FADE TO BLACK
Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021) Yaphet Kotto was best known for his roles in Live and Let Die (1973) and Alien (1979) but will ultimately be remembered as a pioneer of elevating the image of the Black man on screen away from stereotypical representation. His outspoken nature often revealed ugly truths of the industry during a time when Hollywood was not so accommodating to Black actors. Teenaged Kotto aspired to become an actor after watching his idol Marlon Brando star in On the Waterfront (1954). 80
He made his professional debut on stage in a production of Othello (1958) with an all-Black cast, and later on Broadway as an understudy to James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope, who he succeeded in 1969 to portray boxer Jack Jefferson. His film debut in Four for Texas (1963) was uncredited, still he played in numerous films thereafter eventually starring in blockbuster Live and Let Die (1973). Kotto became the first Black Bond villain, Caribbean dictator Dr. Kananga with the alter ego Mr. Big. While
