It would be horrible of me to let September 13th pass by and not note the birthday of the most excellent actor Richard Kiel!  Kiel turns 69 today.

Kiel, standing a daunting 7’2” tall, has made a career out of playing intimidating bruisers and sinister villains.  Horror fans might know him for his two turns as monsters in the original Night Stalker series: once as a Native American shaman, once (unrecognizable) as a moss monster.  Western fans might remember him as the hired goon Club in Pale Rider.  Science fiction fans might recognize him as the towering (and hungry) alien Kanamit in the Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man.   MST3K fans will of course immediately recognize him as the lovelorn caveman Eegah!

Most people, though, will think of Richard Kiel as the sinister, steel-teethed assassin Jaws in two james Bond films, Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me!

Kiel has also had a hand at writing and producing, penning the family movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain.  In 2004, he penned his autobiography, Making It BIG in the Movies.

Happy Birthday to Richard Kiel, and thanks for giving us some villains and monsters (and heroes) worth remembering!

Shtemlo!