended Wondercon in San Francisco, signing autographs.

(October 2009) Attended The Scandinavian Sci-Fi, Game & Film Convention in Helsingborg, Sweden

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