Richard Kiel: Much more than a giant

Richard Kiel as Samson in "The Longest Yard".
Source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/215258057167832167/
(May be subject to copyright)

He could have just been another giant on screen – a one dimensional oaf, a goon, a barbarian.

Instead, Richard Kiel represented his size well, playing multi-dimensional giants. Sometimes he was terrifying, sometimes he played his part for laughs, and sometimes he was just plain endearing.

In the two parts I remember best, he was a hulking inmate who was part killer and part softie in “The Longest Yard”, and a villain who turned good and loving in two James Bond movies.

Along the way he also dabbled in some television in the 1980s.

I was sad to hear Richard Kiel passed away a few years ago, and I had been meaning to explore his career a little closer.

His name lurked near the bottom of a list of ideas in a dusty old folder on my computer’s desktop, but now it is seeing the light day.

Early roles
Richard Kiel was seven feet two inches tall, the result of too much growth hormone growing up. He would break into acting in the 1960s and often play the bad guy in everything from “The Wild, Wild West” and “The Man from U*N*C*L*E” to “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Monkees”.

Richard Kiel as a Kanamit in "To Serve Man",
one of my favourite episodes of "The Twilight Zone".
Source: http://martingrams.blogspot.com/
2013/03/the-twilight-zone-to-serve-man.html
(May be subject to copyright)

“To Serve Man”
He also had a role in perhaps my favourite episode of the original “Twilight Zone", which I did see in the 1980s.

Kiel played a Kanamit, a member of a towering alien species who have come to Earth in friendship. They eradicate the world’s problems and appear to be a dream come true. One day, the Kanamit leaves a book at a press conference, and American linguists work to decipher it. They start with the title, “To Serve Man”. That puts everyone at ease, because that means they are there to help – to serve. Meanwhile, the story really revolves around one man, played by Canadian actor Lloyd Bochner. As the episode progresses, he becomes more comfortable with the Kanamits and decides to take them up on their offer of a trip to their home world. As he starts to board the departing ship, his friend comes running up, yelling the rest of the book has been deciphered.

“It’s a cook book!” she yelled, but it was too late for him to escape.

It was awesome.

I saw that episode as part of one of the “Twilight Zone” marathons Channel 7 played one weekend when I was in junior high. I was hanging out at my sister’s place in Lethbridge on a Saturday afternoon when I saw it.

Interestingly, in the 2019 re-boot, the Kanamits make another appearance and hint at still dining on humans when they decide to order out and get some “extra crispy”. It is unfortunate Richard Kiel died before that and could not complete that circle.

Life on the gridiron
Perhaps the first role I saw Richard Kiel in was as “Samson” in “The Longest Yard” where he played this towering inmate. When Paul Crewe, played by Burt Reynolds, goes to see him about playing on his football team, Samson is lifting 400-pound barbells with ease and says he was Mr. Florida 1964. He does not seem too eager to play football. Then Crewe tells him they are playing the guards. Samson smiles, says he would like that, and is looking forward to it. Then he returns to lifting 400 pounds like it was nothing.

We see his softer side in practice one day when he is slugged by Shockner, the meanest of the prisoners. Samson laments he broke his nose and Shockner did it in purpose. Crewe soothes him, saying he didn’t. Not only does he reset Samson’s nose, but he gets Shockner to apologize. Samson is just ecstatic like a little kid, telling everyone Shockner said he was sorry.

Then, during the big game, Samson is playing defence and gets a dirty hit from a guard. He vows to clothesline that son of a b—ch if he comes through the middle again. Sure enough he does, and Samson clotheslines him. Samson stands over him and exclaims joyously, “Hey, I think I broke his f—king neck!”. The medic comes over and says, “I think he broke his f—king neck!”

“I told you I broke his f—king neck!” Samson responds, and the whole defence mobs him with delight.

Even the public address announcer gets into the action.

“I think he broke his f—king neck!” he says over the loud speakers.

It was awesome.

Richard Kiel as Jaws in two James Bond films.
Source: https://variety.com/2014/film/news/
james-bond-villain-richard-kiel-dies-at-74-1201303251/
(May be subject to copyright)

Man with the steel teeth
Richard Kiel would turn his heads in the James Bond espionage thriller “The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977, as a gigantic assasin with steel teeth named Jaws. He easily kills his victims with a combination of strength and those teeth, yet Bond eludes him. The time I remember best, is when Jaws has Bond in a death grip and the only way the spy can escape is by breaking a lamp and shocking Jaws in the teeth to release his grip. Jaws also survives everything and just keeps coming, and is seen to survive at the end of the movie.

He returns in 1979 in “Moonraker”, once again employed by a villain Bond has to battle. This time around, Jaws finds a girlfriend that softens his temperament. He turns against his employer, and helps Bond. The last time we see him is in space, being left behind with the love of his life. We discover they did make it back to Earth safely.

He had become a good guy, and it was awesome.

Hulking out – almost
Something I just recently discovered was that Richard Kiel was one of the actors tapped to try out for the role of the Hulk in the television series “The Incredible Hulk”. It was 1977, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was also considered for the part. Kiel made it to the pilot stage, but the producers realized they wanted someone more muscular, and not so tall, and Kiel so replaced by body-building champion Lou Ferrigno.

The 1980s and beyond
Richard Kiel didn’t have a lot of parts in the 1980s, but he did make guest appearances on TV in both “The Fall Guy” and “Simon and Simon”, as well as roles in movies such as “Cannonball Run II” and “Pale Rider”.

Richard Kiel kept working on television, films, most notably “Happy Gilmore” and “Inspector Gadget”, and in video games as Jaws, until 2012. He died in 2014 at the age of 74.

Parting thoughts
Richard Kiel had a productive and fruitful acting career, playing a wide variety of roles.

At a time when he could have so easily been typecast as a villainous giant, or a lovable oaf, he gave a humanity and sense of humour to roles that could have been one dimensional.

That made him much more than a giant.