Yaphet Kotto

Kotto was born in New York City. His mother was Gladys Marie, a nurse and U.S. Army officer. His father is Avraham Kotto (according to his son, originally named Njoki Manga Bell), a businessman from Cameroon who immigrated to the United States in the 1920s. In his autobiography titled Royalty, Kotto writes that his father was "the crown prince of Cameroon." However, Cameroon is a republic and its local monarchs have limited responsibilities as auxiliaries of the state, which they must support at all times, Cameroon being a typical example of an African state with sub-national monarchies.[3]

Kotto said he learned that his father's family was royal in adult life while studying his family's lineage, and said he is also a descendant of Queen Victoria, through Princess Nakande, daughter of King Doualla Manga Bell of Cameroon, who Kotto says had an affair with Britain's Edward VII while he was the prince of Wales in the late 19th century.[4][5] According to Kotto, his father was an observant Jew who spoke Hebrew. Kotto's mother, who was of Panamanian descent, converted to Judaism before marrying his father.[6] Kotto claims that his great-grandfather, whom he names "King Alexander Bell" ruled the Douala region of Cameroon in the late-19th century and was also a practicing Jew.[3]

Kotto has said that his paternal family originated from Israel many centuries ago, migrating to Egypt and then Cameroon, and have been African Jews for many generations.[7][8] His claim of being a descendant of Queen Victoria has been denied by the Buckingham Palace press office, who confirmed Edward VII had never visited Cameroon.[4][9]

Kotto has said that being a black Jew made it more difficult for him as a child. "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."[10][11]

By the age of sixteen, Kotto was studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio, and at 19, he made his professional acting debut in Othello. He 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, aged 23, in an uncredited role in 4 For Texas.[12] He performed in Michael Roemer's Nothing But a Man (1964) and played a supporting role in the caper film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). He played John Auston, a confused Marine Lance Corporal, in the 1968 episode, "King of the Hill", on the first season of Hawaii Five-O.

In 1967 he released a single, "Have You Ever Seen The Blues"/"Have You Dug His Scene" (Chisa Records, CH006).[13]

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. Kotto portrayed Idi Amin in the 1977 television film Raid on Entebbe. He starred as an auto worker in the 1978 film Blue Collar. The following year he played Parker in the sci-fi–horror film Alien. He followed with a supporting role in the 1980 prison drama Brubaker. In 1983, he guest-starred as mobster Charlie "East Side Charlie" Struthers in The A-Team episode "The Out-of-Towners". In 1987, he appeared in the futuristic sci-fi movie The Running Man, and in 1988, in the action-comedy Midnight Run, in which he portrayed Alonzo Moseley, an FBI agent. A memo from Paramount indicates that Kotto was among those being considered for Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role which eventually went to Patrick Stewart.[14]

Kotto acting alongside Leif Erickson in the television series The High Chaparral in 1968

Kotto was cast as a religious man living in the southwestern desert country in the 1967 episode, "A Man Called Abraham", on the syndicated anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor. In the story line, Abraham convinces a killer named Cassidy (Rayford Barnes) that Cassidy can change his heart despite past crimes. When Cassidy is sent to the gallows, Abraham provides spiritual solace. Bing Russell also appeared in this segment.[15]

Kotto portrayed Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running television series Homicide: Life on the Street. He has written the book Royalty and also wrote scripts for Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–99). In 2014, he voiced "Parker" for the video game Alien: Isolation, reprising the same role he played in the movie Alien in 1979.[16]

Kotto's first marriage was to a German immigrant, Rita Ingrid Dittman, whom he married in 1959. They had three children together before divorcing in 1976. A week after his divorce, Kotto married Toni Pettyjohn, and they also had three children together, before divorcing in 1989. Kotto married his third wife, Tessie Sinahon, on July 12, 1998.

• The Royalty: A Spiritual Awakening (1997), autobiography; ISBN 0-9655950-1-3

• Yaphet Kotto on IMDb
• Yaphet Kotto at the Internet Broadway Database
• Yaphet Kotto at the Internet Off-Broadway Database