was a Japanese born theater actor. He was born in Tokyo on June 27, 1949 and attended the Keio University, where he studied law. While in Japan, he was a member of the

Shiki Theatre Company is one of Japan's best-known and largest theatre companies. Shiki Theatre Company employs over 800 actors and staff, and stages about 2800 performances a year. Shiki Theatre Company operates nine theaters for their exclusive use. Originally, ...

. His broadway debut was in the original all Asian cast of ''

Pacific Overtures ''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. Set in 19th-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting in 185 ...

'' in 1976 where he played Kayama. He was the only non-American member of the cast. In fact, he came to America specifically to audition for this role, after having missed the Tokyo auditions for the musical. Once he was cast, he emigrated to America. Reviews for the show were mixed, but Sato received praise for his performance. He was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been given since 1947, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956. Winner and ...

in 1976, but lost to Sammy Williams of

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

. His voice can be heard on the cast recording of ''

''. In 1979, he played several roles in the play

Fanshen ''Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village'' is a 1966 book by William H. Hinton that describes the land-reform campaign during the Chinese Civil War conducted from 1945 to 1948 by the Chinese Communist Party in "Long Bow Villag ...

about the Chinese revolution at the

ACT Theatre ACT Theatre (originally A Contemporary Theatre) is a regional, non-profit theatre organization in Seattle, in the US state of Washington. Gregory A. Falls (1922–1997) founded ACT in 1965 and served as its first Artistic director; at the time ACT ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. He later played Wenqing in Peking Man, a play by

Cao Yu Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 — December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important of the 20th century. His best-known works are ''Thunderstorm'' (1933), ''Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man'' (1940). ...

at the Horace Mann Theater in New York City in 1980. At the Perry Street Theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he acted in Dick Brukenfeld's historical drama "Extenuating Circumstances", wherein an American man is accused of killing a young Chinese girl in Canton, China in 1821. Later in his career, he appeared on television in the show '' Spenser: For Hire'' on the episode "My Brother's Keeper", where he was reunited with his

castmate

Mako Iwamatsu was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako. His film roles include Po-Han in '' The Sand Pebbles'' (1966) (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) ...

. In 1987, he played the scientist in

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo h ...

's TV movie "Invisible Thread". While touring the West coast with

, he met his wife Janice Kanemitsu, who was a dancer on the tour. They were married on October 17, 1976 and divorced in 1979. Sato pursued a second career as a flight instructor and was an instructor at Crest One Flight Academy in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He died in a plane crash in Miramar, Florida on March 9, 1990. The Cessna he was in was flown by his student and collided with a banner plane. He was 40 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Isao 1949 births 1990 deaths Japanese male stage actors American male stage actors American male television actors Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Male actors from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to the United States American male actors of Japanese descent 20th-century American male actors