Tributes for James Bond actor Richard Kiel

HE WAS the towering actor who played one of the most feared, but best-loved, James Bond villains of all time.

Richard Kiel was known for his portrayal of the James Bond villain 'Jaws'. Picture: Getty

Glowing tributes were paid yesterday to Richard Kiel, the film and television star best remembered for his tussles with Roger Moore in two of the most popular films in the spy series.

The 7ft 2in American actor, whose career in film and television went back to the early 1960s, died in hospital in California just days before his 75th birthday.

He was still revered by Bond fans for his part as the steel-toothed villain Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker in 1977 and 1979 respectively, a character who famously mellowed by the end of his second encounter with Bond.

Kiel appeared in a host of TV series including Twilight Zone, Lassie, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Wild, Wild West, The Monkees and I Dream of Jeannie.

He was still making film appearances in the 1990s, including the comedy Happy Gilmore, alongside Adam Sandler, and the live-action adaptation of Inspector Gadget.

However, he was famously overlooked for the part of The Incredible Hulk in the original TV series after he was deemed to have the wrong build. Kiel had worked in various jobs, including a cemetery-plot salesman and nightclub bouncer before making his television debut in Laramie in 1960.

Tributes to Kiel were led by 86-year-old Moore, who featured alongside his former co-star just days ago on Radio 4, recalling their respective roles in James Bond.

Moore, who had identified Jaws as his favourite Bond villain, said: “I am totally distraught to learn of my dear friend Richard Kiel’s passing. We were on a radio programme together just a week ago.

Distraught. Can’t take it in.”

Barbara Eden, the star of I Dream of Jeannie, tweeted: “Many fond memories of Richard Kiel, sweet man & gentle giant. My thoughts & prayers to his family & friends.”

Carl Weathers, who appeared with Kiel in another of his film roles, Force 10 From Navarone, alongside Harrison Ford, as well as Happy Gilmore, told his Twitter followers: “RIP Richard Kiel. Had the pleasure to work with you twice. #BePeace”.

Monkees star Micky Dolenz said simply: “The great character actor and gentle giant.”

During the BBC’s radio programme, Kiel said: “I was very put off by the description of the character and I thought, well, they don’t really need an actor, he’s more a monster.

“So I tried to change that view of it. I said if I were to play the part, I want to give the character some human characteristics, like perseverance, frustration.”

Kiel also recalled how two different endings had been shot for The Spy Who Loved Me, one in which Jaws appeared to have been eaten by a shark and another which saw him live to fight another day.

“The original script had me being killed by the shark,” said Kiel, whose height was down to the hormonal condition, acromegaly. “They filmed that and they also filmed an ending where I survive and pop out of the ocean.

“That was one of the big moments for me, watching the blue-collar screening of the movie and having the reaction of the crowd when Jaws popped out of the ocean and swam away. There were hoots and howling, applause. I couldn’t believe it.”