Richard Keel is the tallest actor

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Richard Keel is an American actor best known for playing Jaws in two Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Due to his unusual appearance, he had to play mostly villains. During his career, he has played more than eighty roles in television and films.

Biography

Richard Dawson Keel was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 13, 1939. In his youth, he did a wide variety of jobs, selling plots in cemeteries and working as a bouncer in a nightclub. And in the late 1950s, he was offered minor roles on American television.

His tall height (2.18 m) and features of appearance were the result of acromegaly, when the pituitary gland produces an excess of growth hormone. This landed him regular roles as freaks and aliens in films such as The Twilight Zone and The Monkees. He also featured in the low-budget B-horror film Eegah (1962) and showed his talent as an actor in Human Duplicators (1964). Other credits included bit parts in the Jerry Lewis comedy The Nutty Professor (1963) and alongside Elvis Presley in The Hired Man (1964).

Popular roles and new films

Richard Keel appeared in two episodes of the classic horror series Kolchak: The Nightstalker (1974). In one, he played an evil Native American spirit with the ability to transform into different animals. In his second appearance, he was unrecognizable as a revived patient involved in deep sleep therapy.

However, his biggest break came in 1977 when he starred as Jaws in Roger Moore's best Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). His popularity was so high that his character was brought back for the next Bond release, Moonraker (1979).

When Albert Cubby Broccoli first approached him for the role of Jaws, Richard Kiel was initially hesitant. He wanted to break away from the role of the tenant and play, as he put it, "ordinary henchmen or villains." It seems Keel was the one who convinced Broccoli to make Jaws a more sympathetic character in Moonraker: he wanted this character who kills people with his teeth to have a human side, which would make him more interesting.

During filming, Richard Keel complained that the teeth he had to wear were so uncomfortable that they made him feel bad and he could only tolerate them for short periods of time.

After this role, his career reached its peak. But he continued to appear in a number of other films, including The Pale Rider (1985), Lucky Gilmore (1996) and The InspectorGadget (1999), and also appeared regularly on television. Between the Bond films in 1978, he was offered the role of the Incredible Hulk on television, but after two days in the studio, he was rejected due to the fact that he was not bulky enough, and the role was given to bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno.

Over the next few years, Richard Keel appeared in relatively undemanding comedy or fantasy films, largely due to his physical form. He then decided to try his hand behind the camera, co-writing and producing and starring in the well-received family film The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991). Demand for Richard Keel's unique looks plummeted in the 1990s, resulting in him playing only a handful of roles.

Private life

Actor Richard Keel first married in 1960 to Faye Daniels. The marriage was annulled in 1973. The following year, he married Diana Rogers, with whom he lived until his death. They had four children.

Kil struggled with alcoholism for a while. After a serious car accident in 1992, he was forced to use a buggy or canes to get around on his own. In later years, he founded a production company, became a devout Christian, and wrote books, including an autobiography.

Had six grandchildren, including Richard Dawson, George James Keel III (born son of Richard Jr. and his wife Lisa), Cadence Keel (born son Bennett and his wife Susanna).

Uhe is survived by three sons: Richard Dawson, George James Keel Jr., Chris and Bennett, and a daughter, Jennifer.

Interesting facts

He owned a film production company in Oakhurst, California.

His son Richard George appears in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). He got the role of a little boy on the beach, pointing at the car that James Bond takes out of the water.

He was offered the role of Chewbacca in Star Wars (1977), which he turned down in favor of Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

He was very afraid of heights, which prevented him from doing some of his stunts as Jaws, so Martin Grace, Roger Moore's stunt double, replaced him. The stuntman did a great job of capturing Keel's movements even though he was a pound shorter. But when watching the movies, no one could tell them apart.

Participated in several Scandinavian Sci-Fi Games and Film Conventions held in different cities in Sweden.

In Spain, Richard Keel is known as "Tiburon".

Lived in a purpose-built house with a floor a few feet below ground level.

Despite the fact that he often played big, scary people, he was known as a kind and friendly person who was friends with many with whom he happened to work.

Fluent German.

Died three days before his 75th birthday in hospital after a fall at home that broke his right leg.