Tommy Lane, who played a villain in the James Bond film Live and Let Die, has died aged 83.
His daughter Kamala confirmed that he died in Florida after suffering with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In Live and Let Die, Lane plays Adam, one of drug lord Dr Kananga’s henchmen who pursues Roger Moore’s James Bond across the Louisiana Bayou.
Lane’s biggest moment in the film comes when he races Bond in a speedboat across crocodile infested marshes. Lane’s character is also notable for his snappy style of dressing as he wears a tweed suit for much of the film.
Lane is also known for his performance in Gordon Parks’ Shaft where he gets into a famous fight with Richard Roundtree’s eponymous hero that ends with his character being thrown out a window.
As well as Shaft, Lane appeared in other Blaxploitation movies such as Cotton Comes to Harlem and Ganja & Hess.
Lane also starred alongside Burt Reynolds in Shamus and Cliff Robertson in The Pilot. He also had a small role in Nicolas Roeg’s Eureka.
Throughout his life, Lane was a passionate trumpet and flugelhorn player. He worked in several New York bars as a jazz musician, most prominently at Blue Note throughout the Eighties.
He is survived by wife Raquel Bastias-Lane, seven children, a stepson, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
