YAPHET KOTTO 1939-2021

A powerhouse performer in some genre greats

Yaphet Kotto always saw himself as a revolutionary presence on screen. “That was my plan, to play parts that would open up the doors for others,” he reflected in 2015, “and it worked.”

Born in Harlem, New York City, Kotto began on Broadway. With his imposing frame and authoritative, resonant voice he proved a memorable TV player in such episodic fare as Hawaii Five-0 and The High Chaparral.

Riding the Blaxploitation phenomenon, 1973 Bond film Live And Let Die capitalised on Kotto’s success in gritty, racially charged crime drama Across 110th Street. Cast as heroinsmuggling island diplomat Kananga – who leads a double-life as mob kingpin Mr Big – he saw the role as “a huge break for me and for black actors and actresses in general.”

But the experience was frustrating, from the script – “I had to dig deep in my soul and brain and come up with a level of reality that would offset the sea of stereotype crap” – to the fact that he was cold-shouldered in the movie’s promotion, not even invited to the premiere.

1979’s Alien was a happier gig. Calling it “one of the best scripts I have ever read”, he brought a bluff, blue-collar appeal to engineer Dennis Parker, who he imagined was every bit a match for the titular perfect organism.“i’m gonna kill it, man,” he insisted to helmer Ridley Scott on set. “There’s no way it can kill me.”

He teamed with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s dystopian thriller The Running Man but passed on the chance to play Lando Calrissian and Jean-luc Picard. His final credit was a familiar, cherished role, voicing Parker in the excellent 2014 videogame Alien: Isolation. NS

NORMAN J WARREN (1942-2021)

Brit horror producer, responsible for Satan’s Slave, Prey and Inseminoid among others.

NIKKI VAN DER ZYL (1935-2021)

Uncredited voice artist on the Bond movies, dubbing many of the female leads, including Ursula Andress.