Tetsu Nakamura (actor)
Tetsu Nakamura | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 19 September 1909
Died | 3 August 1992 Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan | (aged 82)
Occupation(s) | Film actor, singer (baritone) |
Years active | 1941-1984 |
Spouse | Sachi Nakamura |
Tetsu Nakamura (Japanese: 中村 哲, Hepburn: Nakamura Tetsu, 19 September 1909 – 3 August 1992), 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.[4] 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.[4]
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).[4] After touring the United States as part of Fujiwara's opera company in 1953, he concentrated on film acting.[4]
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 Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965).
He also appeared on television well into the 1980s.[7]
Partial filmography
- Ano hata o ute (1944)
- Kôfuku eno shôtai (1947)
- Koun no isu (1948)
- Tokyo File 212 (1951) - Mr. Oyama
- Oriental Evil (1951) - Noritomu Moriaji
- Geisha Girl (1952) - Tetsu Nakano
- Futari no hitomi (1952)
- Senkan Yamato (1953)
- Madame Butterfly (1954) - Yamadori
- Tokyo da you okkasan (1957)
- The Mysterians (1957) - Dr. Koda
- The H-Man (1958) - Mr. Chin, gangster
- Yaju shisubeshi (1959)
- The Manster (1959) - Dr. Robert Suzuki
- Wakai koibitotachi (1959) - Customer at Bar B
- Kaoyaku to bakudan musume (1959)
- Samurai to oneechan (1960) - Daisaku Tsubaki
- Storm Over the Pacific (1960)
- Gasu ningen dai 1 gô (1960) - Journalist
- The Big Wave (1961) - Toru's Father
- Honkon no yoru (1961)
- Mothra (1961) - Nelson's Henchman
- Attack Squadron! (1963)
- Gojuman-nin no isan (1963) - Asian man
- Interpol Códe 8 (1963) - Binh Hoa
- The Lost World of Sinbad (1963) - Chief Archer
- Atragon (1963) - Warship Captain
- Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Tora no kiba (1964) - Okada
- Hi no ataru isu (1965)
- Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965) - Sritai
- Kureji no daiboken (1965)
- Nippon ichi no gorigan otoko (1966)
- Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsu (1967) - Head of ZZZ Hong Kong Branch Office
- Latitude Zero (1969) - Dr. Okada
- Space Amoeba (1970) - Chieftain Ombo
- Red Sun (1971) - Japanese Ambassador
- Tidal Wave (1973) - Philippines Ambassador to United Nations
- Marco (1973) - Sea Captain
- Karei-naru ichizoku (1974) - Shirakawa
- Mastermind (1976) - Mr. Hiruta
- The Last Dinosaur (1977) - Dr. Kawamoto (final film role)
References
- ^ Galbraith, Stuart (1996). The Japanese Filmography: A Complete Reference to 209 Filmmakers and the Over 1250 Films Released in the United States, 1900 Through 1994. McFarland. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7864-0032-4.
- ^ King, James (24 February 2012). Under Foreign Eyes. John Hunt Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-78099-049-1.
- ^ Meikle, Denis (2005). The Ring companion. Titan. p. 80. ISBN 9781845760014.
- ^ a b c d e Shimizu, Akira (1979). "Nakamura Tetsu". Nihon eiga haiyū zenshū: Danyū hen (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kinema Junpō. p. 422.
- ^ Lentz, Robert J. (28 August 2008). Korean War Filmography: 91 English Language Features through 2000. McFarland. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4766-2154-8.
- ^ Lentz, Robert J. (2003). Korean War Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-7864-1046-0. OCLC 50630520.
- ^ "Nakamura Tetsu". Terebi Dorama Dētabēsu. Retrieved 13 May 2017.