Yaphet Kotto
The New Yorker received an Emmy nom for portraying Idi Amin but passed on playing Lando Calrissian and Jean-Luc Picard.
Yaphet Kotto, the compelling character actor who portrayed police lieutenant Al Giardello on
Homicide: Life on the Street, a space traveler in
Alien and a supervillain
in Live and Let Die, has died. He was 81.
In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto s wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. I m saddened and still in shock of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years, she wrote. His agent said he died near Manila in the Philippines; no cause of death was revealed.
Yaphet Kotto, Bond villain and Alien star, dies at 81
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Variety. He was 81.
Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, first posted about Kotto’s death on Facebook Monday night.
“I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years. He died last night around 10:30pm Philippine time,” sge wrote. “…You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you’re a real hero and to a lot of people also. A good man, a good father, a good husband and a decent human being, very rare to find. One of the best actor in Hollywood a Legend. Rest in Peace Honey, I’m gonna miss you everyday, my bestfriend, my rock.”
Yaphet Kotto has died at the age of 81.
Kotto, who may have been best known for his role as Dennis Parker in the original 1979
Alien film, was known for playing tough guys on screen. In the 1990s, he starred as Lieutenant Al Giardello in the NBC series,
Homicide: Life on the Street.
He also played two roles as a villain against James Bond in the 1973 hit
Live and Let Die.
Veteran film and TV actor Yaphet Kotto, pictured at the 1997 Black American Cinema Society Awards, has died at age 81. (Getty Images)
The acclaimed actor also made memorable appearances in a range of cinema classics, including the hit
Agent Ryan Goldhar confirms the passing of the star of 'Live and Let Die' and 'Alien', without elaborating on the cause; 'You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you're a real hero,' his wife said in a statement