Japanese martial arts actor, 'Kill Bill' star Sonny Chiba dies at 82 due to COVID

Born Sadaho Maeda in 1939 in Fukuoka, in the southwest of Japan, Chiba studied martial arts throughout the 1960s, becoming a particular expert in karate.

Rest In Power the original street fighter, ninja, Golgo 13.

Sonny Chiba, a Japanese martial arts expert and actor who appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill," has died from COVID-19 complications at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, his agent said Thursday. He was 82.

While Japan is a greying country and age befalls people in the show-business as well, I do have the impression that over the last year or so more actors/actresses, singers, etc than usual passed away.

Some celebrities have been announced to suffer / recover from COVID, but I believe the vast majority of those dying to die of unspecified "sicknesses" or general "old age" which always got me wondering "COVID?" I believe Chiba-san's case to be one of the very few, if not maybe even the first one to specifically mention COVID? Am I correct or did I miss out some celebrities?

One thing that is mentioned in all news-flashes is that at 82 years, he was not vaccinated for COVID. At 82, he was prioritized for vaccination, hence it looks like he declined to do so...

In any case, a sad loss of a popular actor who graced the silver (and small) screen in pretty much everything, from B-flicks to blockbusters and TV dramas for nearly 60 years. Respect.

That is really a sad news!

As a teenager I went always to cinema when his and Shiomi Etsuku's movies were shown.

I have the street fighter series in my collection on Blu Ray.

I guess I will watch it this weekend.

I have a pretty good collection of his old movies. One of my favorites. Hong Kong had Bruce Lee. Japan had Sonny Chiba. Guess I’m gonna watch some of his old stuff with some sake. RIP Sonny. And Thank You.

Chiba-san died from pneumonia associated with COVID-19, which is mentioned in the article, it's all over the news as is the fact that he wasn't vaccinated despite his age (82 years). One of his sons paid his respect after he passed away: he was in protective-gear to be with him.

http://jcc.jp/news/17518939/

quote

千葉が亡くなった後、病院に到着した眞栄田郷敦は、防護服を着て対面した。

unquote

Anyway, I'm gonna dig out my Chiba-flicks this week-end.

@rcch

Guess I’m gonna watch some of his old stuff with some sake

Same here!

This news this morning brought me in a very sad mood.

Shinichi Chiba, same as Bruce Lee, had a very big influence on my life as a teenager, and for my future.

Shinichi Chiba will always stay in the hearts of all martial arts fans around the world.

"rest in motion picture"

Your films will continue to live on.

As Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill, he was a cut above.

My personal favorite was “Shorinji-Kenpo Killing machine.”

The organization later tried to deny involvement, but parts of the movie were shot shot on location at the Honzan Doin. He had great mid-black belt technique.

Bye bye for now, Sony. RIP.

Sad news. Godspeed...

I have to admit that I only really became aware of him after Kill Bill. But he was a riot in that film. The back-and-forth with his bald employee in the sushi shop was like Tarantino Manzai.

RIP, Sonny.

Doesn't matter how you die, what matters is how you lived your life.

Sad news.

RIP Chiba-san.

Great career!

Very sad news, of course, but what makes this sadder is that it could have been easily avoided. Had he decided to get vaccine, which would have been easy at his age, in the Tokyo area, he almost certainly would still be alive.

It is possible that he had other underlying issues involving health that may have prevented him from getting vaccinated that we do not know.

Now, either you get vaccinated or you get covid. He should have gotten the shot.

Condolences to his family. I just learned today one of my student’s father has fallen seriously ill with COVID and in one of those hotels. The rest of the members have not tested positive for it, and now the family is in quarantine for 2 weeks.

blessedly, I’m double jabbed and wear a N95 mask when teaching. Take extra care everyone, and so, we can get back to regular life.

"He had not been vaccinated,...." and he was 82 years old. What was he thinking?

Doesn't matter how you die, what matters is how you lived your life.

EXACTLY! Which is why during this so-called pandemic some choose to live whilst others choose to merely survive.

I wish you vaccinated so that you would live longer and all of us could enjoy your great performances in the future.

RIP

"Abayo" tough guy.

Give our regards to Ken Takakura and the other greats that have gone before.

Very good tough manly but also humble actor. His underated films are actually more better. He is not just physical fighting actor but acting also very good and deep. But i think he is more loved by the international fans than the Japanese.