entertainment

Original 'Godzilla' actor Akira Takarada dies at 87

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Original title is "Gojira" which should also be the title here.

Main characters appearing in any Originals that creates the cult are considered legends.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I met Takarada san when I had short gig with Toho working as a production assistant, (interpreter) for an American choreographer.

Toho was producing the musical "Sweet Charity" and the choreographer and his wife were in Japan to help with the production.

During a lunch break Takarada san once invited a couple of us lowly PA's out for a bowl of "Gyudon", asked us how we were getting on, and chatted with us as if we were his colleagues.

Takarada san was an extraordinarily talented actor, who wore his success lightly and was kind to all he came in contact with.

May he rest in peace.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Thank you for a million cheesy-fun Saturday reruns.

The films were reflective of the fears of their society at the time. And it's interesting to note, as Japanese culture recovered and came to embrace nuclear technology, Godzilla went from being a destructive force to a protective one.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Some insight regarding his pacifist beliefs might be had from watching his portrayal of Takano in Tsuburaya's mecha-epic "The Last War" from 1961.

He co-starred with some of Hollywood's finest over the years - Joseph Cotten, Cesar Romero, Rhodes Reason & Nick Adams. He worked with many of Japan's greatest as well - Frankie Sakai, Kumi Mizuno, Mie Hama & Takashi Shimura. Yet he always stood out among them as a succinctly individual talent.

Thank you Mr. Takarada for your fabulous contribution to cinema and pop-culture over the decades. And thank you for all those beloved kaiju movie memories of my childhood.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Just after Japan's defeat in 1945, he was shot in the stomach by a Soviet soldier and severely wounded.

At age 11. It's hard to imagine that.

We should no longer be losing lives in the name of war. There's no reason or intelligence in war. We create a world of madness

A great lesson, sir. Thank you.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Japanese actor Akira Takarada

A storied and eventful life that resonates with many events in modern Japanese history. Rest In Power.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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