The Spy Who Autographed Me

[Ted Pikul]

I went to a special screening of The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker last night & I met Richard Kiel AKA Jaws.

A very nice & interesting guy who talked at length about Bond & his acting career in general in a Q&A session during the interval.

I never knew for example that he was originally cast as the Incredible Hulk in the TV show or that he had been in an Adam Sandler movie!

It was a genuine honour to meet him & I've got a signed photo & autobiography to prove it. :)

[max zorin]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ted Pikul
[B]A very nice & interesting guy who talked at length about Bond & his acting career in general in a Q&A session during the interval.

What did he have to say about his Bond experiences?

Tell us more...

[bob]

His Bond career AND his acting career in general?

No offense, Rich, but is there any difference?

[Ted Pikul]

Kiel signed himself as Richard "Jaws" Kiel (& even drew the w as his famous metal teeth) so I don't think he's under any illusions as to which role he'll be remembered for.

On the other hand he has appeared in such classic TV shows as The Twilight Zone, Wild Wild West and Starsky & Hutch so why shouldn't he be proud of his non Bond career?

As for Bond anecdotes he regaled the audience with stories of Cubby Broccoli's largesse (flying a doctor from the States to Europe to tend to Kiel's pregnant wife at his own personal expense) & the fact that his Jaws teeth were made of cobalt and could only be worn for small amounts of time before they made him gag as it was like wearing a giant dental impression.

He also mentioned that the producers wanted a similar giant size woman to play his Moonraker love interest & he had to lobby hard to get a woman of normal proportions like his own wife.

Incidentally the actress who played Dolly in Moonraker was also present during proceedings which I thought was a nice touch.