Prince
Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born November 15, 1937) is an American actor and presidential candidate.
Biography
Early life
Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a nurse and army officer, and Avraham Kotto (originally named Njoki Manga Bell), a businessman and the Crown Prince of Cameroon.
[http://www.filmreference.com/film/87/Yaphet-Kotto.html] Kotto's father, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s, was an observant Jew who spoke Hebrew, and Kotto's mother converted to Judaism before marrying his father.
Kotto's great-grandfather King Alexander Bell ruled the Douala region of Cameroon in the late 19th century and was also a practicing Jew.
[http://www.allbusiness.com/middle-east/israel/395997-1.html] Kotto has said that his paternal family originated from Israel and migrated to Egypt and then Cameroon, and have been African Jews for many generations.
Being Black and Jewish gave other children even more reason, he has said, to pick on him growing up in New York City. "It was rough coming up," Kotto said. "And then going to shul, putting a yarmulke on, having to face people who were primarily Baptists in the Bronx meant that on Fridays I was in some heavy fistfights".
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Career
By the age of 16, he was studying acting at the Actor's Mobile Theater Studio, and at 19, he made his professional acting debut in
Othello. He also was a member of the Actors Studio in New York. Kotto got his start in acting on Broadway, where he appeared in
The Great White Hope, among other productions.
His film debut was in 1963 in an uncredited role in
4 For Texas, but his first big break came in
Nothing But a Man in 1964. In 1973 he landed the role of the James Bond villain Mr. Big in
Live and Let Die, as well as roles in
Across 110th Street and
Truck Turner. He also starred as an auto worker alongside Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel in the commercial failure
Blue Collar.The following year he played one of his best-known roles, as Parker in the successful sci-fi/horror film
Alien. In 1987, he appeared in the hit futuristic sci-fi movie
The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson. He appeared in the 1988 comedy
Midnight Run as Alonzo Mosely, an FBI agent determined to bring Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin) in to turn states' evidence against the Mob.
He played Lieutenant Al Giardello in the drama television series
Life on the Street. The Giardello character reflected Kotto's own ethnic complexity, portrayed as a widower and the product of an African-American mother and Italian American father. At reflective times, the Giardello character would recall the tough lot of being an African-American Baltimore police officer in the turbulent 1960s. At others, he would lapse into Sicilian, or quote Sicilian sayings to his detectives. This, and his strong, assertive presence gave the character great depth throughout the life of the series.
He has written two books:
Royalty, and
The Second Coming of Christ, and also wrote scripts for
Life on the Street.
Kotto appeared in
TV Nation in an experiment to see who would have more trouble getting a taxi - a distinguished black actor or a white felon.
[ Michael Moore FAQ part 2]
Personal life
Kotto is an Observant Jew. He has been married three times. He has five children. He married Tessie Sinahon in July 1998, and they currently live in Baltimore, Maryland. His son Fredrick Kotto is a police officer with the City of San Jose, California. Yaphet Kotto has at least one grandchild by his son Robert.
Kotto claims to have uncovered proof that he is the great-great-great-grandson of Britain's Queen Victoria. According to Kotto, the Queen's son Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) had an illicit affair with Princess Nakande, daughter of King Doualla Manga Bell, producing the light-skinned Alexander Bell, Kotto's great-grandfather. Queen Elizabeth's deputy press secretary denied the story, saying "Edward VII never visited Cameroon".
[http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800012618/bio]Kotto has a Bay Area screamo band named after him. He campaigned for Steve Forbes's bid for the Republican Presidential nomination in the 2000 primaries. He is standing for the Republican Presidential nomination himself for 2008.
[http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3202008.ece][http://yaphetkotto.gop.com/]
Filmography
- 4 for Texas (1963)
- 5 Card Stud (1968) Little George (Mama's bartender)
- The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Carl
- Across 110th Street (1972) Lt. Pope
- Live and Let Die (1973) Kananga/Mr. Big
- Truck Turner (1974) Harvard Blue
- Report to the Commissioner(1975) Richard 'Crunch' Blackstone
- Roots (1977) TV miniseries
- Raid on Entebbe (1977) (TV) President Idi Amin Dada
- Blue Collar (1978) Smokey James
- Alien (1979) Parker
- Brubaker (1980) Richard 'Dickie' Coombes
- The Star Chamber (1983) Det. Harry Lowes
- The Running Man (1987) William Laughlin
- Midnight Run (1988) FBI Agent Alonzo Mosely
- The Final Nightmare (1991) Doc
- Life on the Street (1993-1999) Lieutenant Al Giardello
- The Puppet Masters (1994) Ressler
- Two If by Sea (1996) FBI Agent O'Malley
