Actor Richard Kiel, famous for playing Bond villain Jaws, dies at 74

Actor Richard Kiel, most famous for his turn as Bond villain Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, died Wednesday in Fresno, California. He was 74. The cause has not been disclosed.

Kiel had more than 80 film and television credits under his belt, but was best known for playing the metal-mouthed Jaws. Kiel — who stood 7 feet, 1.5 inches tall — worked as a nightclub bouncer and cemetery plot salesman before becoming an actor, The Hollywood Reporter says, and his first role was in the NBC show Klondike. Not long after, he appeared in the classic 1962 Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man," playing the alien Kanamit. His career spanned several decades (and included roles in Happy Gilmore, The Longest Yard, The Monkees, and Silver Streak), and in 2010, he had a voice role in Tangled.

Kiel's family posted a statement on Facebook: "Richard had an amazing joy for life and managed to live every single day to the fullest. Though most people knew of him through his screen persona, those who were close to him knew what a kind and generous soul he was."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.