Yaphet Kotto, the actor who enjoyed popularity in film during the 1970's before moving to television with the police procedural, "Homicide: Life on the Street", has sadly passed away on March 15th at the age of eighty-one. With a commanding screen presence, Kotto could bring an uncomfortable menace or deliver an exuberant energy to his many movie roles. No cause of death as been released at this time.
Born in New York City, Kotto began to pursue acting as a teen, becoming a member of the Actors Studio and performing on stage in "Othello" and "The Great White Hope". He appeared in "Nothing But a Man" and had a supporting role in the original "The Thomas Crown Affair" in 1968 but his major break came as the villain, Mr. Big in the 1973 James Bond movie, "Live and Let Die". Kotto would go on to star in "Across 110th Street", "Blue Collar", "Truck Turner", "Brubaker", "The Running Man", "Midnight Run" and the sci-fi classic, "Alien". He would play the murderous President of Uganda, Idi Amin in the television film, "Raid on Entebbe". In 1993, Kotto went on to appear as Lieutenant Al Giardello on "Homicide: Life on the Street", staying on the entire seven season run. His last screen appearance was in the unfortunate Larry The Cable Guy comedy, "Witless Protection" in 2008.
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