Besides being one amazing actor, Yaphet Kotto is one fascinating individual.
He has a most impressive list of stage, film and television credits for
one who began his career in the 1960s. He is a 6' 5' tall, handsome, heavy
set man with a classic face and very expressive eyes. He was born in New
York City, New York on November 15, 1937 and grew up there. His background
is of interest in that he is of the Jewish faith and claims a descendency
from the Cameroonian Royal family. He also claims to be Queen Victoria's
great, great grandson. By the age of 16 he was studying acting very seriously
at the Actor's Mobile Theatre Studio and at 19 made his professional acting
debut in "Othello." He also was a member of the Actors Studio
in New York. On Broadway he has played Jack Johnson in "The Great White
Hope." His film debut was in "4 for Texas" (1963) in a Bit
Part. His other films include: "Nothing But a Man" (1964) as Jocko;
"The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968) with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway,
as Carl; "5 Card Stud" (1968) as Little George; "The Liberation
of L. B. Jones" (1970) as Sonny Boy Mosby; "Bone" (1972)
as Bone; the James Bond film "Live and Let Die" (1973) as Kananga/Mr.
Big, one of his best known roles; "Truck Turner" (1974) as Harvard
Blue; "Shark's Treasure" (1975) as Ben Flynn; "Report to
the Commissioner" (1975) as Richard 'Crunch' Blackstone; "Blue
Collar" (1978) as Smokey James; the horror classic "Alien"
(1979) as Parker, a terrific role and one of my favorites of his; "Othello"
(1980) as Othello; "Brubaker" (1980) with Robert Redford, as Dickie
Coombes, another excellent role; "Fighting Back" (1982) as Ivanhoe
Washington; "The Star Chamber" (1983) as Det. Harry Lowes; "Warning
Sign" (1985) as Maj. Connolly; "The Running Man" (1987) with
Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Laughlin; "Midnight Run" (1988) as Alonzo
Mosely, a great role in an excellent film; "Ministry of Vengeance"
(1989) as Mr. Whiteside; "Trip Wire" (1990) as Lee Pitt; "Freddy's
Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991) as Doc; "Almost Blue" (1992)
as Terry; "Intent to Kill" (1993) as Capt. Jackson; "Extreme
Justice" (1993) as Larson; "The Puppet Masters" (1994) as
Ressler; "Out-of-Sync" (1995) as Quincy and "Two if by Sea"
(1996) as O'Malley. On TV he was a regular on the series: "Roots"
(1977) a mini-series; "For Love and Honor" (1983) as Platoon Sgt.
James 'China' Bell; "Homicide: Life on the Streets" (1993-1999)
as Lt. Al 'Gee' Giardello and "The Great War" (1996) a mini-series,
as Voice. He also appeared in TV movies including: "Night Chase"
(1970); "Crunch" (1976); "Raid on Entebbe" (1977) as
Idi Amin, a terrific performance; "Rage!" (1980) and "Defenders:
The Payback" (1997). He has also guest starred on such TV series as:
"Gunsmoke"; "The Big Valley"; "Bonanza"; "Hawaii
5-0"; "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"; "Murder, She Wrote"
and "Law & Order." He has been married three times and has
five children. He married Tessie Sinahon in July 1998 and they currently
live in Baltimore, Maryland. He has written two books: "Royalty"
and "The Second Coming of Christ."
