Alien Actor Yaphet Kotto Dies At 81

Alien and Live and Let Die actor Yaphet Kotto has died at the age of 81. Kotto played a wide variety of TV and movie roles in a career that spanned more than 40 years.

For many movie fans, Kotto is best known for his roles as Parker, one of the Nostromo crew in 1979's original Alien, and the villainous Kananga in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die. Kotto's other key roles include Lieutenant Giardello in the influential '90s cop show Homicide: Life on the Street, volatile FBI agent Mosely in the 1988 action comedy Midnight Run, and resistance fighter Laughlin in 1987's Stephen King adaptation The Running Man.

Kotto was born in New York in 1939. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 19 in a production of Shakespeare's Othello, and was a member of New York's influential Actors Studio. Kotto's first screen appearance was in the 1964 western 4 for Texas, which was followed by various supporting movie and TV roles.

The actor's profile was raised by his memorable performance as corrupt Caribbean dictator Kananga in Live and Let Die, which was followed by '70s films such as the Blaxploitation thrillers Truck Turner and Across 110th Street, crime drama Blue Collar, and, of course, Alien. Kotto was also on a short list of actors under consideration to play Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a part that eventually went to Patrick Stewart. Kotto returned to the role of Parker for the 2014 game Alien: Isolation, which was his final credit.

His wife Sinahon Thessa paid tribute to Kotto on Facebook, writing, "You played a villain in some of your movies but for me you're a real hero and to a lot of people also. A good man, a good father, a good husband, and a decent human being, very rare to find. One of the best actors in Hollywood, a Legend. Rest in Peace Honey, I'm gonna miss you everyday, my best friend, my rock."