Actor Richard Kiel has died in California aged 74.

Actor Richard Kiel - who played steel-toothed villain Jaws in two James Bond films - has died in California aged 74.

For Eastwood fans, Richard is fondly remembered for his brief, but highly amusing cameo in Pale Rider (1985).

The towering American star, who appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and Moonraker in 1979, died in hospital in Fresno on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Saint Agnes Medical Centre confirmed Kiel's death, but did not reveal the cause. His first break came in 1959 when he played the alien Kanamit in Twilight Zone. He published an autobiography in 2002, called Making It Big in the Movies. His many other acting roles included deadly assistant Voltaire in the 1960s TV series The Wild, Wild West; playing opposite William Shatner in the 1970s TV sitcom Barbary Coast; taking on the lead character of Eli Weaver in the movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain; and spoofing his most famous role as "Famous big guy with silver teeth" in the movie version of Inspector Gadget.

In recent years, he also spent much of his time touring the world and appearing at conventions to meet Bond fans. RIP - Richard, you'll be sadly missed.