Roppa Furukawa Explained

Roppa Furukawa
古川ロッパ
Birth Date:3 August 1903
Birth Place:Tokyo, Japan
Nationality:Japanese
Occupation:Comedian, singer, film critic

was a Japanese comedian.

Career

Furukawa was born the sixth son of Baron Katō Terumaro (1863–1925), making him the grandson of Baron Katō Hiroyuki.[1] The family custom, however, was to have the younger sons adopted by related families, so Furukawa was adopted by his father's sister and her husband, Furukawa Taketarō. His real name became Ikurō Furukawa (sometimes rendered "Ikuo"). He began attending Waseda University, but left before graduating in order to become a film critic and magazine editor.[2] He worked under the pen name "Roppa". He was quite skilled at voice impersonation and eventually decided to become a professional comedian, forming in 1933 the comedy troupe "Warai no Tengoku" (Laughter Heaven) with Musei Tokugawa. He joined Toho in 1935 and, starring in stage revues and films, became nearly as popular as the other prewar comedic great, Ken'ichi Enomoto. His film work included many comedies, musicals, and a popular set of films co-starring Kazuo Hasegawa. After the war, his career went into decline as he began to suffer from various ailments, but he remained popular on radio. A skilled writer, his diaries were published to much acclaim before he died.

Selected bibliography

Selected filmography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Furukawa Roppa. Nihon jinmei daijiten+Plus. Kōdansha. 28 April 2012.
  2. Web site: Furukawa Roppa. Sekai daihyakka jiten. Hitachi Soryūshonzu. 28 April 2012.