was an American actor, singer, and tarento, who spent most of his professional life in Japan. He was part of a showbusiness family, headed by his father Michio Itō.
Early life and education Itō was born into a showbusiness family in New York City in 1927. He was the son of Japanese dancer and choreographer Michio Itō and American dancer Hazel Wright. His uncles included playwright and actor Koreya Senda and art director Kisaku Itō, and his cousins included composer Teiji Itō and Olympic judoka Teimoc Johnston-Ono. His paternal grandfather and namesake, Tamekichi Itō, was an architect who designed the Ginza Wako department store.
Itō served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, where he was attached to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan, was a member of the American Theatre Wing. After his discharge, he studied acting at The New School, and appeared in a stage adaptation of All the King's Men. However, he was recalled to service during the Korean War, this time in the Army, where he worked for Special Services. After his second discharge, he joined the Actors Studio.
Career After appearing in the Broadway play The Teahouse of the August Moon, Itō moved to Japan in the mid-1950s, where he married his wife Wakana Hanayagi. While taking Japanese-language classes, he worked as an English-language dubber for Toho Studios. He was later signed to Toho's stage division, though he was frequently loaned out to other film studios due to the lack of roles for Anglophone stage actors.
He established himself as a gaijin tarento (foreign talent), frequently cast as foreigner character in Japanese films. Among his most internationally-recognized parts were as Clark Nelson, the principal antagonist of the 1961 kaiju film Mothra by Toho. He played Ernest Mason Satow in several Taiga dramas. He also recorded several albums for Toshiba Records and was a frequent guest on talk shows. He also appeared in the stage musical Once Upon a Mattress, and was a spokesmodel for Shiseido. From 1995 to 1997, Itō was a cast member of the NHK educational program Let's Play English.「『母と子のテレビタイム』」『放送教育』第51巻第4号、日本放送教育協会、1996年7月1日、18 - 19頁
Personal life Itō was married to Wakana Hanayagi (real name: Sakae Itō), a Nihon-buyō dancer who taught at the University of Toronto and Yale University.
Later life and death After suffering a stroke in 1997, Itō moved to Los Angeles for treatment at UCLA Medical Center's Speech Pathology Clinic, where he was involved with the Japanese Language Scholarship Foundation. He lived there until his death from pneumonia in July 2007, four days before his 80th birthday.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1957 Umi no yarodomo Arab Tokyo no Tekisasujin1959 Jan Arima no shûgeki Milland The Manster Superintendent Aida 1960 Pineapple butai Sgt. March 1961Kanashiki 60 sai Mothra Clark Nelson The Last War (Sekai daisenso) Watkins 1962 Gekkyū dorobo Jose Dagon 1962 Nippon musekinin yaro Gary 1963 Interpol Code 8 (Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: shirei dai hachigo) Rudolf Kent 1963 Yabunirami Nippon John Machihei 1963 The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman (Eburi manshi no yūga-na seikatsu) Pete Nicholas 1963 Ankokugai No. 1 Anpo 1964 You Can Succeed, Too (Kimi mo shusse ga dekiru) McGregor 1968 Shin Abashiri Bangaichi Jimmy Nakata 1970Hakurai jingi: Kapone no shateiHuber1977 Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (Golgo 13: Kūron no kubi) Polanski 1978 Message from Space (Uchu kara no messeji) Commander
Television Year Title RoleNotes1958Watashi wa Kai ni NaritaiArmy MP1967Dekkai SeishunJerry Takai1 episode1967San shimaiErnest Mason Satow1968Ryōma ga YukuMaboroshijōMighty JackRoberto Okamura1 episodeJohn ManjirōFuji Santaro1 episode1970Surōnin Hanayama DaikichiDonickel Willman1974Katsu KaishūErnest Mason Satow1977Nippon no SengoCourtney WhitneyKashinEdward Snell1978 UFO daisensou: Tatakae! Reddo taigâ Dr. Amano Edogawa Rampo no bijo Georges Point 1 episode1979DaitokaiSherwin1 episodeTokusō SaizensenGeorge Haraguchi2 episodes1980Tokumei KeijiFerdinand Garcia1 episodeHijō no raisensuCharles E. Crawford1 episode1981Black Jack (Kayama Yuzo no Blackjack)Captain Kenneth1 episode1982Bid for PowerWatanabe1983Ōoku 1 episode1985Yomeshūtome Jindori Gassen1986Taiyō ni Hoero!Thomas Bernardo1 episode1995-97Let's Play EnglishGrandpa Jerry
References
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