RIP Yaphet Kotto

 Mr. Big is no more ! Or should I say Kananga ? Alonzo Mosely from FBI ? Or Parker from Alien ?

Yaphet Kotto was a versatile actor and one of the proeminent black actors in movies in the 70's, like James Earl Jones and Louis Gossett jr. He was also a star in the Tv series Homicide. He died at 81. 

His breathrough came after his part in Across 110th Street when he was offered the part of the villain of the 1st Roger Moore  James Bond movie, Live and Let Die (1973), Kananga alias Mr. Big. He was also a part of th ensemble of the space crew of Alien (1979) together with brits like Ian Holm and John Hurt.  

For some of us, Alonzo Mosely from FBI, his character from the film Midnight Run(1988) was the closest to the heart.

Article and obituary in The New York Times

“One day, when I was about 16, I walked into this theater showing ‘On the Waterfront’ and I saw Marlon Brando for the first time, I couldn’t speak. It was like somebody had punched me in the stomach. It was like someone had crashed cymbals in both ears. I was blasted out of the theater. I knew from that moment that I wanted to be an actor.”

Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021)