Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall, he was notable for portraying Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996). Other notable films include: The Longest Yard (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Cannonball Run II (1984), Pale Rider (1985) and Tangled (2010). On television, he portrayed the giant alien in the highly regarded 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man".
Early life, family and education Kiel was born on September 13, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of George Albert Kiel (1905–1958) and Mary May Kiel (née Mobbs, 1915–2008). His extraordinary height was the result of a condition caused by an excess of human growth hormone. When he was nine years old, his family moved to the Greater Los Angeles area, where Kiel graduated from Baldwin Park High School.
Career Kiel's career included films, television and co-authoring books. However, before this, Kiel worked in several jobs, including as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, a nightclub bouncer, and a cemetery plot salesman. From 1963 to 1965, Kiel worked as a night school mathematics instructor at the William B. Ogden Radio Operational School in Burbank, California.
Television Kiel appeared in many television shows throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, including the 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man", where he portrayed the Kanamit aliens. Other TV series he appeared in included: Laramie ("Street of Hate", 1961), I Dream of Jeannie, The Rifleman ("The Decision", 1961), Honey West, Gilligan's Island, The Monkees, Daniel Boone, Emergency!, Starsky & Hutch, Land of the Lost, Simon & Simon, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and The Fall Guy.
Due to his size, Kiel was often cast in villainous roles. He appeared as Voltaire, the towering mute-but-lethal assistant to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in three first-season episodes of The Wild Wild West. In the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Vulcan Affair" (1964), Kiel appeared as a guard in Vulcan's plant and portrayed Merry in "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair". In 1967, he played a monster in The Monkees episode "I Was a Teenage Monster".
In 1968 he appeared in an episode of The Wild Wild West titled "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.
In 1977, Kiel and Arnold Schwarzenegger were both considered for playing the Hulk in the American television series The Incredible Hulk. After Schwarzenegger was turned down due to his height, Kiel started filming the pilot. However, the producers quickly decided they wanted a more muscular Hulk rather than the towering Kiel, so he was dismissed. Kiel later said he did not mind losing the part, because he could only see out of one eye. He reacted badly to the contact lenses he had to wear for the role. He also found the green makeup unpleasant and difficult to remove. His scenes were then reshot with Lou Ferrigno.
Film 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 (1961) and The Human Duplicators (1965). He also produced, co-wrote and starred in The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991). He also had a brief non-speaking appearance leaving a gym in the Jerry Lewis movie The Nutty Professor (1963).
Kiel has played a metal-toothed villain in a few films. First, he played Reace in the comedy-thriller film Silver Streak (1976). 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), then the next Bond film, Moonraker (1979). Jaws is one of the few Bond villains to appear in two Bond films. Kiel's scenes were often shot with his mouth closed or briefly showing his dangerous smile; Kiel explained his metal prosthetic mouthpiece was extremely painful to wear and could only be used for a few minutes at a time. The Spy Who Loved Me was the first of three films that Kiel appeared in alongside Barbara Bach in the late 1970s. The other two were Force 10 from Navarone and The Humanoid. Kiel reprised his role of Jaws in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, supplying his voice and likeness.
He used his size for comedic effect, as the "best-dressed giant" Mr. Eddie, in So Fine (1981) starring Ryan O'Neal. Kiel had a supporting role in the Western film Pale Rider (1985). Acting as the main antagonist's henchman, he redeems his character's status by saving the hero from a gunshot to the back.
As Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996), Kiel exchanges several one-liners with both Adam Sandler's Happy and Christopher McDonald's Shooter McGavin. Kiel took a quieter profile after Happy Gilmores release, becoming semi-retired, but he recorded a role for the Disney film Tangled (2010): Vlad, a surprisingly softhearted thug who collects ceramic unicorns.
Other work With Pamela Wallace, Kiel co-authored Kentucky Lion (2007), a biography of the abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay. In 2002, Kiel published his autobiography, Making It Big in the Movies.
Personal life and death Kiel's first marriage was to Faye Daniels in 1960. They divorced in 1973. One year later, he married Diane Rogers. Rogers stated that, despite being , she and her husband "[saw] eye to eye on so many things." Their marriage lasted for 40 years, until Kiel's death. Kiel and Rogers had four children and nine grandchildren.
Kiel was a born-again Christian, stating on his website that his religious conversion helped him to overcome alcoholism.
