Walter Gotell

Walter Gotell (15 March 1924 - 5 May 1997) was a German-British actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series. Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United States after the Nazis came to power. A fluent English speaker, he started in films as early as 1942, usually playing German henchmen, but other roles also, in films like The African Queen (1951), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1... more

Walter Gotell (15 March 1924 - 5 May 1997) was a German-British actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series. Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United States after the Nazis came to power. A fluent English speaker, he started in films as early as 1942, usually playing German henchmen, but other roles also, in films like The African Queen (1951), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), The Guns of Navarone (1961), 55 Days At Peking (1963), Lancelot and Guinevere (1963), The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965), Lord Jim, Black Sunday (1977), The Boys From Brazil (1978), and Cuba (1979). Gotell won the role of KGB General Anatol Gogol in The Spy Who Loved Me for being a look-alike of the former head of Soviet secret police Lavrentiy Pavlovitch Beria. His first role in the James Bond films came in 1963, when he played the henchman Morzeny in From Russia with Love. Starting in the late 1970s, he... less