Early life

Kotto was born in New York City. His mother was Gladys Marie, a nurse and U.S. Army officer. His father is Avraham Kotto (originally named Njoki Manga Bell), a businessman from Cameroon who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s. In his autobiography titled Royalty, Kotto writes that his father was "the crown prince of Cameroon". But, Cameroon is a republic and its monarchs have limited responsibilities as auxiliaries of the state, which they must support at all times. It is a typical example of an intrastate African monarchy.

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. 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. 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. 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. Apart from Kotto's claims, these genealogical statements remain unsupported by other sources. His claim of being a descendant of Queen Victoria has been denied by the Buckingham Palace press office.

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."

The Bell family is a very powerful, well-known and respected royal family in the Wouri estuary of what is now the Republic of Cameroon, with authority over the township of Bell. They were leaders of the Duala people long before Cameroon became a republic. The European colonists were the first to call the Duala leaders kings. The first Duala leader to use the title was King Ndumbe Lobe Bell, who succeeded his father Lobé Bébé Bell in 1858 and ruled until 1897. In 1914 King Rudolf Duala Manga Bell was executed for high treason by the Germans, who suppressed the monarchy in the colony they controlled. Under the laws of the current Republic of Cameroon (founded 1960), the reigning prince is considered an auxiliary of the state which he must support at all times. On January 24, 2014 Jean Yves Dieudonné Gaston Eboumbou Douala Manga Bell succeeded his father Prince René Douala Manga Bell.

Career

By the age of 16, 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 in an uncredited role in 4 For Texas. 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 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 also 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" in the 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.

He played Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running television series Homicide: Life on the Street.

He has written two books: Royalty, and The Second Coming of Christ, and also wrote scripts for Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999).

In 2014, Kotto portrayed the voice of Parker for the video game Alien: Isolation, reprising the same role he played in the movie Alien in 1979.

Personal life

Kotto married Tessie Sinahon in July 1998. They currently live in Baltimore, Maryland.

His first marriage was to Rita Ingrid Dittman, whom he married in 1962. They had three children together. They divorced in 1975.

Kotto secondly married Antoinette Pettyjohn, on January 29, 1975. They had two children together, and later divorced.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	4 for Texas		Uncredited
1964	Nothing But a Man	Jocko
1968	Thomas Crown Affair, TheThe Thomas Crown Affair	Carl
1968	5 Card Stud	Little George (Mama's bartender)
1970	Liberation of L.B. Jones, TheThe Liberation of L.B. Jones	Sonny Boy Mosby
1970	Night Chase	Ernie Green
1971	Man and Boy (1971 film)	Nate Hodges
1972	Bone	Bone
1972	The Limit	Mark Johnson	Also Director
1972	Across 110th Street	Lt. Pope
1973	Live and Let Die	Dr. Kananga / Mr. Big
1974	Truck Turner	Harvard Blue
1975	Report to the Commissioner	Richard "Crunch" Blackstone
1975	Sharks' Treasure	Ben Flynn
1975	Friday Foster	Colt Hawkins
1976	Drum	Blaise
1976	Monkey Hustle, TheThe Monkey Hustle	Big Daddy Foxx
1976	Crunch	Crucnch
1976	Raid on Entebbe	President Idi Amin Dada	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
1978	Blue Collar	Smokey James
1979	Alien	Parker
1980	Brubaker	Richard 'Dickie' Coombes
1980	Rage!	Ernie
1982	A House Divided: Denmark Vessey's Rebellion	Denmark Vessey
1982	Fighting Back (1982 film)	Ivanhoe Washington
1983	Star Chamber, TheThe Star Chamber	Det. Harry Lowes
1983	For Love And Honor	Sgt. China Bell
1983	Women Of San Quentin	Sgt. Therman Patterson
1984	Terror in the Aisles	Himself
1985	Playing With Fire	Fire Chief Walker
1985	Warning Sign	Major Connolly
1985	Park is Mine, TheThe Park is Mine	Eubanks
1985	Badge of the Assassin	Det. Cliff Fenton NYPD
1986	Harem	Agha Kislar
1986	Eye of the Tiger	J. B. Deveraux
1987	Prettykill	Harris
1987	Desperado	Bede
1987	In Self Defense	Lt. Tyrell
1987	Terminal Entry	Conl. Styles
1987	Running Man, TheThe Running Man	William Laughlin
1988	Midnight Run	FBI Agent Alonzo Mosely
1989	The Jigsaw Murders	Doctor Filmore
1989	Whisper To A Scream	Jules Tallard
1989	Prime Target	Gilmore Brown
1989	Ministry Of Vengeance	Mr. Whiteside
1989	Tripwire	Lee Pitt
1990	After The Shock	William McElroy
1991	Hangfire	Police Lieutenant
1991	Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare	Doc
1992	Chrome Soldiers	Perry Beach
1993	Extreme Justice	Larson
1994	Puppet Masters, TheThe Puppet Masters	Ressler
1996	Two If by Sea	FBI Agent O'Malley
2008	Witless Protection	Ricardo Bodi (alias Alonzo Mosley)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967 1967	The Big Valley Death Valley Days	Damien Abraham	Season 3, episode 15: "The Buffalo Man" Season 15, Episode 26: "A Man Called Abraham"
1968	Bonanza	Child Barnett	Season 10, episode 2: "Child"
1968	High Chaparral, TheThe High Chaparral	Sergeant Major	Episode 38: "The Buffalo Soldiers" Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Fictional Television Drama
1968	Daniel Boone	Luke	Season 5, episode 11: Big, Black and out There
1969	Mannix	black jazz musician Gabe Johnson	Season 2, episode 18: "Death in a Minor Key"
1969	Hawaii Five-O	Marine Lance Corporal John T. Auston	Season 1, episode 14: "King of the Hill"
1969	Daniel Boone	Jonah	Season 5, episode 18: "Jonah"
1970	Gunsmoke	Piney Biggs	Episode 294: "The Scavengers"
1971	Night Gallery	Buckner	Season 2, episode 13: "The Messiah on Mott Street"
1977	Roots
1983	For Love and Honor	Platoon Sgt. James "China" Bell	"The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel" (1987)
1993	seaQuest DSV	Captain Jack Clayton	Season 1, episode 4 "Treasures of the Tonga Trench"
1993-2000	Homicide: Life on the Street	Lieutenant Al Giardello	Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (1996-1999)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]