What Was Richard Kiel's Net Worth?
Richard Kiel was an American actor who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death. Richard Kiel is known for appearing in films like "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Moonraker," "Happy Gilmore," "The Longest Yard," and "Pale Rider," among others. Unfortunately, Kiel died on September 10, 2014, at the age of 74, just three days before his 75th birthday. He is survived by his wife, four children, and nine grandchildren.
Early Life
Richard Kiel was born on September 13, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan. He was born with a condition known as gigantism, which is caused by an excess of human growth hormone. The condition eventually caused him to grow to a height of 7 feet and 3 inches. When Richard was nine years old, his family moved to Los Angeles County. There, he attended and graduated from Baldwin Park High School. Before becoming an actor, Kiel worked a variety of jobs. He was a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, a nightclub bouncer, and a cemetery plot salesman. From 1963 to 1965, he worked as a mathematics instructor in the evenings at William B. Ogden Radio Operational School in Burbank, California.
Career
Kiel began auditioning for acting roles in the late 1950s when he was in his early 20s. His first role was a minor part as a bully in "The Rifleman" in 1958. In 1960, he appeared in an episode of "Klondike." Throughout the 1960s, he booked enough television roles that he was able to pursue a career in acting only, allowing him to quit working as a teacher. Richard appeared in episodes of "The Phantom," "Thriller," "The Twilight," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Honey West," "My Mother the Car," "The Wild Wild West," "Gilligan's Island," "The Monkees," "I Spy," "It Takes a Thief," and "Daniel Boone."
Kiel also broke into film in the 1960s. His first few film roles, in "The D.I." and "Run of the Hunted," were uncredited. He also appeared in "The Phantom Planet" in 1961. The following year, he had a role in "Eegah." In 1963, he appeared in the films "House of the Damned," "The Nutty Professor," "Lassie's Great Adventure," and "30 Minutes at Gunsight." In 1964, Richard appeared in "Roustabout" and "The Nasty Rabbit." Kiel appeared in three films in 1965 – "Two on a Guillotine," "The Human Duplicators," and "Brainstorm." In 1966, he appeared in "The Las Vegas Hillbillys" followed by a role in "A Man Called Dagger" in 1967. In 1968, Richard landed roles in "Now You See It, Now You Don't" and appeared in "Skidoo."
Kiel's career continued to develop throughout the 1970s. On television, he had roles in episodes of "Disneyland," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," "Emergency!," "Switch," "Starsky & Hutch," "Land of the Lost," "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries," and "Young Dan'l Boone." He also played the main role of Moose Moran in "Barbary Coast" from 1975 to 1976, appearing in 14 total episodes.
(Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic)
One of Kiel's most well-known film roles came after producers for the James Bond films saw his performance in "Barbary Coast." They cast him as the villain Jaws in the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me" in 1977. He was one of a few Bond villains to appear in two Bond films, as he reprised the role in "Moonraker" in 1979. Other films Richard appeared in throughout the 1970s include "Deadhead Miles," "The Longest Yard," "Gus," "Silver Streak," "The Incredible Hulk," "The Humanoid," "Force 10 from Navarone," and "They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way."
In 1980, Kiel appeared in five episodes of "Match Game PM" as a panelist. He also appeared in episodes of "The Fall Guy," "Simon & Simon," "Out of This World," and "Superboy" throughout the rest of the decade. In terms of film roles around this time, he appeared in "So Fine," "Hysterical," "Phoenix," "Aces Go Places 3," "Cannonball Run II," "Pale Rider," "Qing bao long hu men," "Think Big," and "The Princess and the Dwarf."
In the 1990s, Kiel appeared in three films: "The Giant of Thunder Mountain," "Inspector Gadget," and "Happy Gilmore." His role in the latter film was particularly popular, and it was also one of the roles in which he had the most dialogue. He exchanged several lines with the star of the film, Adam Sandler.
After "Happy Gilmore," Richard did not act as much and semi-retired. He appeared in an episode of "Bloodhounds Inc." in 2000. A decade later, he recorded a voice role for "Tangled" in 2010.
Richard Kiel Height
How tall was Richard Kiel? Kiel was 7 feet, 3 inches tall.
Personal Life and Death
Richard was married twice in his life. His first marriage was to Faye Daniels in 1960. They divorced in 1973. In 1974, he married Diane Rogers. She was over two feet shorter than him, which attracted much attention to the couple when they were together. They remained married for 40 years until Kiel's death. During their marriage, they had four children. In 1992, Richard was involved in a car accident and suffered a severe head injury. This impacted his balance, and he was forced to use a cane for support throughout the remainder of his life. As he got older, he also used a scooter or wheelchair for mobility.
In 2002, Kiel published his autobiography, "Making It Big in the Movies." In it, he described his childhood and rise in Hollywood. He also discussed some of the struggles he had with alcohol over the years. Richard was a born-again Christian and stated that his faith helped him overcome alcoholism.
On September 10, 2014, Kiel died at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, from heart disease. His death occurred three days before his 75th birthday.
