The actor was best known for the role of “Jaws” in the classic spy films

Sep 11, 2014 08:52 GMT  ·  By

A towering presence in any room, actor Richard Kiel, made famous by his role of “Jaws,” the giant villain from the James bond movies, has died on Wednesday, September 10, at the age of 74.

The news comes via TMZ, which claims that the actor passed away in the hospital as he was being treated at the time for a broken leg at the St. Agnes medical Center in Fresno, California. It is unclear at this point if his death is linked to the broken leg.

Kiel was known for his “Jaws” role in the James Bond franchise

Kiel remains known mostly for the role of “Jaws,” the henchman in the James Bond movies, who wore a signature pair of steel teeth. Among his most prominent films were “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977) and “Moonraker” (1979). The role was fashioned after author Ian Flemming's description in the book “The Spy Who Loved Me” of a crook with steel-capped teeth who went by the name of Horror.

In fact, most of Kiel's career is made up of villainous roles, simply because of his demeanor and his impressive stature. He played an alien in an iconic 1962 “Twilight Zone” episode, a hitman in the Richard Pryor comedy “Silver Streak” and Adam Sandler's evil boss in the 1996 comedy “Happy Gilmore.”

In an interview from 2009, Kiel spoke about his iconic role Jaws and confessed that “I had convinced the producer that Jaws should have some characteristics that were human to counteract the steel teeth. I guess I overdid it — I became too likable to kill off!.”

“So they brought me back, and Moonraker was the most successful box office success for the Bond series for a long, long time,” the actor proudly claims. He later revealed that the steel teeth (actually made out of chrome) were very uncomfortable and could be worn for only 35 seconds at a time.

Kiel was favored by directors mostly for villainous roles

What is interesting is that Kiel had an assortment of odd jobs throughout his life before landing his first acting role. Understandably, he first became a nightclub bouncer and then he became a cemetery plot salesman. Eventually, he would go on to appear as Bare Knuckels in the NBC series “Klondike.”

The actor's impressive height and stature was due to a hormonal condition called acromegaly. This also gave him his distinctive facial features that made his a favorite for villainous roles. The actor's career spans over 50 years in both television and films.