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
Actor Yaphet Kotto, who rose to fame in the 1970s fighting James Bond in "Live and Let Die" and an extraterrestrial stowaway in "Alien," has died, his agent told AFP. He was 81.
Live and Let Die and Nostromo engineer Parker in Ridley Scott s
Alien, has passed away at the age of 81. The unfortunate news was confirmed on Facebook by the actor s third wife, Tessie Sinahon. I m saddened and still in shock [over] the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years, she wrote. He died last night around 10:30 p.m. Philippine time. This is a very painful moment for me . We still have a lot of plans that we discussed. You have a lot of interviews waiting; and you have movie offers, like
G.I. Joe and the movie [with] Tom Cruise and others. You still plan to release your book and build a religious organization based on Yogananda s teachings. You played a villain [in] some of your movies, but for me, you re a real hero, and to a lot of people also. [You were] a good man, a good father, a good husband and a decent human being very rare to find. [You were] one of the best actors in Hollywood. A Legend. Rest in Peace, Honey. I m gonna miss you everyday
“I am still processing his passing, and I know he will be missed,” he said.
Kotto’s debut as a professional actor was in an all-Black stage performance of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in Harlem in 1960.
Kotto drew plaudits for roles as the first Black Bond villain dictator Dr. Kananga in 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” and an Emmy nomination for playing real-life Ugandan strongman Idi Amin in the TV movie “Raid on Entebbe,” about the IDF operation in 1976 to rescue dozens of Israelis on a plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists.
He then took on a villainous xenomorph as ship engineer Dennis Parker in Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic sci-fi horror film “Alien” in 1979, and fought alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s dystopian thriller “Running Man.”