Beguiling Japanese star of fringe theatre and popular television
The Japanese actor Eiji Kusuhara, who has died of cancer aged 63, played the sadistic Lieutenant Sato in the television series Tenko (1981-85), was one of the narrators on the cult show Banzai (2001) and appeared on stages across the UK and Europe in a variety of beguiling roles. He was one of the first professional Japanese actors active in London in the 1970s and enjoyed something of a monopoly on roles until he starred alongside a fellow countryman, Togo Igawa, in The Man Who Shot Christmas (1984). Eiji spent most of his adult life in Britain. He always seemed relieved to have left his home country but was also perplexed by British culture. A natural comedian, he thought he was a misfit and constructed an endlessly playful persona for himself.
He was born in Tokyo shortly after the second world war, a time...
The Japanese actor Eiji Kusuhara, who has died of cancer aged 63, played the sadistic Lieutenant Sato in the television series Tenko (1981-85), was one of the narrators on the cult show Banzai (2001) and appeared on stages across the UK and Europe in a variety of beguiling roles. He was one of the first professional Japanese actors active in London in the 1970s and enjoyed something of a monopoly on roles until he starred alongside a fellow countryman, Togo Igawa, in The Man Who Shot Christmas (1984). Eiji spent most of his adult life in Britain. He always seemed relieved to have left his home country but was also perplexed by British culture. A natural comedian, he thought he was a misfit and constructed an endlessly playful persona for himself.
He was born in Tokyo shortly after the second world war, a time...
- 5/27/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
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