Richard Kiel, known to have played and breathed life to the steel-toothed character Jaws, the famous villain from the James Bond Movie, died at a hospital in Fresno, as reported by his family. Richard was 74.
According to TMZ, "Kiel had broken his leg last week and was in a hospital in Fresno, CA. A family member tells us he passed away this afternoon in the hospital -- and it's unclear if his death was connected to the leg injury."
The Seven-foot-Two giant was featured in numerous movies throughout his acting career. Some of the roles he had played include, Voltaire to Dr. Miguelito Loveless in first season episodes of The Wild, Wild West (1965-1966), Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). He also starred in the video game Everything or Nothing and other James Bond video games. Another Well known character that he played was the role of Mr. Larson in the golf classic comedy Happy Gilmore, released 1996.
According to his Wikipedia entry, "Kiel's distinctive height and features were a result of a hormonal condition known as acromegaly. In his prime, Kiel stood 7 feet 1.5 inches (217 cm) tall. He noted in his 2002 autobiography, Making It Big in the Movies, that he used to state that he was 7 feet 2 inches (218.44 cm) because it was easier to remember. He suffered from acrophobia, and during the cable car stunt scenes in Moonraker, a stunt double was used because Kiel refused to be filmed on the top of a cable car at over 2000 feet (607 m) high.
In 1992, Kiel suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, which affected his balance. He was subsequently forced to walk with a cane to support himself (as shown in his appearance in the movie Happy Gilmore, where he is seen leaning on a person or a cane). He was also seen using a scooter or wheelchair in Welcome to Sweden."
