We pay tribute to the actor James Shigeta, famous for his roles in Flower Drum Song, Die Hard, and a legion other turns on stage and TV.
For a generation of moviegoers, James Shigeta will be immediately recognisable as Joseph Takagi, the Nakatomi Corporation boss who's ruthlessly despatched by Alan Rickman's sneering villain in the 1988 hit, Die Hard. But there was so much more to Shigeta than John McTiernan's action classic - that appearance was, in fact, but one of many in a long and fruitful career on stage, television and the silver screen.
Born in Hawaii in 1933, Shigeta embarked on a singing career after winning first place in a TV show called Original Amateur Hour. His subsequent success was such that a lengthy run of appearances in Tokyo musicals left him with the nickname, The Frank Sinatra of Japan.
Returning to America in the late 1950s, Shigeta...
For a generation of moviegoers, James Shigeta will be immediately recognisable as Joseph Takagi, the Nakatomi Corporation boss who's ruthlessly despatched by Alan Rickman's sneering villain in the 1988 hit, Die Hard. But there was so much more to Shigeta than John McTiernan's action classic - that appearance was, in fact, but one of many in a long and fruitful career on stage, television and the silver screen.
Born in Hawaii in 1933, Shigeta embarked on a singing career after winning first place in a TV show called Original Amateur Hour. His subsequent success was such that a lengthy run of appearances in Tokyo musicals left him with the nickname, The Frank Sinatra of Japan.
Returning to America in the late 1950s, Shigeta...
- 7/29/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
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