Yaphet Kotto and the cast of 'Live And Let Die', 1973. From left to right (top), Julius Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Earl Jolly Brown, (bottom), Jane Seymour, Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto.
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Yaphet Kotto is an American actor, director, and producer. He is known for numerous film roles, as well as for starring on the television.
Background
Yaphet Kotto was born on November 19, 1939, in New York City, New York, United States to the family of Avraham and Gladys Maria Kotto. His father, Avraham Kotto (originally named Njoki Manga Bell) was 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. Kotto's father could speak nine or ten languages and had friends from many African nations. Before leaving Cameroon, and after he converted to Judaism, Bell changed his name to Abraham Kotto. Kotto means “trees” in Cameroonian. He would name his son Yaphet, which means “beautiful” in Hebrew.
Education
When his parents divorced, Kotto’s mother moved him in with his grandparents to Harlem and sent him to a Catholic school where he was one of only a few black students among the predominantly white, Irish, student population. His mother, an army nurse, was often away on assignment. Wanting to save Kotto from the street gangs he had become involved with, his family moved from Harlem when he was sixteen. Kotto dropped out of school and spent his days at movie theaters. He began studying the performing arts at age 16 at the Actor's Mobile Theatre Studio.
Career
At 19 Yaphet Kotto made his professional debut in the title role of "Othello." His subsequent stage credits include the part of Jack Johnson in the Broadway production of "The Great White Hope" and the lead in the London presentation of August Wilson's "Fences." Kotto received acclaim for his early film performances, most notably in "Nothing but a Man" and "The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones." His film credits also include the motion pictures "Alien," "Brubaker," "Midnight Run," "Blue Collar," "Live and Let Die," "The Thomas Crown Affair," "The Shootist," "Report to the Commissioner," "We're Back," "S.I.S." and "Two if by Sea." Kotto produced, directed and starred in the horror film "The Virgin" and appeared in "The Puppet Masters" with Donald Sutherland and "Homicide" co-star Richard Belzer. Kotto recently developed, directed, produced and starred (with Dionne Warwick) in the documentary "The Last Warning." He has appeared in numerous TV movies, including "Miami Deadline," "Prime Target," "Desperado" and "Badge of the Assassin." He also guest-starred on the series "The Big Valley," "Mannix" and "Gunsmoke.
Yaphet Kotto currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland.
Achievements
Yaphet Kotto managed to build a strong acting career. His performance usually gets positive reviews and he often was offered roles of the iconic character that he nevertheless declined. Kotto received an Emmy nomination as Best Actor for his performance as Idi Amin in "Raid on Entebbe."
Kotto's father was a Cameroonian Judaist, and his mother, whose family was from Panama, converted to Judaism. In an interview, he said that being fully Black and Jewish gave other children even more reason to pick on him growing up in New York City. However, he remains a devout, practicing Judaist.
Personality
Along with his wife, Tessie, Kotto operates an artists retreat resort in Southern Leyte, Philippines called "The Running Man Institute", which was founded in 2001 and is focused on working with people in the entertainment industry to build their creativity, as well as to relax and read up about holistic health.
Connections
Yaphet Kotto married Rita Dittman in 1963, they divorced in 1975. They have three children: Natasha, Fredrick, and Robert. A week after his divorce, Kotto married Antoinette Pettyjohn on January 29, 1975. They divorced around 1989. They have three children: Sarada, Mirabai, and Salina. He again married Rosemary Gayon in 1994 and divorced. He finally married Tessie Sinahon on July 12, 1998.
Father:
Avraham Kotto
Njoki Manga Bell
Mother:
Gladys Maria Kotto
child:
Natasha Kotto
child:
Fredrick Kotto
child:
Robert Kotto
child:
Sarada Kotto
child:
Mirabai Kotto
child:
Salina Kotto
ex-wife:
Rita Ingrid Dittman
ex-wife:
Toni Pettyjohn
ex-wife:
Rosemary Gayon
Wife:
Tessie Sinahon
colleague:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
References
Contemporary Authors, Vol. 166
This volume of Contemporary Authors contains biographical information on approximately 300 modern writers.
