Akira Takarada

Akira Takarada (Japanese: 宝田 明, Hepburn: Takarada Akira; April 29, 1934 – March 14, 2022) was a Japanese actor best known for his roles in the Godzilla film series.

Akira Takarada
宝田 明
Takarada in 1956
Born	(1934-04-29)April 29, 1934[1] Chongjin, Kankyōhoku-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now in North Korea)[2]
Died	March 14, 2022(2022-03-14) (aged 87)[3] Tokyo, Japan[4]
Occupations	Actor, Tarento
Years active	1954–2022
Spouse	Akiko Kojima ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1984)​
Children	3, including Michiru Kojima (daughter)
Japanese name
Kanji	宝田 明
Hiragana	たからだ あきら[2]
Romanization	Takarada Akira
Website	akira-takarada.com

Early life

Akira Takarada was born in Korea under Japanese rule, and lived for a time in Manchuria, China.^[1] His father worked as an engineer on the South Manchuria Railway.^[5] After the war, he remained in Harbin, and he was able to speak Mandarin Chinese and English.

Acting career

Takarada moved to Allied-occupied Japan with his family in 1948. He joined Toho as part of their "New Face" program in April 1953.^[1] In his film debut, he had a small role in And Then the Liberty Bell Rang, a biography of the educator Fukuzawa Yukichi.^[1] His big break came when he was cast as navy diver Hideto Ogata in the original Godzilla (1954). He became a popular actor at Toho for his good looks and charismatic, sophisticated character. He continued his association with the Godzilla series in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). He returned to the series in 1992 with Godzilla vs. Mothra and appeared again in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). Other Toho science-fiction/special-effects films in which he appeared include Half Human (1955), The Last War (1961), King Kong Escapes (1967), and Latitude Zero (1969).

Toho prepared a musical production of Gone with the Wind with Broadway composer-lyricist Harold Rome for its new Imperial Garden theatre in 1970. Entitled Scarlett, Takarada was originally scheduled to play the role of Rhett Butler. However, injuries sustained in an accident in which he fell off a bulldozer while filming prevented him from participating in this stage production.^[6]

Takarada made a guest appearance at the fan convention G-Fest XVII in 2010, and again at G-Fest XIX in July 2012, G-Fest XXIII in July 2016, and G-Fest XXVI in 2019.^{[citation needed]} He received G-FEST's Mangled Skyscraper Award in 2010, and the G-FAN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. He has come to be known as "The Godfather of G-FEST." On March 27, 2013, Takarada posed for publicity photographs with director Gareth Edwards on the set of the Legendary/Warner Bros Godzilla reboot, suggesting a cameo of sorts in the new movie. His scenes were filmed, but ultimately cut from the movie. He is still listed in the movie credits.

Filmography

Selected works

Year	Title[7]	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1954	And Then the Liberty Bell Rang	Sōtarō Masuda		[8]
	Bride in a Bathing Suit	Masao Sakurai		[9]
	Godzilla	Hideto Ogata
1955	Half Human	Takeshi Iijima
1956	Romantic Daughters	Kubota
1957	On Wings of Love	narrator
	Zoku Aoi sanmyaku Yukiko no maki	Tamao Memata
	A Rainbow Plays in My Heart	Tatsuo Itō
1958	A Holiday in Tokyo
1959	The Three Treasures	Prince Wakatarashi
	Life of an Expert Swordsman
1960	Hawaii Midway Daikai Kūsan: Taiheiyō Noarashi	Communications officer
	Daughters, Wives and a Mother
1961	The Last War	Takano
	Kohayagawa-ke no aki	Tadashi Teramoto
1962	A Wanderer's Notebook	Kō Fukuchi
1964	Mothra vs. Godzilla	News Reporter Ichirō Sakai
1965	Ironfinger	Andrew Hoshino
	Invasion of Astro-Monster	Astronaut K. Fuji
1966	Ebirah, Horror of the Deep	Yoshimura
1967	King Kong Escapes	Lieutenant Commander Jirō Nomura
1968	Fancy Paradise	Kō Maeno
1969	Latitude Zero	Doctor Ken Tashirō
1990	Tales of a Golden Geisha	Inukai
1992	Minbo	General Manager Kobayashi
	Godzilla vs. Mothra	Jōji Minamino
1996	Hissatsu! Mondo Shisu	Mizuno Tadakuni	Hissatsu series
1997	Marutai no Onna	Police commissioner
2000	Tales of the Unusual
2004	Godzilla: Final Wars	Natarō Daigo
2005	Fantastipo	Kintarō Koinobori
2007	Glory to the Filmmaker!
2014	Godzilla	Japanese Immigration Agent	Deleted scene
2018	Ashita ni Kakeru Hashi
2018	The Great Buddha Arrival	Storyteller
2019	Dance with Me	Machin Ueda
2022	Life in Bloom	Keizō		[10]

Television

Television drama

• Shiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu! (1993) (Shōtarō Hakuchō)
• Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1998) (Takatsukasa Masamichi)
• Watashi no Aozora (2000) (Jōji Murai)
• Shōtoku Taishi (2001) (Mononobe no Moriya)
• Rokkā no Hanako-san (2002) (Kaichō Tatsumi)
• Clouds Over the Hill (2009) (Fujino Susumu)
• Carnation (2011) (Seizaburō Matsuzaka)
• Keisei Saimin no Otoko Part 3 (2015) (Ikeda Shigeaki)

Dubbing roles

Live action

• The Ambushers (Matt Helm)
• Cats (Gus "Asparagus" the Theatre Cat (Ian McKellen))^[11]
• Doctor Dolittle (Doctor Dolittle)
• Murderers' Row (Matt Helm)

Animation

• Aladdin (1992) (Jafar)^[12][13]
  • The Return of Jafar^[13][14]
• Disney's House of Mouse (Ratigan, Jafar)^[13]
• Disney's The Great Mouse Detective (Ratigan)^[15]
• Star Wars Rebels Season 3 (Bendu)^[16]

Video games

• Adventure of Tokyo Disney Sea ~Losing of Jewel's Secret (Jafar)
• Kingdom Hearts (2002) (Jafar)^[13][17]
• Kingdom Hearts II (2005) (Jafar)^[13]
• Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (2010) (Jafar)^[13]

Stage productions

• My Fair Lady
• South Pacific

Other

• Tokyo Disneyland attraction: Country Bear Jamboree (Henry)

Personal life

In 1966, he married Japanese beauty queen Akiko Kojima. They had one daughter, Michiru, in 1967. They divorced in 1984, and Kojima left with their daughter.

Death

Takarada died on March 14, 2022 at a hospital in Tokyo, Japan from problems caused by pneumonia at the age of 87.^[18]