ODDJOB NICK NACK

Goldfinger 1964 - Harold Sakata

HE was the conniving servant of assassin Francisco Scaramanga on their private island in the South China Sea. Born with dwarfism in Nazi-occupied Paris, Villechaize worked as a painter after moving to New York aged 21.

He was so poor, he was living in his car when he got he Bond role.

Afterwards, he played Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street and starred in other movies including Airplane II: The Sequel and some episodes of comedy Taxi.

But the twice-married actor suffered chronic pain as he got older due to oversized organs putting pressure on his body.

He often slept in a kneeling position to breathe more easily. In September 1993, aged 50, he shot himself dead in the yard of his North Hollywood home. He left a note saying he was despondent over his deteriorating health.

THE film’s main villain was greedy Auric Goldfinger but the biggest physical threat to 007 came from henchman Oddjob and his lethal, steel-brimmed bowler hat.

Bond producers chose Harold Sakata, a Hawaiian professional wrestler known as Tosh Togo, for the role of the mute murderer because of his heavy build and intimidating gaze. The powerful actor had also won a silver medal for weightlifting at the 1948 London Olympics.

After Goldfinger he appeared in several movies, in which he was credited as Harold “Oddjob” Sakata.

He also appeared as Oddjob in a series of TV commercials for Vicks cough syrup in which he got a cough and demolished everything around him. Sakata, who lived in Hawaii, continued to make appearances as Oddjob right up until he died of liver cancer in July 1982, four weeks after his 62nd birthday.

The Man with the Golden Gun 1974 - Herve Villechaize