From the 1973 Live and Let Die movie, James Bond villain Yaphet Kotto died on Monday, March 15, 2021. He was 81-years old at the time of death. Kotto was also a crew member in Alien, a 1979 sci-fi release. Moreover, he starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, an American Police TV show. The other movies that Kotto was part of include Midnight Run and The Running Man, both action movies from the 1980s.
Yaphet Kotto bagged an Emmy nomination in 1977 for his role in Raid on Entebbe. In this, he plays the role of Idi Amin, former President of Uganda. Apart from being a part of movies, Kotto had a remarkable TV career. Some of the popular shows that still leave his name include Law and Order, A-Team, and Gritty Homicide: Life on the Street. In Gritty, Kotto played Lieutenant Al Giardello and was also the scriptwriter of the show.
After Yaphet Kotto died in the Philippines, Sinahon Thessa, his wife, expresses her sorrow on Facebook. In her post, she recalls how Kotto was the villain in several movies, but he is the hero for her and many others. She adds that Kotto was not just a good husband and a father. He was also a very good man and a great human being. This refers to him as one of the best Hollywood actors and her best friend, whom she will miss forever.
The film fraternity is also mourning the death of the veteran actor, and a lot of people are coming forward to express the same. Ava DuVernay states that Kotto was one of the actors who did not get what he truly deserved. Moreover, Edgar Wright recalls Kotto as a person with an incredibly magnetic presence.
Yaphet Kotto died, leaving behind memories of his remarkable career
Looking back at Kotto’s early life, he was born in a simple family. His mother was an American army nurse, and his father, a Cameroonian immigrant. As a young boy also, Kotto was keen to pursue acting and started learning from 16. He made his theater debut in Othello when he was 19. Soon, he starts his Broadway career with a hit show, Great White Hope.
Some of his initial films in Hollywood were Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and Nothing But A Man (1964). Kotto received massive applause after his role as Dr. Kananga in the James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. He was the first-ever black villain in the James Bond franchise. He was playing a Caribbean Diplomat with the dark alter ego of an American Drug Lord.
Soon, he was becoming part of more movies, and some of the earliest hits include Truck Turner (1974) and Blue Collar (1978). Later, in Alien, he becomes Dennis Parker, the space ship engineer. After the success of Alien, he got the offer to become part of The Empire Strikes Back, the Star War sequel. However, Kotto rejected the offer because he did not want to become a sci-fi typecast. Besides, he confessed the reason in an interview much later.
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