Chosuke Ikariya

Japanese comedian and actor Chōsuke Ikariya いかりや長介BornChōichi Ikariya 碇矢長一(1931-11-01)November 1, 1931Higashi-komagata, Sumida, Tokyo, JapanDiedMarch 20, 2004(2004-03-20) (aged 72)The Jikei University Hospital, Minato, Tokyo, Japan Chōsuke Ikariya (いかりや長介, Ikariya Chōsuke; November 1, 1931 – March 20, 2004) was a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the comedy group The Drifters. His nickname was "Chō-san" (長さん). Life and career 1931–1962: Childhood and early career Chōsuke Ikariya was born with the name Chōichi Ikariya (碇矢長一, Ikariya Chōichi) on November 1, 1931, in Tokyo, Japan. During the war his family moved from their home in Sumida, Tokyo to the countryside in Shizuoka. There he took up a job as a factory worker as a young man. He also took up playing the double bass, a hint at his performer nature. He got rather good, too, performing in brass bands until he got a regular job with the "Jimmie Tokita [jp] & His Mountain Playboys." It was a band that specialised in playing at G.I. bases at the time and had guitarist Takeshi Terauchi. However, during that time in his life he was one of the tallest members of th