On Sunday, July 8, actor Jerry Ito passed away from pneumonia following a long illness. Today would have been his 80th birthday. A talented performer on stage and screen, Mr Ito may be best known as Clark Nelson, the lead villain in the classic Toho kaiju film MOTHRA (Mosura, 1961). Among his many other credits are the films HEY PINEAPPLE (Pineapple Butai, 1960), THE LAST WAR (Sekai Daisenso, 1961), THE MANSTER (1962), INTERPOL CODE 8 (Kokusai Himitsu Keisatsu: Shirei Dai Hachigo, 1963), and YOU CAN SUCCEED, TOO (Kimi Mo Shusse Ga Dekiru, 1964). Many of us here at SciFi Japan got to know Jerry when he appeared as a guest at Bay Area Film Events` Godzillafest in November 2004, and we had kept in touch with him in the years since then. We are now working on a tribute that will include comments from his friends and

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Toho Character Actor has Died of Stomach Cancer Author: Oki Miyano and Keith Aiken Toho fans have lost another piece of the Golden Age with the passing of actress Toki Shiozawa. While not well known in the west, Ms Shiozawa acted in nearly a hundred films and TV shows between 1951 and 1988, including THE HUMAN VAPOR (Gasu Ningen Daiichigo, 1960), MONSTER ZERO (Kaiju Daisenso, a.k.a. INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER, 1965), DODES’KADEN (1970), and LUPIN THE 3RD: STRANGE PSYCHOKINETIC STRATEGY (Rupan Sansei: Nenrikichan Sakusen, 1974). She also had a recurring role in Toho’s first super-hero television series, RAINBOWMAN (Ai no Senshi Reinboman, 1972). Shiozawa was born Toyoji Shiozawa in Nakazato-cho, Shinjyuku-ku Tokyo on April 1, 1928. One of her elementary school classmates was Akihiko Hirata, who would go on to star in the original GODZILLA (Gojira, 1954) and dozens of other films at Toho. In 1948, Toki

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Authors: James Ballard and Keith Aiken Special Thanks to Oki Miyano and Stuart Galbraith IV Source: Asahi Fuyuki Murakami, one of Toho`s regular supporting actors, passed away on Thursday, April 5th as a result of stomach cancer. He was 95 years old. Fuyuki Murakami was born as Saisyuu Murakami in Fukuoka on December 23rd, 1911. After graduating from the Tokyo University Department of Economics, he began acting in theatre with the New Tsukiji Troupe. The troupe combined traditional Japanese theater with European-style drama, and helped launch the careers of several popular film actors of the time, including Minoru Chiaki (THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN.) Following this, Murakami contracted to Toho in 1950, launching a career spanning more than 55 years working as an actor, voice actor, model, and narrator. Over the years Murakami appeared in many of Toho`s classic genre films, usually taking on the

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Beloved Toho Comedian has Died Author: Stuart Galbraith IV Special Thanks to Oki Miyano Japanese comedian Hitoshi Ueki, whose films came to symbolize Japan`s postwar white collar age, died Tuesday of respiratory failure at the age of 80. The eternal wayward salaryman, Ueki`s prolific output in both his solo films and those he made as the co-leader of the Crazy Cats comedy team were among Toho Studios` most popular of the 1960s -- in 1967 alone Ueki starred in three of Japan`s six top-grossing domestic films. Conversely, he remains all but unknown in America; in the U.S., the only Ueki film currently available on DVD is his least typical, a memorable supporting role as the pragmatic samurai General Fujimaki in Akira Kurosawa`s RAN (1985). Of his more than sixty film appearances several have sci-fi/fantasy elements and feature special effects directed by Eiji Tsuburaya and others, hence

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GAMERA and FIRES ON THE PLAIN star dies on his birthday Author: Keith Aiken Translations and Additional Material: Oki Miyano Actor Eiji Funakoshi died of a stroke at 10:57pm on March 17. It was his 84th birthday. Born Eijiro Funakoshi on March 17, 1923 in Tokyo, Eiji Funakoshi signed with the Daiei Motion Picture Company in 1947 and made his acting debut the following year with BEAUTIFUL ENEMY (Utsukushiki Teki). Initially cast in “young, handsome guy” roles, Funakoshi soon established himself as a strong and versatile character actor. In a career that spanned three decades Funakoshi starred in a variety of genres and worked for directors Kozaburo Yoshimura, Mikio Naruse and Yasuzo Masumura. A partial list of credits includes OLDER BROTHER, YOUNGER SISTER (Ani Imouto, 1953), A GIRL ISN’T ALLOWED TO LOVE (Bara Ikutabika, 1955), BRIDGE OF JAPAN (Nihonbashi, 1956), LEAVES OF NIGHT (Yoru no Cho,

