Few James Bond villains left a mark as literally unforgettable as the 7-foot-2 killer with teeth of steel, but Richard Kiel, the man behind Jaws, was a gentler presence off camera — a married father who initially hesitated to play a character who kills with his mouth. Here’s what the record confirms about his height, his health, and the accidental second act that made him a Bond legend.
Full name: Richard Dawson Kiel · Height: 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) · Born: September 13, 1939 · Died: September 10, 2014 · Known for: Jaws in two James Bond films · Condition: Acromegaly
Quick snapshot
- Height of 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) (SBS News, Australian public broadcaster)
- Played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker (the official James Bond website (007.com))
- Had acromegaly (The New York Times, US daily newspaper)
- Died September 10, 2014, at age 74 (NPR)
- Exact cause-of-death details beyond heart disease (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia)
- Whether acromegaly directly caused his height (BBC News, UK public broadcaster)
- Names of all four children (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia)
- Full detail of his early television appearances beyond his cited break (NPR) (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia)
- : Born in Detroit, Michigan (Los Angeles Times)
- : Debuts as Jaws (007.com) (Los Angeles Times)
- : Returns in Moonraker (007.com) (Los Angeles Times)
- : Dies in Fresno at 74 (The New York Times) (Los Angeles Times)
- Jaws remains one of Bond’s most recognized villains (NPR)
- His life story continues to surface in fan retrospectives (BBC News)
- Happy Gilmore introduced him to a new generation (Wikipedia)
Nine facts, one pattern: every headline detail about Kiel circles back to the same two forces — his extraordinary height and the hormonal condition behind it.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Dawson Kiel |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Born | September 13, 1939, Detroit, Michigan |
| Height | 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) |
| Medical condition | Acromegaly |
| Signature role | Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979) |
| Married | Yes, to Diane Kiel |
| Children | 4 |
| Died | September 10, 2014, Fresno, California, age 74 |
Who played Jaws?
Richard Kiel played Jaws, the towering, steel-toothed assassin who hunted James Bond across two films. He made his debut as the character in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and returned in Moonraker (1979) (the official James Bond website, 007.com).
Jaws was originally written to die at the end of the first film. Kiel, who had confessed to initial reservations about playing a character who kills with his teeth, assumed that was the end of it (BBC News, UK public broadcaster). The audience had other plans. Viewer response was so strong that the studio brought Jaws back in Moonraker (NPR), making Kiel one of the few Bond villains to survive into a second film. His signature was a mouthful of metallic teeth, a visual so iconic it defined the character in both movies (Los Angeles Times).
Is Richard Kiel an actor?
- Yes. Kiel began appearing in television and film in the 1960s and kept working for decades after (NPR).
- His first widely cited television break came as the alien Kanamit in The Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man” (BBC News).
- He built a career as a character actor whose height defined the roles he was offered.
The distinction matters because “actor” sometimes gets lost behind “that giant from the Bond movies.” Kiel’s filmography stretched from the mid-1960s through the 1990s, and his pre-Bond résumé included steady work in both television and film. He kept acting after the Bond films ended, trading the villain’s role for comedy later in life.
The takeaway: Kiel’s casting was never just about height. The same body that made him a believable threat also made him a memorable one — and the audience’s refusal to let Jaws die changed Bond history.
Did Richard Kiel have acromegaly?
Yes. Kiel had acromegaly, a hormonal condition marked by the gradual enlargement of bones and tissues (The New York Times, US daily newspaper). The condition, caused by excess growth hormone, produces changes that become more visible over time — which is why photographs of Kiel from the 1960s and the 1980s look like different men.
What did Richard Kiel suffer from?
Acromegaly enlarged Kiel’s frame, hands, and facial features — the exact traits that made Jaws credible on screen. The medical condition was also his casting advantage.
Kiel’s condition didn’t just add inches; it changed how Hollywood saw him. Directors who needed an imposing figure didn’t have to build one — they could hire a real person whose size already stood out in any room. BBC News noted that his acromegaly was said to have contributed to his height, which, combined with the condition’s effect on his facial structure, created the exact visual language the Bond producers wanted for the henchman.
What this means: Kiel’s real body was the special effect. The same hormonal disorder that shaped his face and frame gave him the physical vocabulary of a monster — and the studios leaned into it.
What happened to Richard Kiel?
Kiel died on September 10, 2014, in Fresno, California, at age 74 — three days short of his 75th birthday (The New York Times). The reported cause of death was heart disease (Wikipedia, collaborative encyclopedia), though the specific complications behind it — including whether diabetes played a role — have not been fully established.
Richard Kiel cause of death
Died: September 10, 2014 · Age: 74 · Place: Fresno, California · Reported cause: Heart disease
Kiel had spent his later years in Fresno, a long way from the James Bond sets of the late 1970s. His death drew obituaries from major outlets around the world, most of which led with the same image: the gentle family man who happened to be one of cinema’s most terrifying villains.
The acromegaly that built Kiel’s career is a lifelong condition that strains the body over time. His reported cause of death — heart disease — was the quiet price of the body that made him a star.
What this means: the acromegaly conversation is not just about a movie villain’s size. It is about a real man whose health was shaped by the same condition that made him famous.
