Yaphet Kotto, first Black Bond villain and 'Alien' actor, dies at 81
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 5, 2024


Yaphet Kotto, first Black Bond villain and 'Alien' actor, dies at 81
"Live and Let Die" film poster.



LOS ANGELES (AFP).- Actor Yaphet Kotto, who rose to fame in the 1970s fighting James Bond in "Live and Let Die" and an extraterrestrial stowaway in "Alien", has died, his agent told AFP. He was 81.

In a statement Monday on Facebook, wife Sinahon Thessa described her late husband as a "legend".

"You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you're a real hero and to a lot of people also," she said.

Agent Ryan Goldhar confirmed his passing in an email to AFP. He did not share the cause of death.

"I am still processing his passing, and I know he will be missed," he said.

Born in New York to a Cameroonian immigrant father and a US Army nurse, Kotto's debut as a professional actor was in an all-Black stage performance of Shakespeare's "Othello" in Harlem in 1960.

Kotto drew plaudits for roles as the first Black Bond villain -- dictator Dr. Kananga -- in 1973's "Live and Let Die", and an Emmy nomination for playing real-life Ugandan strongman Idi Amin in the TV movie "Raid on Entebbe".

He then took on a villainous xenomorph as ship engineer Dennis Parker in Ridley Scott's claustrophobic sci-fi horror film "Alien" in 1979, and fought alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987's dystopian thriller "Running Man".

At the height of his fame, he turned down the role of Captain Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" -- a decision he later said he regretted.

Kotto's later years saw him play Lieutenant Al Giardello in the gritty TV police procedural "Homicide: Life on the Street".

He returned to the "Alien" franchise in 2014, voicing his character Parker in the survival horror video game "Alien: Isolation".

Married three times and father to six children, Kotto claimed to be related to Queen Elizabeth II -- naming his 1997 biography "The Royalty" as a tribute to his royal pedigree.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

March 17, 2021

We don't know how much art has gone missing from museums

Israel unearths fragments of 2000-year-old biblical scroll

Affordable housing earns French couple the Pritzker Prize

How can Blackness construct America?

White Cube opens an exhibition of video works by Bruce Nauman

Sally Grossman, immortalized on a Dylan album cover, dies at 81

Cowan's American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts auction realizes nearly double presale estimate

An homage to collage: Arturo Herrera opens exhibition at Thomas Dane Gallery

Kunsthalle Mainz opens an exhibition of works by Joachim Koester

Denver Museum of Nature & Science hosts Stonehenge exhibition featuring 400 original artifacts and breakthrough science

Spike Lee to head Cannes Film Festival jury

Yaphet Kotto, first Black Bond villain and 'Alien' actor, dies at 81

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads sale of African Americana at Swann

From Beijing to Badlands: how indie director Zhao won over Hollywood

Tunisia film-maker hails 'historic' Oscar nomination

Andra Day earns a best actress nomination for 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'

Art and commerce join forces to create cultural cluster

What it means to break free: A tale of detention, told in dance

Scholar of World War II homefront wins American history book prize

This 1908 Little Nemo in Slumberland original art, once displayed in museums, heads to auction

Alvar Aalto 2020 awarded to Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai in India

SMK opens outdoor exhibition: three artists respond to a year of COVID-19

The Role of Music and Art in Developing Online Pokies

Drumming Practice Tips for 2021

The less known cannabis compounds: Terpenes




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful