dean1991 116 Posted March 19, 2013 Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarda - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainChorizo 1,985 Posted March 19, 2013 Yoshimitsu Banno who Directed Godzilla vs the Smog Monster and is listed as a Producer on the Godzilla film that is supposed to be released in 2014 is still alive. Not sure of his age as neither imdb or wikipedia lists it. Since he was assistant Director on a lot of Akira Kurosawa films will definitely get a Guardian Obit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Altroieri 6 Posted March 28, 2013 Some idle wikiiing turned up a few more: Kaoru Yachigusa (6 January 1931) - actress, played Fujichiyo Kasuga, Master of Japanese dance Nichibu in "The Human Vapor" [a/k/a "Gas Human No. 1"] (1960) Kenji Sahara a/k/a Masayoshi Kato (14 May 1932) - actor, played Shigeru Kawamura in "Rodan" (1956), numerous other Toho roles, most recently in "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004) Yû Sekida (17 November 1932) - actor, several Toho monster roles (including Gorosaurus, Ebirah, Mechani-Kong), one of three actors to play Godzilla in "Son of Godzilla" (1967) Isao Matsuoka (18 December 1934) - Chairman of Toho Co., Ltd. Russ Tamblyn (30 December 1934) - actor, played Dr. Paul Stewart in "The War of the Gargantuas" (1966) Yumi Shirakawa (21 November 1936) - actress, played Kiyo in "Rodan" (1956) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted June 3, 2015 Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhata - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarada - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi Nakano - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) Hiroshi Koizumi, dies at 88, pneumonia. http://www.scified.com/site/we-all-wear-suits---japanese-sci-fi--fantasy/hiroshi-koizumi-passes-away-at-88 Edit: HR: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/godzilla-actor-hiroshi-koizumi-dies-800003 and BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33004198 Updating the list, Rhodes Reason died 26 December 2014. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/83737/rest-peace-rhodes-reason/ Riichiro Manabe died 29 January 2015. http://www.mst3kinfo.com/?p=19380 Everyone else alive as far as I can tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted October 16, 2015 Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarda - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) Can't find a translated link, but it has been reported that Kazuo Kumakura has died at 88 from rectal cancer. http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20151016-00000086-dal-ent (Japanese link). Also known as the dubbing voice of Poirot in Agatha Christie's Poirot, Max in Hart To Hart, and Dr Zachary Smith in Lost In Space. More on his voice work for Disney and others here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Kumakura Edit: English language Obit: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-16/gegege-no-kitaro-theme-song-singer-kazuo-kumakura-passes-away/.94290 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted June 15, 2016 Some idle wikiiing turned up a few more: Kaoru Yachigusa (6 January 1931) - actress, played Fujichiyo Kasuga, Master of Japanese dance Nichibu in "The Human Vapor" [a/k/a "Gas Human No. 1"] (1960) Kenji Sahara a/k/a Masayoshi Kato (14 May 1932) - actor, played Shigeru Kawamura in "Rodan" (1956), numerous other Toho roles, most recently in "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004) Yû Sekida (17 November 1932) - actor, several Toho monster roles (including Gorosaurus, Ebirah, Mechani-Kong), one of three actors to play Godzilla in "Son of Godzilla" (1967) Isao Matsuoka (18 December 1934) - Chairman of Toho Co., Ltd. Russ Tamblyn (30 December 1934) - actor, played Dr. Paul Stewart in "The War of the Gargantuas" (1966) Yumi Shirakawa (21 November 1936) - actress, played Kiyo in "Rodan" (1956) Report of the death of Yumi Shirakawa aged 79 of heart failure: https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.daily.co.jp%2Fnewsflash%2Fgossip%2F2016%2F06%2F15%2F0009188677.shtml&edit-text= Edit: English language obit: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/171733/rest-peace-yumi-shirakawa/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted September 30, 2016 Kensho Yamashita, who directed Godzilla Vs Space Godzilla and was assistant director on Terror Of Mechagodzilla, died of heart failure on August 16. http://sidelongglancesofapigeonkicker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/kensho-yamashita-godzilla-vs-space.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted May 9, 2017 On 3/19/2013 at 18:17, CaptainChorizo said: Yoshimitsu Banno who Directed Godzilla vs the Smog Monster and is listed as a Producer on the Godzilla film that is supposed to be released in 2014 is still alive. Not sure of his age as neither imdb or wikipedia lists it. Since he was assistant Director on a lot of Akira Kurosawa films will definitely get a Guardian Obit. Report that Yoshimitsu Banno has died aged 86. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted August 7, 2017 On 3/19/2013 at 16:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Death reported: https://www.sfsite.com/news/2017/08/07/obituary-haruo-nakajima/ Edit: List of the Missed: http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool2015/celebs_N.html#nakajh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thatcher 2,418 Posted September 5, 2017 On 19/03/2013 at 16:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarda - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi Nakano - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) Yoshio Tsuchiya (IMDb) has died aged 90. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted September 5, 2017 Hmmmm. Instantly recognisable from the Seven Samurai. Vaughan last of the 7 from the remake, so was surprised an original main actor was alive. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted January 19, 2018 On 3/19/2013 at 16:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Interestingly, Wiki now has Shoichi Hirose dead sometime after 1990: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoichi_Hirose Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted January 19, 2018 Additionally, Toho actor Yosuke Natsuki is being reported dead at 81: https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/264964/rest-peace-yosuke-natsuki/ Another actor from Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster. Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosuke_Natsuki IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0622416/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted May 17, 2018 Report of the death at 74 of actress Yuriko Hoshi: Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriko_Hoshi IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0395953/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted August 7, 2018 Really not the best obit in translation, but prolific Japanese actor Masahiko Tsugawa, who appeared in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, has reportedly died aged 78: https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fheadlines.yahoo.co.jp%2Fhl%3Fa%3D20180807-00000163-spnannex-ent&edit-text IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0875256/ His wife, singer and actress Yukiji Asaoka, died in April. Edit: Better link: http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180808/p2g/00m/0et/003000c Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drol 11,974 Posted November 4, 2018 On 19/03/2013 at 17:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarda - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) There are no proofs Tezuka is alive. Japanese wiki adfirms last sightings of him were in the 1960s. American newspapers celebrating his birthday take the date from Wiki, but surely did not verify. I think he has been dead for a looong time.... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Death Impends 8,002 Posted November 4, 2018 1 hour ago, drol said: There are no proofs Tezuka is alive. Japanese wiki adfirms last sightings of him were in the 1960s. American newspapers celebrating his birthday take the date from Wiki, but surely did not verify. I think he has been dead for a looong time.... Yeah, I think an 106-year-old who once portrayed Godzilla would have been noticed beyond cut-and-paste happy birthday lists. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Creep 7,070 Posted November 5, 2018 23 hours ago, drol said: There are no proofs Tezuka is alive. Japanese wiki adfirms last sightings of him were in the 1960s. American newspapers celebrating his birthday take the date from Wiki, but surely did not verify. I think he has been dead for a looong time.... Everyone celebrated Katsumi's 106th birthday, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dean1991 116 Posted December 20, 2018 Will have a refresh of those names & add new additions tonight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alt obits guy 3,371 Posted June 28, 2019 Tadao Takashima, who played Dr. Kusumi in Son of Godzilla, has died. He was 88. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190628/p2g/00m/0et/075000c Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,979 Posted October 28, 2019 On 28/03/2013 at 23:31, Altroieri said: Kaoru Yachigusa (6 January 1931) - actress, played Fujichiyo Kasuga, Master of Japanese dance Nichibu in "The Human Vapor" [a/k/a "Gas Human No. 1"] (1960) Kaoru Yachigusa has died: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019102800926/japanese-actress-kaoru-yachigusa-dies-at-88.html And with that, probably, my idea of a pancreatic cancer theme team, as I am now below 20 again. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ulitzer95 12,655 Posted August 31, 2021 On 19/03/2013 at 16:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarada - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi Nakano - Special Effects Artist (born October 9th 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) Updating this list 8.5 years later for @dean1991. The eight oldest names on it are gone. Katsumi Tezuka would be 109 years old today if he was still living. It's widely accepted that he must've died in obscurity. A year from today he'll be dead enough for Wiki standards, unless he magically springs up on the Japanese supercentenarian list! Furuhate is another one who fell into obscurity. Could very well be dead? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
time 8,624 Posted March 17, 2022 On 19/03/2013 at 16:53, dean1991 said: Trying to round up some names of Toho old timers who haven't yet left us for a death watch list. Godzilla's, Rodan's & King Ghidorah's all welcome. Katsumi Tezuka - Played monsters in several films including Godzilla (born August 31st 1912) Shoichi Hirose- Played King Ghidorah (born June 23rd 1918) - Possibly Living Riichiro Manabe - Music Composer for Toho (born November 9th 1924) Hiroshi Koizumi - Actor in a spate of Monster films - (born August 12th 1926) Kazuo Kumakura - Toho voice actor - (born January 30th 1927) Yoshio Tsuchiya - Actor known for several Toho Monster flicks - (born May 18th 1927) Haruo Nakajima - First man to play Godzilla (born 1st January 1929) Rhodes Reason - King Kong Escapes leading man (born April 19th 1930) Kyoko Kagawa - Mothra Heroine (born 5 December 1931) Koji Furuhate - Played Frankenstein's Monster (born in 1933) Akira Takarda - Godzilla leading man (born April 29th 1934) Goro Mutsumi - Mechazilla star (born September 11th 1934) Teruyoshi - Special Effects Artist (born October 1st 1935) Akira Kubo - Destroy All Monsters lead (born December 1st 1936) Akira Takarada has died, 14th March. aged 87. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arghton 6,763 Posted March 17, 2022 From the original list, these are/could be still alive: Katsumi Tezuka (1912-?) If he doesn't suprise us all and appear in Japan's supercentenarian statistics in August, he's definitely dead. Kyoko Kagawa (1931) Still active and working. Koji Furuhata (1933 or 1938) Yes, Furuhata, not Furuhate. Probably alive, latest imdb credits from 2014, 2015 and 2017. Goro Mutsumi (1934-2021) Alive, still performed on stage before covid in 2019. Teruyoshi Nakano (1935-2022) Probably alive Akira Kubo (1936) Alive, latest imdb credit from 2020. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,067 Posted June 1, 2022 On 17/03/2022 at 19:15, arghton said: From the original list, these are/could be still alive: Katsumi Tezuka (1912) If he doesn't suprise us all and appear in Japan's supercentenarian statistics in August, he's definitely dead. Kyoko Kagawa (1931) Still active and working. Koji Furuhata (1933) Yes, Furuhata, not Furuhate. Probably alive, latest imdb credits from 2014, 2015 and 2017. Goro Mutsumi (1934) Alive, still performed on stage before covid in 2019. Teruyoshi Nakano (1935) Probably alive Akira Kubo (1936) Alive, latest imdb credit from 2020. Report that Goro Mutsumi died June 2021: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0616163/ 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
