For me, the best Bond villian is and always will be Jaws–played by Richard Kiel (1939–2014). He was tall and scary as everything but he was also funny, he found love, and he had a good ending. I was so hoping to see him in ANOTHER Bond movie, like Bond 20, Die Another Day! It would have been so cool if Bond had walked into the hotel and like Jaws had been there with his family on the way out or something like that.

Jaws is the Best henchmen ever. – YouTube

Anyway, lately I have been learning a lot about Richard Kiel, the guy who played him and what an incredible person he actually was. I would like to share three aspects of him with you that I found particularly interesting.

First, he was a highly educated and ambitious man. He was always working hard and striving for himself and his family. He was American but he spoke fluent German. He was an educated man and taught mathematics at a night school in California before becoming an actor. He came from a very entrepreneurial family who sold furniture and household appliances. He also sold vacuum cleaners door to door. I am think if I saw him knocking on my door I would have run-away! Even after he started acting he was successful as a car salesperson. He loved children and family and even produced and starred in his own children’s tv show as Paul Bunyan. Even after he made it big as Jaws in the two Bond films, he continued to start businesses and after a major auto accident, he was part of a scooter company.

Secondly, he was never afraid to laugh at himself. Most of the funny scenes in the Bond films where he missed Bond and fell or where Bond kneed him in the groin he suggested to the director and the producer. Then he went on from there, doing cameos in films like Happy Gilmore or Inspector Gadget–playing on his bad guy persona.

Thirdly, Kiel was a sincere believer. He said that he accepted Jesus as his personal savior when he was 9 years old and recommitted himself at 12 and 27. His faith came from his family and it was always important to him, even when he was killing people as Jaws. I hope some of it rubbed on Roger Moore. However, Hollywood success brought him into contact with a lot of alcohol and he become an alcoholic. He wrote (Richard Kiel Fan Club (archive.org):

I had become a Christian when I was about nine years old, reconfirmed that commitment at a youth camp at age 12 and was baptized at the age of twenty-seven.  As a “Christian” I couldn’t understand why I was addicted and bound to such a negative habit.  Early one morning, I was watching a program on one of the Christian networks and learned that the Bible said that I could join  together in prayer with other Christians and God could free me from that addiction.  I prayed along with the guest on the program, and although nothing seemed to happen (there were no bells or flashing lights) I found that I had no more overwhelming desire for, and was no longer addicted to alcohol.

Right after this, he turned down the beer commercial mentioned above. However, a few years later he got asked to do a root beer commercial that paid much more than what the beer commercial paid. See the Lord has a sense of humor!

Also in his autobiography, Making it Big in the Movies (a book which is really hard to find) Richard Kiel talked how he believes that Jesus saved him from alcoholism and how you too can start a relationship with the One-Above-All. He even leads the reader in the sinner’s prayer. I cannot wait to meet him on the other side, I am sure that I will have no trouble picking him out from the crowd!

Matthew 24:13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

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