Yaphet Kotto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yaphet Kotto
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![]() Kotto in 1995
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Born |
Frederick Samuel Kotto
November 15, 1939 New York City, U.S.
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Died | March 15, 2021 |
(aged 81)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1963–2008, 2014 |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Spouse(s) |
Rita Ingried Dittman
(m. 1959; div. 1976)Toni Pettyjohn
(m. 1975; div. 1989)Tessie Sinahon
(m. 1998) |
Children | 6 |
Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor. He was famous for his many movie roles. He also starred in the TV show Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1999 as Lieutenant Al Giardello.
Some of his most famous films include the scary science-fiction movie Alien (1979). He was also in the action-packed science-fiction film The Running Man (1987). Kotto played the main bad guy, Dr. Kananga, in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (1973). He also appeared in the funny action movie Midnight Run (1988) with Robert De Niro.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Yaphet Kotto was born as Frederick Samuel Kotto in New York City. His mother, Gladys Marie, was a nurse and an officer in the U.S. Army. She had family from Panama and the West Indies. His father, Yaphet Avraham Kotto, was a businessman from Cameroon. He moved to the United States in the 1920s.
Kotto's father was raised Jewish, and his mother later became Jewish. His parents separated when he was young. Kotto was then raised by his mother's parents.
Acting Career Highlights
Kotto started studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio when he was just 16. By age 19, he was acting professionally in a play called Othello. He was also a member of the famous Actors Studio in New York. Kotto began his career on Broadway, appearing in plays like The Great White Hope.
His first movie role was in 1963, when he was 23. It was a small, uncredited part in 4 for Texas. He later had a supporting role in the movie The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). In 1968, he played a Marine in an episode of Hawaii Five-O.
In 1973, Kotto got a big role as the James Bond villain Mr. Big in Live and Let Die. He also appeared in Across 110th Street and Truck Turner. In 1977, he played Idi Amin in the TV movie Raid on Entebbe. The next year, he starred in Blue Collar.
A year later, in 1979, he played Parker in the popular sci-fi horror movie Alien. He then had a role in the prison drama Brubaker (1980). In 1983, he was a guest star in The A-Team TV show.
In 1987, Kotto was in the futuristic sci-fi movie The Running Man. In 1988, he played FBI agent Alonzo Moseley in the action-comedy Midnight Run. There was even a time when he was considered for the role of Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. This role eventually went to Patrick Stewart.
Kotto stopped acting in films in the mid-1990s, but he had one last movie role in Witless Protection (2008). He continued to act in TV shows. Kotto played Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. His character was a Black Sicilian who was proud of his Italian family. Kotto also wrote a book called Royalty and wrote scripts for Homicide. In 2014, he returned to voice Parker for the video game Alien: Isolation, playing his character from the 1979 Alien movie again.
Personal Life and Passing
Yaphet Kotto was married three times. His first marriage was to Rita Ingrid Dittman in 1959. They had three children together before they divorced in 1976. Later, Kotto married Toni Pettyjohn, and they also had three children. They divorced in 1989. Kotto married his third wife, Tessie Sinahon, from the Philippines, in 1998.
Kotto knew a lot about Jewish prayers and traditions. He said his father taught him about Judaism.
Kotto passed away at the age of 81 on March 15, 2021. He died near Manila, Philippines. His wife shared the news on Facebook. The cause of his death was not announced.