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Source: Asahi Radio and voice actor Kyoji Kobayashi died March 8th of subarachnoid hemorrhage at the age of 75. His funeral will be held at the funeral hall of the Tokyo Shibuya Ward, Nishihara on March 14th. Kobayashi was the narrator for SPECTREMAN (Supekutoruman, 1971), the 1980 NHK radio adaptation of Japan Sinks (Nihon Chinbotsu) and the anime series PLANETES (2003). He also worked on ULTRA SEVEN (Urutora Sebun, 1967), providing the voice of the villainous Alien Godola (Godora Seijin) in episode #4, “Vessel Machs, Reply” (Makusu Oto-seyo, US title “Double Trouble at Sea”). His other TV anime voice performances included OSOMATSU-KUN (1966), PRINCESS KNIGHT (Ribbon no Kishi, 1967) and STAR OF THE GIANTS (Shinjuku no Taiketsu, 1968). He also did Japanese dubbing for foreign TV shows, including Gerry Anderson’s JOE 90 (1968).

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Makoto Iwamatsu 1933-2006 Authors: Loren Portillo and Kari Wyatt Mako, who passed away July 21, 2006, was one of the most gifted Japanese born film actors to grace the American silver screen. Blessed with incredible screen presence and strength in every role, Mako was always a scene stealer and would often upstage his fellow leading actors. From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan to Chuck Norris, I have often said, “Mako has worked with everyone”. Born December 10th 1933 in Kobe Japan, Mako immigrated to the United States following his parents who worked for the U.S Government during World War II. During his growing up years, Mako often would dream of being an architect, but he soon found himself serving in the military during the 1950’s. After leaving the service, Mako enrolled in Pasadena College. It was here that he would catch the acting bug. He

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Monster Zero Founder and beloved friend dies at age 36 Source:Monster Zero News As far as Godzilla`s presence on the internet, Aaron Smith was one of the true pioneers. His site, MONSTER ZERO NEWS, has been bringing fans the latest Godzilla information for over nine years now and has been at the forefront of breaking Japanese monster news for its entire run. A personal note from Bob Johnson: "It was around that time that Aaron approached August Ragone and myself about bringing Markalite Magazine to the internet. We adopted the name Henshin! Online and joined Aaron`s site for a few years before taking Henshin! Online off on its own. Even though we were not really a part of Aaron`s site any longer, we still worked closely with him to cross-promote the sites and share news and information. "Personally, I felt a kindered connection with Aaron, not

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Author: Tim Eldred Star Blazers Web Master and Grease Monkey Writer/Artist First the facts. Maestro Hiroshi Miyagawa, the award-winning pop music composer and creator of the score for Japan`s famous anime series SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (Uchû Senkan Yamato, 1974) died on March 21, 2006 of heart failure. He was 75. Anyone who has ever listened to his work knows that those words barely scratch the surface. It’s a really unpleasant task to sit down and try to write about a world that no longer has Hiroshi Miyagawa in it. I can’t pretend to have known the guy personally, never even having set foot in his home country, but his Yamato music has been one of my closest companions since the first time I heard it. I don`t think a day has gone by in those 26 intervening years when one of those riffs hasn`t surfaced inside

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The award-winning composer was the “Voice of Godzilla” Author: Richard Pusateri Special Thanks to Ed Godziszewski, David Milner, Steve Ryfle, Shozo Watanabe, and Shogo Tomiyama Akira Ifukube has joined Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya in the next world. On February 8, 2006, Mr. Ifukube died at age 91, in Tokyo. Born May 31, 1914 in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Mr. Ifukube grew up in a small village with a large population of Ainu, the native people of Japan. This early exposure to the pristine nature of Northern Japan and the culture of indigenous people greatly influenced his music. The “ostinato” style Mr. Ifukube later used in his film scores recapitulated the percussive, repetitive nature of Ainu folk music and dancing. Mr. Ifukube’s early occupation was forestry but he was always interested in music. He pursued an informal musical education while played the violin. His brother, Isao,

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