Yaphet Kotto, the compelling character actor who portrayed police lieutenant Al Giardello onHomicide: Life on the Street, a space traveler inAlienand a supervillainin Live and Let Die, has died.
He was 81. In a message posted on Facebook, Kotto's wife, Tessie Sinahon, said that the actor died Monday. "I'm saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years," she wrote.
A presence at 6-foot-4 and more than 240 pounds in his prime, Kotto also was known for his eerie Emmy-nominated performance as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin inRaid on Entebbe, a 1976 NBC movie.
In 1969, the Harlem native stepped in on Broadway for James Earl Jones inThe Great White Hope, portraying the boxer based on heavyweight champ Jack.
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