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
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1963 | 4 for Texas | Extra | Uncredited | |
1964 | Nothing But a Man | Jocko | ||
1968 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Carl | ||
5 Card Stud | George "Little George", Mama's Bartender | |||
1970 | The Liberation of L.B. Jones | Sonny "Sonny Boy" Mosby | ||
1971 | Man and Boy | Nate Hodges | ||
1972 | Bone | "Bone" | ||
The Limit | Mark Johnson | Also director | ||
Across 110th Street | Lieutenant Pope | |||
1973 | Live and Let Die | Dr. Kananga / Mr. Big | ||
1974 | Truck Turner | Harvard Blue | ||
1975 | Report to the Commissioner | Richard "Crunch" Blackstone | ||
Sharks' Treasure | Ben Flynn | |||
Friday Foster | Colt Hawkins | |||
1976 | Drum | Blaise | ||
The Monkey Hustle | "Big Daddy" Foxx | |||
1978 | Blue Collar | John "Smokey" James | ||
1979 | Alien | Dennis Parker, Technician | ||
1980 | Brubaker | Dickie Coombes | ||
Othello | Othello | No commercial release | ||
1982 | Fighting Back | Ivanhoe Washington | ||
1983 | The Star Chamber | Detective Harry Lowes | ||
1984 | Terror in the Aisles | Himself | ||
1985 | Warning Sign | Major Connolly | ||
1986 | The Park Is Mine | Eubanks | ||
Eye of the Tiger | J.B. Deveraux | |||
1987 | Prettykill | Harris | ||
Terminal Entry | Colonel Styles | |||
The Running Man | William Laughlin | |||
1988 | Midnight Run | FBI Special Agent Alonzo Mosely | ||
1989 | The Jigsaw Murders | Dr. Filmore | ||
A Whisper To A Scream | Jules Tallard | |||
Ministry of Vengeance | Mr. Whiteside | |||
Tripwire | Lee Pitt | |||
1991 | Hangfire | Police Lieutenant | ||
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Doc | |||
1992 | Intent to Kill | Captain Jackson | ||
1993 | Extreme Justice | Detective Larson | ||
1994 | The Puppet Masters | Ressler | ||
1995 | Dead Badge | Captain Hunt | ||
Out-of-Sync | Quincy | |||
1996 | Two If by Sea | FBI Agent O'Malley | ||
Almost Blue | Terry | |||
2008 | Witless Protection | Ricardo Bodi / Alonzo Mosley | Final film role |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
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1966–1967 | The Big Valley | "Lobo" Brown Damien |
Season 2, episode 11: "The Iron Box" Season 3, episode 15: "The Buffalo Man" |
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1967 | Death Valley Days | Abraham | Season 15, episode 26: "A Man Called Abraham" | |
1968 | Bonanza | Joshua "Child" Barnett | Season 10, episode 2: "Child" | |
1968 | The High Chaparral | Sergeant Major | Season 2, episode 10: "The Buffalo Soldiers" Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Fictional Television Drama |
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1968 | Daniel Boone | Luke | Season 5, episode 11: Big, Black and out There | |
1969 | Mannix | Gabe Johnson / Gabriel Dillon | Season 2, episode 18: "Death in a Minor Key" | |
1969 | Hawaii Five-O | Marine Lance Corporal John T. Auston | Season 1, episode 14: "King of the Hill" | |
1969 | Daniel Boone | Jonah | Season 5, episode 18: "Jonah" | |
1970 | Gunsmoke | Piney Biggs | Season 16, episode 10: "The Scavengers" | |
1970 | Night Chase | Ernie Green | Television film | |
1971 | Night Gallery | Buckner | Season 2, episode 13: "The Messiah on Mott Street" | |
1976 | Raid on Entebbe | President Idi Amin Dada | Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | |
1976 | Crunch | Richard "Crunch" Blackstone | Television film | |
1980 | Rage! | Ernie | Television film | |
1982 | A House Divided: Denmark Vesey's Rebellion | Denmark Vesey | Television film | |
1983 | The A-Team | Charlie "East-Side Charlie" Struthers | Series 1, episode 8: "The Out-of-Towners" (1983) | |
1983 | For Love and Honor | Sergeant James "China" Bell | Television film | |
1983 | Women of San Quentin | Sergeant Therman Patterson | Television film | |
1983–1984 | For Love and Honor | Sergeant James "China" Bell | 12 episodes | |
1985 | Playing With Fire | Fire Chief Walker | Television film | |
1985 | The Park is Mine | Eubanks | Television film | |
1985 | Badge of the Assassin | Detective Cliff Fenton NYPD | Television film | |
1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Convict | Season 1, episode 10: "Prisoners" | |
1986 | Harem | Agha Kislar | Television film | |
1987 | Desperado | Bede | Television film | |
1987 | In Self Defense | Lieutenant Tyrell | Television film | |
1987 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel | General Sorenson | Television film | |
1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Lieutenant Bradshaw | Season 4, episode 8: "Steal Me a Story" (1987) | |
1989 | Prime Target | Gilmore Brown | Television film | |
1990 | After the Shock | William McElroy | Television film | |
1992 | Chrome Soldiers | Perry Beach | Television film | |
1993 | It's Nothing Personal | Lieutenant Riley | Television film | |
1993 | The American Clock | Isaac | Television film | |
1993 | seaQuest DSV | Captain Jack Clayton | Season 1, episode 6: "Treasures of the Tonga Trench" | |
1993–2000 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Lieutenant Al Giardello | Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (1996–1999) | |
1994 | The Corpse Had a Familiar Face | Detective Martin Talbot | Television film | |
1994 | TV Nation | Himself | Pilot episode | |
1995 | Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan | Marty Talbot | Television film | |
1997 | The Defenders: Payback | Judge Williams | Television film | |
2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Al "Gee" Giardello | Television film | |
2000 | The Ride | Carter | Television film | |
2001 | Stiletto Dance | Captain Rick Sands | Television film |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
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2014 | Alien: Isolation | Dennis Parker, Technician | Voice role; Nostromo Edition |
See also
In Spanish: Yaphet Kotto para niños