Skip to main content
Walter Gotell

Walter Gotell

Actor · 1924 – 1997 · Bonn, Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Walter Gotell (15 March 1926 – 5 May 1997) was a German 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 Kingdom after the Nazis came to power. A fluent English speaker, he started in films as early as 1943, usually playing German henchmen, such as in We Dive at Dawn (1943). He began to have more established roles by the early fifties, starring in The African Queen (1951), 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 (1965), 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 played the recurring role of General Gogol in the James Bond series, beginning with The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977. The character returned in Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985) and The Living Daylights (1987). As the Cold War developed, the role of leader of the KGB was seen to change attitudes to the West - from direct competitor to collaborator. His final appearance, as the Cold War began to become less imminent, sees him transferred to a different, more diplomatic role. Gotell is one of a few actors to have played a villain and a Bond ally in the film series (others being Joe Don Baker, Charles Gray and Richard Kiel). Throughout his career, Gotell also made numerous guest appearances in a wide array of television series. He played Chief Constable Cullen in Softly, Softly: Taskforce between 1969 and 1975. He guested in many series including Danger Man, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Airwolf, The X-Files, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, MacGyver, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Miami Vice, Cagney and Lacey, The Saint, and many others. Description above from the Wikipedia article Walter Gotell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies24

  • Movie7.1

    From Russia with Love

    1963 · 3.5K votes

  • Movie6.3

    A View to a Kill

    1985 · 2.3K votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Living Daylights

    1987 · 2.1K votes

  • Movie6.8

    The Spy Who Loved Me

    1977 · 2.3K votes

  • Movie6.6

    For Your Eyes Only

    1981 · 2.2K votes

  • Movie6.2

    Moonraker

    1979 · 2.3K votes

  • Movie7.6

    The Longest Day

    1962 · 1.1K votes

  • Movie6.4

    Octopussy

    1983 · 2.3K votes

  • Movie7.3

    The Guns of Navarone

    1961 · 911 votes

  • Movie7.4

    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    1956 · 1.6K votes

  • Movie7.3

    The African Queen

    1952 · 1.1K votes

  • Movie7.1
  • Movie6.7

    The Boys from Brazil

    1978 · 466 votes

  • Movie6.9

    55 Days at Peking

    1963 · 192 votes

  • Movie5.2

    Prince Valiant

    1997 · 80 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Lord Jim

    1965 · 87 votes

  • Movie6.4
  • Movie5.8
  • Movie5.8

    March or Die

    1977 · 91 votes

  • Movie5.5

    Cuba

    1979 · 54 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Endless Night

    1972 · 67 votes

  • Movie7.0
  • Movie6.1
  • Movie7.3

    Ice Cold in Alex

    1958 · 107 votes

Series24

  • TV8.4

    The X-Files

    1993 · 3.7K votes

  • TV8.4
  • TV7.7

    MacGyver

    1985 · 964 votes

  • TV7.5

    Knight Rider

    1982 · 1.5K votes

  • TV7.4

    Miami Vice

    1984 · 541 votes

  • TV7.5

    The A-Team

    1983 · 1.1K votes

  • TV7.4

    The Saint

    1962 · 136 votes

  • TV6.8

    Hotel

    1982 · 26 votes

  • TV7.6

    Airwolf

    1984 · 497 votes

  • TV7.0

    Cagney & Lacey

    1982 · 74 votes

  • TV8.0

    Tales from the Crypt

    1989 · 1K votes

  • TV6.7

    Scarecrow and Mrs. King

    1983 · 46 votes

  • TV7.3

    Z-Cars

    1962 · 7 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Professionals

    1977 · 47 votes

  • TV4.8

    No Hiding Place

    1959 · 4 votes

  • TV3.5

    Sunday Night Theatre

    1950 · 2 votes

  • TV6.5

    The Champions

    1968 · 24 votes

  • TV7.3

    Danger Man

    1960 · 25 votes

  • TV6.9

    Spenser: For Hire

    1985 · 34 votes

  • TV7.2

    Freddy's Nightmares

    1988 · 215 votes

  • TV6.0

    Dixon of Dock Green

    1955 · 4 votes

  • TV7.3

    The Troubleshooters

    1965 · 3 votes

  • TV7.9
  • TV7.2

    The Third Man

    1959 · 11 votes