Tetsu Nakamura (actor) explained

Tetsu Nakamura
Birth Date:1909 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Death Place:Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation:Film actor, singer (baritone)
Yearsactive:1941-1984
Spouse:Sachi Nakamura

, born Satoshi Nakamura (also credited as Tatsu Nakamura and Tetu Nakamura), was a Japanese film actor and opera singer active from the 1940s to the 1980s.[1] [2] [3] He featured in over 40 films.

Early years

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a father involved in the lumber industry, Nakamura studied at Britannia Secondary School before enrolling at a music academy to become a baritone singer.[4] After graduating, he performed on radio and in recitals before moving to Japan in 1940. There he enrolled in Nikkatsu's film acting school, and graduated in 1941. In the meantime, he was selected by the opera singer Yoshie Fujiwara to appear as Escamillo in Carmen in a performance at the Kabuki-za.

Career

He became a contract actor at the Toho Studios in 1942, and started appearing in roles in such films as The Opium War (1943), Ano hata o ute, and Aru yoru no tonosama (1946). After touring the United States as part of Fujiwara's opera company in 1953, he concentrated on film acting.

With his fluency in English, he often appeared in foreign co-productions. He played the antagonist in Tokyo File 212 (1951) and a supporting role in Geisha Girl (1952).[5] Writing about Tokyo File 212 in his book Korean War Filmography, Robert J. Lentz opined that "Nakamura [was] smooth and oily as the villain Oyama, who at heart [was] as much a capitalist as a Communist".[6]

His other prominent roles include Dr. Robert Suzuki in George Breakston's science-fiction horror film The Manster (1962), Japanese Ambassador in the international co-production Red Sun (1971), Dr. Kawamoto in the B-movie The Last Dinosaur (1977) and other roles in Oriental Evil (1951), Futari no hitomi (1952), The H-Man (1958), Mothra (1961), The Lost World of Sinbad (1963) and (1965).

He also appeared on television well into the 1980s.[7]

Partial filmography

Notes and References

  1. Book: Galbraith, Stuart. The Japanese Filmography: A Complete Reference to 209 Filmmakers and the Over 1250 Films Released in the United States, 1900 Through 1994. 1996. McFarland. 978-0-7864-0032-4. 51.
  2. Book: King, James. Under Foreign Eyes. 24 February 2012. John Hunt Publishing. 978-1-78099-049-1. 90.
  3. Book: Meikle, Denis. The Ring companion. 2005. Titan. 80. 9781845760014.
  4. Book: Shimizu. Akira. Nihon eiga haiyū zenshū: Danyū hen. 1979. Kinema Junpō. Tokyo. 422. Japanese. Nakamura Tetsu.
  5. Book: Lentz, Robert J.. Korean War Filmography: 91 English Language Features through 2000. 28 August 2008. McFarland. 978-1-4766-2154-8. 126.
  6. Book: Lentz, Robert J.. Korean War Filmography. 2003. 377. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland & Company. 978-0-7864-1046-0. 50630520.
  7. Web site: Nakamura Tetsu. Terebi Dorama Dētabēsu. 13 May 2017.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tetsu Nakamura (actor)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.