Yûzô Kayama

The son of one of one of Japan's biggest male stars of the 1930s, 'Ken Uehara', the handsome and likable Yuzo Kayama became one of Japan's biggest male stars of the 1960s. And just as Uehara embodied the idea of a modern Japanese wartime hero, Kayama became symbolic of postwar Japanese affluence and confidence, most famously in his title role in the 17 original "Young Guy" (Wakadaishô) movies for his father's home studio, Toho. A popular singer as well as an actor, Kayama specialized in romantic comedies that encouraged him to break spontaneously into song, as showcased even in movies where he wasn't playing the Young Guy, such as Oyome ni oide (1966). Though like his father he also starred in some of Toho's war films, and crime and action thrillers such as his debut Man Against Man (1960), he largely bypassed serious dramas until Akira Kurosawa tapped him for the lead alongside 'Toshiro Mifune' in Red Beard (1965), the two-year shoot of which Kayama found the most difficult experience of his life, but which also yielded the work of which he is proudest. Other than a single return to the Young Guy character, Kaettekita wakadaishô (1981), ten years after leaving the series, Kayama, also like his father, in later years moved towards playing a series of kindly authority figures, while still maintaining his romantic appeal to nostalgic audiences with musical appearances on the stage and on television.