(27 July 1930 – 26 June 2019) was a Japanese actor and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician. He appeared in more than 100 films, including the

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 ...

productions ''

King Kong vs. Godzilla is a 1962 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the third film in both the ''Godzilla'' and ''King Kong'' franchises, as well as the first T ...

'', ''

Atragon is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film produced and distributed by Toho. It is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō Oshikawa and ''The Undersea Kingdom'' by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film ...

'', and '' Frankenstein vs. Baragon''. He also performed in stage musicals such as ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'' and appeared in several television shows.

Career

Takashima began participating in a jazz band while a student at

Kwansei Gakuin University , colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 u ...

. He left the university before graduating when he joined the

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

studio, debuting as an actor in 1952. He starred in the 1962 film ''

'' alongside

Yū Fujiki , born , was a Japanese film and television actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1954 to 2005. Career Born in Tokyo, Fujiki graduated from Doshisha University and joined the Toho studio in 1954. He began by playing straight male leads, ...

, and subsequently acted with Fujiki in several

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

s about

salarymen In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

, which were popular in Japan at that time. Takashima also appeared in ''

Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...

'' and '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II''. He gained popularity as a romantic lead who could also sing, which led to roles in stage musicals, including the role of Professor Henry Higgins in a 1963 production of ''

''. He also appeared on several television programs, including the

quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

''Quiz! Do-re-mi-fa-don!'' and the cooking show ''Gochisosama''.

Personal life

In 1963, Takashima married Hanayo Sumi, a former member of

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...

. His first-born son was murdered in 1964 at the age of five months by the family maid. He had two other sons,

Masahiro Takashima is a Japanese actor and singer. Early life Takashima comes from a family of actors, including his father Tadao Takashima, his mother Hanayo Sumi, and his younger brother Masanobu Takashima. Career Acting Takashima debuted in the 1987 film '' ...

and

Masanobu Takashima is a Japanese film and television actor. Career He has appeared in over 20 television productions and ten films in Japan and other countries as well. Takashima appeared as Daisuke Matoba in the 2008 film '' L: Change the World'' (also known a ...

, both of whom are actors. In 1998, Takashima developed depression, from which he subsequently recovered. Takashima died of natural causes in his home in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

on 26 June 2019 at age 88.

Filmography

References

External links

Official profile
(in Japanese; archived fro
the original
on 29 August 2018) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Takashima, Tadao 1930 births 2019 deaths People from Kobe Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors 20th-century Japanese male actors 20th-century Japanese musicians Japanese jazz musicians