was a Japanese

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

Acting career

Born , he was best known to ''

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

'' fans as the android Ichiro in the ''

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to '' Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 1974 ...

'' series (1973–74). Ikeda's interest in acting came at an early age from his father, respected sword fight choreographer Tatsuo Ouchi. He also had a black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. Ikeda studied with the Bunka-za Theater, first appearing on-screen in ''Hibari's Guitar of Motherly Love'' (1962). Ikeda made only a handful of films, but found his niche on television, where he appeared in such shows as ''Special Mobile Investigation Unit'' (1963), ''Comrades'' (1963), ''Story of Coming Wind'' (1963), ''Aboard With 27 People'' (1964) and ''Onihei Hankacho'' (1969–70). While Ikeda's biggest and best-known ''

'' role was in ''

'', and Takeshi Minami in ''

Return of Ultraman is a List of Japanese television series, Japanese ''tokusatsu'' Science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The fourth entry in the Ultra series, the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting Syste ...

'', he also appeared in ''Operation: Mystery'' (1968–69), ''Silver Mask'' (1971–72), ''

Himitsu Sentai Gorenger is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' superhero television series. ''Gorenger'', created by Shotaro Ishinomori, was the first in the long-running ''Super Sentai'' metaseries of ''tokusatsu'' programming. The series aired on NET (now TV Asahi) from April 5, ...

'' (1975–77), and ''

Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers is a superhero and kaiju film released in Japan on September 16, 2006, serving as a threatical tie-in to the Ultraman Mebius series. It is the 10th original film in the Ultraman franchise, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the franchise. Th ...

'' (2006).

Education

Ikeda graduated from

Hosei University is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of law ...

in 1967 with a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Later years

Ikeda was a

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

for th
SOS Modeling Agency
a commercial

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

, and also appeared in several stage productions.

Popularity

Ikeda developed a fan following in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

as well as

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In 2001, he and ''

Kikaider is a manga series written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori. A two-season tokusatsu series titled ''Android Kikaider'' (''Kikaider 01'' in season 2) was produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions in early 1970s. A 18-episode an ...

'' star

Daisuke Ban , born , is a Japanese actor. He was born on May 5, 1947 in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo. He is best known for portraying several heroic roles in tokusatsu, including Jiro in ''Android Kikaider'' and Goro Watari in ''Inazuman''. Life Ban a ...

made a personal appearance in Hawaii, meeting with fans who grew up watching the

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

broadcasts of ''

'' and ''

''. This led to both series being revived on TV and released on DVD, as well as additional live appearances, special events, and autograph sessions in both Japan and Hawaii. In a 2008

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

, Ikeda mentioned that he was upset that ''

s Hawaii popularity was not widely known in Japan.

Death

Ikeda died on June 11, 2010 from complications of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

Filmography

References

External links

SOS Model Engine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Shunsuke 1941 births 2010 deaths Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Japanese male models People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Deaths from diabetes Male actors from Kanagawa Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors