Yaphet Kotto, the actor's actor who always had a commanding presence on screen, in films like the James Bond movie “Live and Let Die” and cult classic sci-fi film, “Alien,” has died. He was 81.
Kotto died on March 14 at 10:30 p.m. local time in the Philippines, where he lived with his wife, CNN confirmed. Information on the cause of death has not yet been provided.
His notable film work includes roles in "Alien," action movie "The Running Man," buddy comedy "Midnight Run" and James Bond's "Live and Let Die," in which he played iconic Bond villain, Mr. Big. All of those movies starred big-time Hollywood heavyweights like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert DeNiro, Roger Moore. But it was his role in "Alien" with Sigourney Weaver that struck a chord with Kotto about all of his hard work.
You May Also Like
During a 2003 Q&A at the Toronto International Film Festival tied to a screening of the director's cut of the 1979 sci-fi classic, Kotto, who played chief engineer Parker in the film, shared a powerful story.
"At the March on Washington, I stood there on the steps, watching Dr. King talk about his dream," Kotto began. "And I wondered whether or not I would ever see that dream, so far from my goal."
The actor said he visited the same spot many years later with his oldest daughter. "We went to the spot where I was standing. And I was telling her how, years before I stood there listening to Dr. King's speech," he explained. "And a bus pulled up with a bunch of children from Japan. They got out of the bus and they ran toward me. I couldn't understand what they were speaking, but there was one thing that blew me away, the fact that they were all saying one word: Alien."
Kotto continued, "And it was so spooky because I realized that the dream had come true." At the 2003 Toronto Film Festival, Kotto praised Alien and director Ridley Scott for featuring a Black man and a woman in heroic roles.
Kotto has been described as "the consummate actor. Every character that I’ve seen him play commanded respect and attention that only the best actors reach a level of getting."
“Every day Yaphet Kotto blew me away on the set of Alien,” Weaver wrote in a short statement. “He just went for it in every scene, making the stakes higher and higher and giving each scene a terrifying reality. It was a nonstop master class for me and I will always be grateful to him.”
Weaver ended her remembrance with the sign-off: “Rest In Peace Parker…Over and out, Ripley.”
In television, his longest-running role was as Lt. Al Giardello on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street."
Kotto was born in New York City. His mother was Gladys Marie, an American nurse and U.S. Army officer of Panamanian and West Indian descent. His father was Avraham Kotto (who was, according to his son, originally named Njoki Manga Bell), a businessman from Cameroon who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. The couple separated when Kotto was a child, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents. His father was raised Jewish and his mother converted to Judaism. He was of Cameroonian royalty, as his father was the Crown Prince of the Royal Bell family of Cameroon.
Kotto was versed in the Hebrew liturgy and incorporated Jewish prayers at turning points throughout his life. He said his father "instilled Judaism" in him.
Kotto retired from film acting in the mid-1990s, though had one final film role in Witless Protection (2008). However, he continued to take on television roles. Kotto portrayed Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running television series Homicide: Life on the Street. He has written the book Royalty and also wrote scripts for Homicide. In 2014, he voiced "Parker" for the video game Alien: Isolation, reprising the role he played in the 1979 movie.