On September 10, 2014, Kiel died at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, from heart disease. He was 74.
Filmography Features Year Title Role Notes 1957 The D.I. Ugly Marine Uncredited 1961 Run of the Hunted Toland's Assistant The Phantom Planet The Solarite 1962 Eegah Eegah 1963 House of the Damned Giant The Nutty Professor Bodybuilder #1 Uncredited Lassie's Great Adventure Chinook Pete 30 Minutes at Gunsight Unknown TV short 1964 Roustabout Strong Man Uncredited The Nasty Rabbit Ranch Foreman 1965 Two on a Guillotine Tall Man At Funeral The Human Duplicators Dr. Kolos 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 Skidoo "Beany" 1970 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever The Blacksmith Uncredited 1973 Deadhead Miles Dick "Big Dick" 1974 The Longest Yard Samson 1975 Flash and the Firecat Tracker 1976 Gus Large Man Silver Streak Reace 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me Jaws 1978 Wu zi tian shi "Steel Hand" Force 10 from Navarone Captain Drazak They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way Duke 1979 The Humanoid Golob Moonraker Jaws Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor 1981 So Fine Eddie 1983 Hysterical Captain Howdy Phoenix Steel Hand 1984 Aces Go Places 3 "Big G" Cannonball Run II Arnold / Mitsubishi Driver 1985 Pale Rider Club Qing bao long hu men Laszlo 1989 Think Big Irving The Princess and the Dwarf Unknown 1991 The Giant of Thunder Mountain Eli Weaver 1996 Happy Gilmore Mr. Larson 1999 Inspector Gadget Famous Big Guy With Silver Teeth Parody of Jaws. Part of "The Minion Recovery Group" 2009 The Awakened Jasper 2010 The Corpse of Albert Cradette Albert Cradette Tangled Vladimir Voice (final film role)
Television Year Title Role Notes 1958 The Rifleman Bit Part Bully 1960 Klondike Duff Brannigan Episode: "Bare Knuckles" 1961 Laramie Rake, Tolan's Helper Episode: "Run of the Hunted"; uncredited The Phantom Mike "Big Mike" Thriller Master Styx Episode: "Well of Doom" The Rifleman Corey Hazlitt's Cousin Carl Episode: "The Decision" 1962 The Twilight Zone Kanamit alien Episode: "To Serve Man" 1963 The Paul Bunyan Show Paul Bunyan 1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Henchman for Mr. Vulcan Episode: "The Vulcan Affair"; uncredited 1965 Merry Episode: "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair" I Dream of Jeannie Ali Episode: "My Hero" 1965–1966 The Wild Wild West Voltaire Episodes: 1965: "The Night That Terror Stalked the Town", "The Night of the Whirring Death"1966: "The Night the Wizard Shook the Earth" 1966 Honey West Groalgo Episode: "King of the Mountain" My Mother the Car Cracks Episode: "A Riddler on the Roof" Gilligan's Island Ghost Episode: "Ghost-a-Go-Go" 1967 The Monkees Monster Episode: "I Was a Teenage Monster" The Monroes Casmir Episode: "Ghosts of Paradox" 1968 I Spy Tiny Episode: "A Few Miles West of Nowhere" The Wild Wild West Dimas Episode: "The Night of the Simian Terror" 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" Emergency! Carlo Episode: "I'll Fix It" Kolchak: The Night Stalker The "Père Malfait" Episode: "The Spanish Moss Murders" 1975 Switch Loach Episode: "Death Heist" 1976 Starsky & Hutch Iggy Episode: "Omaha Tiger" 1975–1976 Barbary Coast "Moose" Moran 14 episodes, 1975–1976 1976 Land of the Lost Malak Episodes: "Survival Kit", "Flying Dutchman" 1977 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries The Manager Episode: "The Mystery of the Haunted House" Young Dan'l Boone Unknown Episode: "The Game" The Incredible Hulk Hulk Pilot; uncredited 1980 Match Game PM Himself, Panelist Five episodes 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 Uncredited use of likeness 1998 James Bond 007 2000 007: The World Is Not Enough Uncredited use of likeness 007 Racing Archival footage 2004 James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Credited use of likeness 2010 GoldenEye 007 Uncredited use of likeness 2012 007 Legends
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