http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morni...-is-dead-at-74/
James Bond villains are often long on viciousness and short on charm.
Then there was “Jaws.”
Somehow, the giant man with steel teeth assigned by forgettable bad guys to dispatch Roger Moore often proved more compelling than Moore himself.
Now, Richard Kiel, 7 feet 2 inches — the metal-mouthed assassin with a heart of gold in “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker” — is dead at 74. He died on Wednesday in St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, the Los Angeles Times reported. The cause of death was not given.
Kiel was supposed to be Lex Luthor to Moore’s Superman. He was more like the Coyote to Moore’s Roadrunner — a Frankenstein’s monster who never drowned the girl in the well.
This was by design — Kiel’s design.
“I didn’t really want to do it as it was a monster part,” Kiel told Den of Geek in 2009. He told a producer: “If I were to play the role I’d give him some human characteristics, perseverance, frustration, those kind of things.”
Jaws vs. Bond: Less deadly than hilarious. (Archive/United Artists Corporation)
This strategy was successful beyond anyone’s imagining. Like post-Civil War 19th century presidents, Bond villains are masks in a pageant with obscure grudges against 007. Can anyone remember why Goldfinger dipped women in gold or why Dr. No was so negative?
Kiel chewed his way out of this stereotype. His epic, bumbling confrontations with Bond on trains, on planes and in space are the few moments of hilarity in a 23-film franchise. And he was the only bad guy brought back by popular demand.
“I had convinced the producer that Jaws should have some characteristics that were human to counteract the steel teeth,” Kiel said. “I guess I overdid it – I became too likeable to kill off.”
