Yaphet Kotto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yaphet Kotto
Kotto in 1995
Born	Frederick Samuel Kotto (1939-11-15)November 15, 1939 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 15, 2021(2021-03-15) (aged 81) Manila, Philippines
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.

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.

Kotto acting alongside Leif Erickson in the television series The High Chaparral in 1968

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

Television

Video games

See also

In Spanish: Yaphet Kotto para niños