was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

actor. He was the leader of the comic jazz band

The Crazy Cats The were a Japanese jazz band and comedy group popular in film and television, particularly between the 1950s and 1970s. Led by Hajime Hana, the band's other main members were Kei Tani, Hitoshi Ueki, Hiroshi Inuzuka, Senri Sakurai, Shin Yasuda, an ...

, which featured such talent as

Hitoshi Ueki was a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and guitarist. He won six awards for acting.Hitoshi ...

and

Kei Tani (born Yasuo Watanabe (渡部泰雄, Watanabe Yasuo) ; 22 February 1932 – 11 September 2010) was a Japanese comedian, actor and musician. Born in Tokyo, he learned to play the trombone and, while a student at Chuo University, began playing in ...

, and which starred in a series of film comedies (such as the "Irresponsible" (Musekinin) series at

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

) and in TV variety shows such as "Shabondama Holiday." He won the award for best actor at the 31st

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

for '' Kaisha monogatari: Memories of You''.

Filmography

*''

Ten Dark Women ''Ten Dark Women'' (, literally "ten black women") is a 1961 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. Plot A married television executive has many mistresses. Nine of the mistresses and his wife band together and plan to kill him. His wife tells h ...

'' (1961) (as himself) *''

Alone on the Pacific is a 1963 color (Eastmancolor) Japanese adventure film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. The film is based on the book , Kenichi Horie's account of his 1962 solo voyage across the Pacific, which was ...

'' (1963) *''

The Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

'' (1973) (TV series) *''

Shinsho Taikōki is a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was broadcast in prime-time in 1973. It is based on Eiji Yoshikawa's novel of the same title. The lead star is Takashi Yamaguchi. Plot The drama depicts the story chronicles the life of Toyotomi H ...

'' (1973) (TV series) *'' Graveyard of Honor'' (1975) *''

Hokuriku Proxy War is a 1977 film directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Sonny Chiba and Hiroki Matsukata. Plot Kawada Noboru is a peasant from Mikuni who becomes a yakuza in the Tomiyasu Group in Fukui. He holds a letter from his boss Mr. Yasuhara promising t ...

'' (1977) *''

Proof of the Man is a Japanese film from 1977 directed by Junya Satō, starring George Kennedy and Yūsaku Matsuda. It was produced by Haruki Kadokawa. Plot A young black man from New York named Johnny Hayward (Joe Yamanaka) receives a sum of money. He buys ne ...

'' (1978) - Detective Yokotawashi *''

Hunter in the Dark ''Hunter in the Dark'' is a young adult novel by Monica Hughes, first published in 1982 and has been the subject of school study. It is about a boy with leukemia who goes on a hunting expedition. Plot summary Mike Rankin is an athletic teenag ...

'' (1979) *''

Tantei Monogatari , or ''Detective Story'', is an action Japanese TV series starring Yūsaku Matsuda that was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 27 forty-five-minute episodes from September 18, 1979 to April 1, 1980. The show had various directors including Tor ...

'' (1980) (TV series) - episode 18, Gonzaburo Shinoda *'' A Distant Cry from Spring'' (1980) *''

Tokugawa Buraichō is a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' or period drama, that was broadcast in 1992. Plot Matsudaira Tadateru the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu was exiled from Tokugawa shogunate and he secretly lives in Yoshiwara in Edo. One day he accidentally meet Yagy ...

'' (1992) (TV series) *'' Kaisha monogatari: Memories of You'' (1988)

References

External links

* 1930 births 1993 deaths Male actors from Tokyo Japanese comedians 20th-century Japanese male actors Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon 20th-century comedians Crazy Cats members {{Japan-actor-stub