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Yaphet Kotto

Yaphet Kotto, American actor and screenwriter (died 2021)

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Born
November 15, 1939
Died
March 15, 2021
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1939

About Yaphet Kotto

Yaphet Frederick Kotto was an American actor for film and television. His films include the neo-noir action thriller Across 110th Street (1972), the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), the science-fiction action film The Running Man (1987), and the action comedy Midnight Run (1988). He also starred in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) as Lieutenant Al Giardello. Kotto's first marriage, in 1959, was to a German immigrant, Rita Ingrid Dittman. Kotto became Jewish, and versed in the Hebrew liturgy and incorporated Jewish prayers at turning points throughout his life.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Yaphet Kotto timeline

  1. Kotto's first marriage, in 1959, was to a German immigrant, Rita Ingrid Dittman.
  2. He also starred in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) as Lieutenant Al Giardello.

The world when Yaphet Kotto was born

Yaphet Kotto was born in 1939. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Yaphet Kotto's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.