This Day in Horror: Happy Birthday Yaphet Kotto
Alyse Wax
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Born on this day in 1939: Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Kotto is born to royalty. Really. His father was the crown prince of Cameroon before he immigrated to the United States in 1920. However, Kotto did not discover his royal heritage until he was an adult.
Kotto made his genre debut in 1979’s Alien, where he played Parker, the chief engineer. Kotto was cast in the role after his appearance in Live and Let Die. He was chosen to add a bit of diversity to the cast, and to give the crew of the Nostromo a more “international” feel.
Other genre work includes the dystopian sci-fi flick The Running Man; Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare; and The Puppet Masters. On television, he appeared in an episode of Night Gallery and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Categorized:News This Day in Horror
