Native name フランキー堺 Name Frankie Sakai | Role Comedian | |
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Full Name Masatoshi Sakai (堺 正俊, Sakai Masatoshi) Occupation Film actor, comedian, musician Died June 10, 1996, Tokyo, Japan Awards Japan Academy Prize for Special Award from the Chairman, Japan Academy Prize for Special Planning Award Nominations Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Movies Sun in the Last Days of the Sh, Mothra, Shogun, The Last War, Vengeance Is Mine Similar People Yuzo Kawashima, Masahiro Shinoda, Jerry London, Shinichi Sekizawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka | ||
ikio sawamura and frankie sakai have a chat in 英語
Frankie Sakai (フランキー堺, Furankī Sakai) (13 February 1929 – 10 June 1996) was a Japanese comedian, actor, and musician.
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Career
From his days at Keio University, Sakai worked as a jazz drummer at American Army camps during the Occupation of Japan, often doing comic routines with his music. Becoming a professional comedian, he appeared in many famous film comedies such as Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and the Shachō and Ekimae series at the Toho Studios. He was named best actor at the Blue Ribbon Awards for his work in Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and Shiawase wa orera no negai.
He also appeared in musicals such as Kimi mo shusse ga dekiru, serious dramas such as I Want to Be a Shellfish, and kaiju eiga like Mothra. He was also known for his personal study of the ukiyo-e artist Sharaku and helped produce the film Sharaku directed by Masahiro Shinoda. He is best known to American audiences for his dramatic role in the 1980s television production of Shōgun in which he played the part of Lord Yabu.
He died of liver failure on 10 June 1996 at the age of 67.