Richard Kiel, actor who played Bond villain 'Jaws,' dies at age 74

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Richard Kiel, the actor best known for playing the James Bond villain "Jaws," died Wednesday at a California hospital, St. Agnes Medical Center spokeswoman Kelley Sanchez said.

The cause of death for the 74-year-old actor has not been released.

The 7-foot-2-inch actor, who was born in Detroit in 1939, won over audiences worldwide in the 1970s as the steel-toothed character Jaws in the Roger Moore Bond classics "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker."

In later years, he turned his hand to writing and producing as well as acting, including in the 1991 movie "The Giant of Thunder Mountain," according to IMDB.