How tall was Richard Kiel?
Kiel stood approximately 7 feet 2 inches tall, or about 2.18 meters (SBS News, Australian public broadcaster). His height was not a Hollywood exaggeration — it was a real, measured fact that defined how directors used him.
Richard Kiel height
Height: 7 ft 2 in · Metric: 218 cm · In meters: 2.18 m
At 7-foot-2, Kiel didn’t need forced perspective or camera tricks to tower over James Bond. The production design had to work around him — not the other way around.
BBC News noted that his acromegaly was said to have contributed to his height, a link that matters because it separates the man from the myth. Jaws was not a costume or a CGI creation; he was a real person whose body had grown the way it did because of a medical condition.
The implication: Kiel’s height wasn’t just a casting note. It was the foundation of an entire character — and the reason Bond’s most memorable henchman could dominate a scene without trying.
Did Richard Kiel have children?
Yes. Kiel was married to Diane Kiel, and the couple had four children, including a son, Richard Kiel Jr. (Wikipedia). Despite his towering screen persona, his family life stayed remarkably private — the names of his other children have never been widely reported.
Richard Kiel wife
- Spouse: Diane Kiel, his wife and the mother of his children.
- The couple’s family life remained out of the Hollywood spotlight.
Richard Kiel son
- Richard Kiel Jr. is the most consistently named of Kiel’s four children in public sources.
- The other children’s names are not consistently documented across the record.
The pattern: the bigger Jaws loomed in pop culture, the more Kiel protected his private life. That’s why the public record holds his film roles in detail and his family in outline.
Key dates in Richard Kiel’s life
Five moments, one pattern: each turning point in Kiel’s story came back to the body he was born with and the roles that body made possible.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Born in Detroit, Michigan (Los Angeles Times) | |
| Debuts as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (007.com) | |
| Returns as Jaws in Moonraker (007.com) | |
| Plays Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (Wikipedia) | |
| Dies in Fresno, California, at age 74 (SBS News) |
The pattern: born big, cast big, remembered bigger. Kiel’s story arcs from a Detroit childhood to Bond villain immortality — with the same towering frame at both ends of the timeline.
What’s confirmed and what’s not
The central facts of Kiel’s story are well documented, but some details have blurred in the retelling. Here’s the split between what multiple sources agree on and what remains fuzzy.
Confirmed facts
- Kiel stood 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) (SBS News)
- He played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker (007.com)
- He had acromegaly (The New York Times)
- He died on September 10, 2014, at age 74 (The New York Times)
What’s unclear
- Exact cause-of-death details beyond heart disease (Wikipedia)
- Whether acromegaly directly caused his height or merely contributed (BBC News)
- Names of all four children (Wikipedia)
- Full detail of his early television appearances beyond his cited break (BBC News)
The core of Kiel’s story — the height, the role, the acromegaly, the death — checks out consistently across multiple outlets. What stays fuzzy are the private details he chose not to share.
Voices on Richard Kiel
“The cables used in the Bond films were licorice.”
Richard Kiel, in a 2005 interview reported by the Los Angeles Times
“The audience response was so strong that Jaws was brought back for Moonraker.”
Reported by NPR in its obituary coverage
What the voices show: the same man who terrified audiences could joke about on-set candy and go home to a quiet family life. That gap between the image and the person is why Kiel’s legacy has lasted.
Why Richard Kiel still matters
Kiel’s life resists a simple moral. A hormonal condition that caused real health struggles also gave him the physical presence that made Jaws one of the most recognizable villains in film history. He was a working actor who happened to stand 7 feet 2 inches tall, a family man who happened to be a monster on screen, and a performer whose best-known character was nearly killed off before audiences adopted him. For today’s casting directors, the lesson is direct: cast a real presence and write the character around it — or settle for a shadow of what Richard Kiel achieved.
Related reading
- Pat Morita: Biography, Military Service, Oscar Nomination & Legacy
- Yul Brynner: Biography, Hair Loss, Net Worth, and Cause of Death
Frequently asked questions
What movies did Richard Kiel appear in besides the James Bond films?
His most notable non-Bond film roles include The Longest Yard (1974) and Silver Streak (1976) (The New York Times). Younger audiences also know him from the comedy Happy Gilmore (1996), where he played Mr. Larson.
Did Richard Kiel do his own stunts as Jaws?
He was involved in the physical gag work. Kiel said in a 2005 interview that the “cables” he bit through in the Bond films were actually licorice — an anecdote reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Was Richard Kiel in any TV shows?
Yes. His first widely cited television break was the alien Kanamit in The Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man,” a role that predated his Bond fame.
How did Richard Kiel get into acting?
Kiel began appearing in television and film in the 1960s and kept working steadily as a character actor for decades, with his physical stature steering him toward memorable roles.
Why is Richard Kiel considered a gentle giant?
The nickname reflects the contrast between his towering screen menace and his reported real-life personality. Kiel admitted initial reservations about the violent Jaws role, and he led a quiet family life as a married father of four.
How old was Richard Kiel when he died?
Richard Kiel died at age 74 on September 10, 2014, three days before his 75th birthday.
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Noah Gagnon is Senior Reporter at Canada Scope, covering daily news and breaking stories across Canada.