was a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the comedy group

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

. His nickname was .

Life and career

1931–1962: Childhood and early career

Chōsuke Ikariya was born with the name on November 1, 1931, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. During the war his family moved from their home in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

to the countryside in Shizuoka. There he took up a job as a factory worker as a young man. He also took up playing the double bass, a hint at his performer nature. He got rather good, too, performing in brass bands until he got a regular job with the " & His Mountain Playboys." It was a band that specialised in playing at G.I. bases at the time and had guitarist Takeshi Terauchi. However, during that time in his life he was one of the tallest members of the band, so he stood out. The audience often singled him out for never smiling, picking on him for amusement.

1962–1969: The Drifters

In 1962, Ikariya joined The Drifters, an aspiring pop band that featured comedy routines in its performances of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

music. Members joined and quit the band over the next two years until Ikariya, still persisting, became the leader of the five-member group. The band was able to scrape by though appearing on television afterwards, with Ikariya writing most of the material for the performances. In 1966, The Drifters opened for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

at the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wres ...

Hall in Tokyo, although apparently Ikariya didn't see it as much of an accomplishment as opposed to just another job.

1969–1985: Hachiji dayo, Zenin Shugo

In 1969, a producer from TBS offered Ikariya and his Drifters a regular spot on a weekly show. Ikariya, once again, was skeptical, having learned a lot the hard way. But this program went on to become one of the most popular shows of its time, ''Hachiji dayo, Zenin Shugo!''. Its low-brow humour and slapstick comedy made it popular with children, much to the dismay of parents at the time. After the show was over in 1985, Ikariya virtually left the Drifters and all members went on to pursue their own goals.

Acting career

After appearing in the 1987 Taiga drama '' Dokuganryu Masamune'', he started his acting career in earnest. Ikariya had won the public's adoration by then and played a variety of fatherly roles on television and in film. His part in the drama ''Odoru Daisōsasen'', which later went on to inspire two films, though, led him to what was the peak in his career - an Academy Award. In 1990, he appeared in the

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

film ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

''. Ikariya won a Japan Academy Award in 1999 for the film ''Odoru Daisōsasen /

Bayside Shakedown is a Japanese police comedy-drama television series originally broadcast by the Fuji Television group in 1997. The series was developed by Ryoichi Kimizuka and stars Oda Yūji, Toshirō Yanagiba, Eri Fukatsu, Chosuke Ikariya, Miki Mizuno, ...

''.

Death

Chōsuke Ikariya died on March 20, 2004, at the age of 72 of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

of the

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped Organ (anatomy), organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphoc ...

Awards and nominations

*In 1999, Chōsuke Ikariya won the

Japanese Academy Awards The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

of Best Supporting Actor for his performance of ''Heihachiro Waku'' in the film ''Bayside Shakedown.''

Filmography

Films

*''Yume wa yoru hiraku'' (1967) - Apache *''Nani wa naku tomo zen'in shûgô!!'' (1967) *''Tenamonya yurei dochu'' (1967) - Doeman Togashi *''Dorifutazu desu yo! Zenshin zenshin matazenshin (1967) *''Dorifutazu desu yo! Totte totte torimakure (1967) *''Dorifutazu desu yo! Bôken bôken mata bôken'' (1968) *''Ii yu dana zenin shûgô!!'' (1969) *''Miyo-chan no tame nara zen'in shûgô!!'' (1969) - Chôkichi *''Dorifutazu desu yo! Zenin totsugeki'' (1969) *''Dorifutazu desu yo! Tokkun tokkun mata tokkun'' (1969) *''Onsen gerira dai shogeki'' (1970) *''Kigeki migimuke hidari!'' (1970) *''Kigeki kinô no teki wa kyô mo teki'' (1971) *''Za.Dorifutazu no kamo da!! Goyo da!!'' (1975) - Chokichi Ikari *''Seigida! Mikatada! Zeninshugo!!'' (1975) - Chotaro ikari *''

'' (1990) - The crying demon *'' My Sons'' (1991) - Jirō Katō *''Nagareita shichinin'' (1997) - Kihachi Mita *'' Odoru daisosasen – The Movie'' (1998) - Heihachiro Waku *''39 keihô dai sanjûkyû jô'' (1999) - Patient *''Go-Con! Japanese Love Culture'' (2000) - Chef *''Kawa no nagare no yō ni'' (2000) - Morishita *''Shiawase kazoku keikaku'' (2000) - Yuko's father *'' Bayside Shakedown 2'' (2003) - Heihachiro Waku *''My Lover Is a Sniper: The Movie'' (2004) - Gantaro Endoji (final film role)

TV Dramas

*'' Dokuganryu Masamune'' (1987) - Oniniwa Yoshinao *''

'' (1997, TV Movie) - Heihachiro Waku *''When the Saints Go Marching In'' (1998) *''Yomigaeru kinrō'' (1999) - Mogi *''Black Jack II'' (2000, TV Movie) *''Namida o fuite'' (2000) - Yuichiro Murata *''Shiroi Kage'' (2001) - Yoshizou Ishikura *''Gakkō no sensei'' (2001) - Chochiro asakura *''Psycho Doctor'' (2002) - Famous psychologist *''Anata no tonari ni dare ka iru'' (2003) - Goro Kazuma *''

Good Luck!! is a 2003 Japanese television drama starring Takuya Kimura. The story revolves around an up-and-coming pilot, Hajime Shinkai, and portrays his interactions with others as he progresses along the road to becoming a captain. As is common in many J ...

'' (2003)

References

External links

*
Official Agency Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikariya, Chosuke 1931 births 2004 deaths Deaths from lymphoma in Japan Japanese male bass guitarists Japanese male comedians Comedians from Tokyo Male actors from Tokyo People from Sumida 20th-century Japanese musicians 20th-century bass guitarists 20th-century Japanese comedians 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors