Richard Kiel's Jaws

[Scottie]

Whether or not you consider the Roger Moore James Bond series to be bad movie material, the character Jaws played by our b-movie friend Richard Kiel is. I've been watching the Bond series from the beginning to end with my roomate (we just finished Moonraker and have been anxiously awaiting Jaws' appearance. Jaws is in two movies, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). I'm sure you remember his large metal teeth, but did you know Jaws has some other, odder characteristics that make him my most loved Bond villain and a perfect b-movie character? For instance, did you know Jaws is practically indestructible? He can survive anything from gun shots to falling material to falling from the sky! In Moonraker, Jaws survives a free fall from an airplane. Also in Moonraker, Jaws survives a plunge from a cable car hundres of feet in the air.

Jaws also has a unique love for biting people not limited to simply biting them. Jaws evokes the spirit of Dracula while biting people, being able to transfix them in his gaze and render them unable to speak. And then slowly, carefully and with much tenderness, bites into their neck. His victim's eyes open in terror as he moves closer and closer, unable to do anything but gape their mouths and marvel at his shiny teeth of destruction. And with Jaws you can almost see his own eyes rolling back in his head with pleasure as he takes his bite. What a pleasant surprise when I first saw that! A lot of the other Bond villains have their own little back stories, like where did Oddjob get that hat or why is Nick Nack from The Man With The Golden Gun such a civilized, malicious little villain? But Jaws has a true mystery that goes beyond place of birth or nifty hats. His love for biting people, slowly and with tenderness makes him one of the only psychologically driven Bond villains. And we never learn why he bites so tenderly. It's a beautiful thing. Not only is he a mystery, he's a b-movie driven mystery.

Richard Kiel also starred in The Phantom Planet (1961) (of MST3K fame), an episode of the Twilight Zone (1962), Eegah! (1962), House of the Damned (1963), an episode of I Dream of Jeanie (1965), an episode of Gilligan's Island (1966), The Longest Yard (1974), Force 10 From Navarone (1978), Pale Rider (1985), Happy Gilmore (1996), and Inspector Gadget (1999) (reprising his role as a cameo of Jaws).

[dean]

In one way I was really dissappointed he turned 'soft' on us for the cute girl in Moonraker, but at the same time I was whooping and cheering him on on the inside.  He's by far the most classic Bond thug-villain for me.  His mere presence is enough to outclass most of the other side-kicks and bad guys.  Pure brute force combined with the mystery of just who the hell is he, is enough for me.

[Oldskool138]

I think homicidal maniacs in movies are a lot more compelling when you don't know their back-story.  Look at Hanibal Lector.  He was much more sinister when you didn't know why he had an uncontrollable urge to eat people.  The same could be said for Darth Vader (I know we find out he was Anakin Skywalker and Lukes father but that was it...until that little tow-headed brat and Hayden Christensen messed it up.  "Noooooo!" 'nuff said).

Jaws is a great Bond villian...if not the best.  It's too bad that he didn't go up against Connery's Bond.  I hope the next Bond adventure has a villian (or henchman) that rivals Jaws.

[Shadow]

Here is a little picture I like to call Shadow vs. Jaws. Needless to say, Shadow...er...I lost.

[Scottie]

No friggin' way! Where was the big guy and yourself when that picture was taken?

Here's a clip of Jaws in action AND with the lusty biting too!

http://www.richardkiel.com/spylovedme1.mpg

[Menard]

Here is a little picture I like to call Shadow vs. Jaws.

I'm rooting for Jaws.


One thing I wish there was more of is some good roles for Richard Kiel. I know he is a big guy (I believe 7' 2") but he is also a good actor. Despite appearances when he is hamming it up for a role, from what I have seen in interviews and even game show appearances, he is an intelligent and well spoken person. He also appears to me, though I wouldn't know but Shadow may, to be quite the gentle person.

I like the Jaws character. It really gave him a role he could sink his teeth into . (You are only booing and hissing because you wish you had said it ).

In one way I was really dissappointed he turned 'soft' on us for the cute girl in Moonraker...

But was this part of Jaws' backstory in some way?

Jaws had been a loner previous to meeting the girl. As a loner, he was a bad guy, but, when he met someone and was no longer alone, he changed.

In another way, though, it seemed necessary to put Jaws and Bond on at least neutral terms as Jaws was such a mesmerizing villian, and in two films no less, that he could not be written off like any other bad guy; he would just retire complete in the knowledge that he was the greatest villian.


I liked the character of Jaws, but it was not just the character. As a teenager, when the movie came out I was 15, I was quite mesmerized, as anybody else was, by this giant of an actor. I had seen him on other movies and TV shows and learned his name so I could catch him in other stuff. Richard Kiel, IMO, truly made the character of Jaws as nobody but he could have.

[Shadow]

No friggin' way! Where was the big guy and yourself when that picture was taken?

It was at a convention about three years ago. The guy is huge. Just look how his hands dwarf my head.

[Jim H]

He used to live relatively close by when I was in Michigan.  He apparently has a lot of knee and joint problems related to his size and is often in pain, which is sad.  You might notice that in Happy Gilmore he is almost always holding on to something to support himself, as if it were a cane.

But yeah, he's great in every movie I've seen him in, and is my personal favorite Bond toadie.

Edit to change: scratch the above.  Apparently he was in a car accident.

[Yaddo 42]

He's turned up on TBN as few times, especially when he was marketing a film he produced about a misunderstood gentle giant.

While I loathe those people that run that channel, they're crooks as far as I'm concerned, he came off as an intelligent and thoughtful guy.

When they softened Jaws, it was fine with me since they had put the character through so much, to up and kill him would have made the latter Moore films even worse than they already were. It showed a bit of heart to me and broadened the scope of the series, there were characters beyond the ones who Bond regularly interacted with or Felix Leiter. When watching later Bond films I have wondered "What's Jaws doing right now?" I doubt hey would bring Jaws back in the series itself, but it would be a nice touch for the longtime fans.