A Celebration Of Richard Kiel (Jaws)

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2012-09-30

A celebration of Richard Kiel - the one of a kind and very friendly writer/actor who portrayed the unforgettable "Jaws" in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979) - on his birthday.

With this page, From Sweden with Love would like to celebrate the wonderful human being and supporter of FSWL.

"Warmest regards for your birthday Richard, we love you."

About Richard Kiel:
Richard was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. And despite what you might think, was a perfectly normal-sized young boy until he experienced a sudden growth spurt in his teens.

Richard has been described as the gentle giant of the film business, with his 7’ 2” frame. In fact Roger Moore said of Richard: “The only things greater than his height are his heart and intelligence”.

Aside from acting, Richard is an accomplished writer and producer. In the early 90's he co-wrote and executive-produced The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991). A film he brought in under budget and ahead of schedule, and furthermore, it was awarded the Film Advisory Board’s Family Film Award Of Excellence.

It is, however, true to say that Richard is remembered most famously as Jaws, the deadly henchman in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). His return in the second adventure was due to stunt co-ordinator Bob Simmons suggesting that as the character proved so popular, it might be wise to let him survive!

It took Richard 18 years as a struggling actor to become an overnight success with the Bond film!

Richard was originally cast as the Incredible Hulk for the tv series, though make-up problems (he is blind in one eye, and the green make-up severely irritated his good eye) saw him decline the part. However, he went on to enjoy a varied career – appearing in tv series such as The Monkees (1967), The Twilight Zone (1962) and films such as The Nutty Professor (1963), The Longest Yard (1974), Barbary Coat (1975), Silver Streak (1976), Pale Rider (1985) (directed by Clint Eastwood), Force Ten From Navarone (1978) (directed by Bond director Guy Hamilton) and Happy Gilmore (1996).

In 2002 his autobiography Making It BIG In The Movies was published by Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, London.

Richard then took on a long-cherished project, Kentucky Lion, a biographical novel about Cassius Clay. Not the boxer Muhammad Ali but the great white anti-slavery character who ran for President at the same time as Abraham Lincoln.

“It’s an actor’s dream role, full of action, romance and even courtroom drama. It has the high drama and award potential of a Schindler’s List and all the romance of Gone With The Wind. It’s a film about a little known American hero in an era of America that is amazingly fascinating.”

He reprised his role of Jaws in the 2004 game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, supplying his voice and likeness. (Jaws is also featured in the 2010 Activision game GoldenEye.)

In the spring of 2006 he joined Verne Troyer in a six-episode televison series that took them to various places in Sweden, the show was titled Welcome to Sweden.

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

In 2010 Richard returned to the big screen as he made the voice of Vlad in the Disney film Tangled.

Perhaps the most frequently asked question to Richard is: “Did those teeth hurt?”. The answer is: "No, but they were extremely nauseating to wear!"

Check out his autobiography for the rest of the story, and many more.

Film and television credits:
2010: Tangled (Vlad, voice)
1999: Gadget (Famous Big Guy with Silver Teeth)
1996: Happy Gilmore (Mr. Larson)
1991: The Giant of Thunder Mountain (Eli Weaver)
1989: Superboy (TV series) (Vlkabok)
1989: Think Big (Irving)
1988: Out of This World (TV series) (Norman)
1985: Pale Rider (Club)
1985: Qing bao long hu men (Laszlo)
1984: Cannonball Run II (Arnold, Mitsubishi Driver)
1984: Zuijia paidang zhi nuhuang miling (Big G)
1983: Phoenix (Steel Hand)
1983: Simon & Simon (TV series) (Mark Horton)
1983: Hysterical (Captain Howdy)
1981: The Fall Guy (TV series) (Animal)
1981: So Fine (Eddie)
1979: Moonraker (Jaws)
1979: L'umanoide (Golob)
1978: They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way (Duke)
1978: Force 10 from Navarone (Drazak)
1977: The Incredible Hulk (TV movie) (The Hulk, one scene only)
1977: Young Dan'l Boone (TV series) (Grimm)
1977: The Spy Who Loved Me (Jaws)
1977: The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (TV series) (Manager, Haunted House)
1976: Silver Streak (Reace)
1976: Land of the Lost (TV series) (Malak)
1976: Gus (Tall Man)
1976: Flash and the Firecat (Milo Pewett)
1976: McMillan & Wife (TV series) (Tall Goon)
1976: Starsky och Hutch (TV series) (Iggy)
1975-1976: Barbary Coast (TV series) (Moose Moran)
1975: Switch (TV series) (Loach)
1974: Kolchak: The Night Stalker (TV series) (The Diablero / The Monster)
1974: Emergency! (TV series) (Carlo)
1974: The Longest Yard (Samson)
1970: Disneyland (TV series) (Luke Brown)
1970: The Boy Who Stole the Elephant (TV movie) (Luke Brown)
1970: On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Blacksmith)
1969: Daniel Boone (TV series) (Lemouche)
1968: It Takes a Thief (TV series) (Willy)
1968: Skidoo (Beany)
1968: Now You See It, Now You Don't (TV movie) (Nori)
1968: A Man Called Dagger (Otto)
1965-1968: The Wild Wild West (TV series) (Voltaire / Dimas)
1968: I Spy (TV series) (Tiny)
1967: The Monroes (TV series) (Casmir)
1967: The Monkees (TV series) (Monster)
1966: Gilligan's Island (TV series) (Russian Agent / The Ghost)
1966: My Mother the Car (TV series) (Cracks)
1966: Honey West (TV series) (Groalgo)
1965: I Dream of Jeannie (TV series) (Ali)
1965: Brainstorm (Asylum Inmate)
1964-1965: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV series) (Merry / Thug in Vulcan's Factory)
1965: The Human Duplicators (Dr. Kolos)
1965: Two on a Guillotine (Photographer at Funeral)
1964: The Nasty Rabbit (Ranch foreman)
1964: Roustabout (Strongman)
1963: Lassie's Great Adventure (Chinook Pete)
1963: The Nutty Professor (Bodybuilder at Gym)
1963: House of the Damned (The Giant)
1963: Lassie (TV series) (Chinook Pete)
1962: Eegah (Eegah)
1962: The Twilight Zone (TV series) (Kanamit)
1961: The Phantom Planet (The Solarite)
1961: The Rifleman (TV series) (Carl Hazlitt)
1961: Thriller (TV series) (Master Styx)
1961: The Phantom (TV movie) (Big Mike)
1960: Klondike (TV series) (Duff Brannigan)

Photo above:
Richard Kiel (with his wife Diane) and Blanche Ravalec in Stockholm promoting Moonraker. Photo by Andi Loor © 1979 Scanpix.

For more information about Richard Kiel's career we recommend visiting his official website:

www.richardkiel.com

Tags:

#richard_kiel

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