Before They Were Stars: Richard Kiel Dances with the Monkees

I’m sad to report that Richard Kiel, a.k.a. the quintessential James Bond henchman, Jaws, has just passed away at the age of 74. Even though the seven-foot tall Kiel was best known for portraying Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, he actually worked pretty steadily since the early 1960s and acted in a wide variety of projects. Of course, one of Kiel’s earliest and most infamous roles was playing a caveman in Eegah, which is regarded as one of the most hilariously bad movies of all time. However, in terms of pure weirdness, Eegah actually has a bit of competition with this episode of The Monkees TV series, where Kiel plays a Frankenstein-esque monster who has the Monkees’ musical ability transferred into him. So, yeah, here’s a rare chance to see the usually silent Richard Kiel singing and dancing. R.I.P.