Actor News
Godzilla Star Akira Takarada Dies at 87
Legendary Godzilla star Akira Takarada died on March 14, 2022.
On March 17, it was announced that the legendary Japanese film star Akira Takarada had passed away. He had been suffering from increasingly prevalent health issues for some time and in recent years had been in and out of the hospital numerous times. Although no cause of death has been revealed, it is known that Mr. Takarada died sometime between midnight to the early morning of March 14.
Born in 1934 in Korea during the Japanese occupation, Akira Takarada entered the entertainment industry in 1953 through Toho Studio’s “New Face” audition, soon becoming the leading man in Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla. Akira Takarada would appear in numerous Showa Godzilla films, as well as appearing in supporting roles for Godzilla vs. Mothra, and Godzilla: Final Wars. He was also supposed to appear in Legendary Picture’s Godzilla from 2014. However, his scene was cut and has never been released.
Outside of Godzilla, Takarada has made numerous appearances in other tokusatsu films from Toho, including The Three Treasures, King Kong Escapes, and Latitude Zero among others. He’s also appeared in various spy dramas and musicals. Takarada’s final film, If Cherry Blossoms Disappeared from the World, is slated to release on April 1, 2022.
Source: Nikkan Sports
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Spectreman
March 25, 2022 at 2:22 pm
R.I.P. Takarada-san. I met him at G-Fest a few times- what a brilliant and humble man, and someone who always had time and endless enthusiasm for his fans. I remember once when he was on a panel they dug out this old footage of him singing and dancing on a Japanese variety show, at first he buried his head in his hands like he was embarrassed but it turned out he was laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes! Truly a legend of the Godzilla franchise and the Japanese film industry. He will be dearly missed.