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Tōru Ōhira(大平 透,Ōhira Tōru, September 29, 1929 – April 12, 2016) was a Japanese narrator and seiyū from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. He was the founder of Ōhira Production and was also attached to 81 Produce.
One of his best known roles was the dub voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, on the series' home video releases. He was also known for his many narration roles, most notably in the Super Sentai series.
Overview
He was a very influential figure in the dubbing industry during the Sousei period.
After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan University Jōnan Senior High School (in which he was also the supervisor of the school's volleyball team), he went on to graduate from the Meiji University Department of Political Science and Economics. In 1954, he joined the Nippon Broadcasting System, in which he became an announcer and producer. In 1955, with the opening of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, he enlisted in its theatrical company. He left the company in 1958 to become a voice artist.
His breakthrough performance was the dubbing voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series. He reprised this role for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and a crossover appearance in Soulcalibur IV- notable because the game was originally in Japanese, meaning that Ōhira was Vader's "original" voice in the game, unlike with the films. In addition, he was usually cast in either astringent villain roles or gag characters, such as Pete in Disney cartoons.
He was a close friend of Kyosen Ōhashi, and the mentor of Shirō Yasutomi.
