David Toguri (25 October 1933,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada – 15 November 1997,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada) was an award-winning Japanese-Canadian choreographer, director and actor, based for most of his career in the UK. He died of cancer.

Stage choreography credits

*''

The Baker's Wife ''The Baker's Wife'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Joseph Stein, based on the 1938 French film of the same name by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono. The musical premiered in the West End in 1989 for a short ...

''. Phoenix Theatre. Directed by Trevor Nunn. *''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

''. Directed by Trevor Nunn. *''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' () is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredite ...

''. Directed by Trevor Nunn. *''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' *'' Street Scene''. London Coliseum for English National Opera. *''

Pacific Overtures ''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting ...

''. London Coliseum for English National Opera. *''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'' Mermaid Theatre Directed Gerald Frow Sean Kenny *Many shows at the National Theatre including ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' and ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'' and ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' (1982) which won the Olivier Award for Best Choreography. He also directed and choreographed the show in Australia in 1986 and returned to the National production for its 1996 revival. *"Pa Pa Can You Hear Me Sing" (1989). A musical in Cantonese, directed by Ho Yi for Spotlight Productions, for the

Urban Council, Hong Kong The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

*''

Blitz! ''Blitz!'' is a musical by Lionel Bart. The musical, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz (the aerial bombings during World War II). The story drew on Bart's childhood memories of London's ...

'' (1990). Playhouse Theatre for the National Youth Theatre. *''

Maggie May "Maggie May" is a song cowritten by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, performed by Stewart for his album '' Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 130 in The 500 Greatest Songs of ...

'' (1992). Royalty Theatre for the National Youth Theatre.

Film and television choreography credits

*''

Peter's Friends ''Peter's Friends'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh, and written by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman. The film follows six friends (played by Stephen Fry, Branagh, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Imeld ...

'' (1992) (choreographer) *'' Memphis Belle'' (1990) (choreographer) *''

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

'' (1990) (choreographer) aka ''

'' *''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'' (1988) (choreographer: UK) *''

The Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" (, meaning "The little girl with the matchsticks") is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dreams and hope, was first published in 1845. It has been ...

'' (1987) (TV) (choreographer) *'' Absolute Beginners'' (1986) (choreographer) *''

Give My Regards to Broad Street ''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the Give My Regards to Broad Street (film), film of the same name. It features covers of Beatles' songs, Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings ...

'' (1984) (choreographer) *''

Jazzin' for Blue Jean ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' is a 21-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple. It was created to promote Bowie's single " Blue Jean" in 1984 and released as a video single. The film won the 1985 Grammy Award for " Best ...

'' (1984) (V) (choreographer) *'' Blue Money'' (1982) (TV) (choreographer) *''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'' (1975) (dance stager) *'' Eskimo Nell'' (1975) (choreographer) aka The Ballad of Eskimo Nell *''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'' (choreographer) (1 episode, 1970) *''

No Trams to Lime Street ''No Trams to Lime Street'' is a 1959 British television play, written by the Welsh playwright Alun Owen for the '' Armchair Theatre'' anthology series. Produced by ABC Weekend TV for transmission on the ITV network, the play was broadcast on 18 ...

'' (1970) TV Episode (choreographer) *''

The Devil Rides Out ''The Devil Rides Out'' is a 1934 horror novel by Dennis Wheatley, telling a disturbing story of black magic and the occult. The four main characters, the Duke de Richleau, Rex van Ryn, Simon Aron and Richard Eaton, appear in a series of nov ...

'' (1968) (choreographer) aka The Devil's Bride (USA) *''

Rock Follies ''Rock Follies'' (together with its sequel, ''Rock Follies of '77'') is a musical drama that was shown on British television in the 1970s. The storyline follows the ups and downs of a fictional female rock band called the Little Ladies, as the ...

'' (1976) (choreographer)

Acting credits

*''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'' Movie . . . dancer *''

'' Broadway cast Dancer *''

'' (1961, Palace Theatre) .... Dancer (uncredited) *'' Chaganog'' (1964) Edinburgh Festival and subsequently at the Vaudeville Theatre *''

Charlie Girl ''Charlie Girl'' is a musical comedy which premiered in London’s West End at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965; it became one of the more successful theatre shows of the day running for 2,202 performances. It closed on 27 March 1971. Pr ...

'' (1965) .... Adelphi Theatre *''

Three Hats for Lisa ''Three Hats for Lisa'' a.k.a. ''One Day in London'' is a 1965 British musical comedy film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Joe Brown, Sid James, Sophie Hardy, Una Stubbs and Dave Nelson. The screenplay was by Leslie Bricusse and Talbot ...

'' (1965) (UK) .... Dancer aka One Day in London *'' Koroshi'' (1966) (TV) (UK: series title) .... Commander Yamada aka Danger Man: Koroshi *'' You Only Live Twice'' (1967, aka Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice (USA: complete title) .... Assassin in Bedroom *'' Shinda Shima'' (1968, TV Episode) .... Commander Yamada *''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' (1 episode, 1968) aka Secret Agent aka Danger Man (USA: video box title) .... Commander Yamada *'' There's a Nasty Word'' (1969, TV Episode – Love) .... Ibuki *'' The Troubleshooters'' (1969, 1 episode, - aka Mogul (USA) .... Ibuki *'' Welcome to the Club'' (1971) .... Hideki Ikada *''

Rentadick ''Rentadick'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Jim Clark (film editor), Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser (actor), Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, the p ...

'' (1972) .... Japanese *''

Soft Beds, Hard Battles ''Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting, starring Peter Sellers (in several roles), Curd Jürgens, Lila Kedrova and Jenny Hanley. Sellers reunited with the Boulting brothers for this farce, in which th ...

'' (1974) .... A.D.C. to Prince Kyoto (uncredited) *'' Eskimo Nell'' (1975, aka The Ballad of Eskimo Nell) .... Kung Fu Artist *'' The Pounds Sterling'' (1976, TV Episode) .... Alan Nagouchi *''

'' (1 episode, 1976) .... Alan Nagouchi *''

Dead Man's Kit Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shor ...

'' (1980, TV Episode) .... Chinese laundry man *''

Armchair Thriller ''Armchair Thriller'' is a British television drama series broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980 in two seasons. Taking the form of a sequence of unconnected serials, scripts for ''Armchair Thriller'' were adaptations of published novels and storie ...

'' (1 episode, 1980) .... Chinese laundry man *'' Alicja'' (1982, aka Alice) .... Duchess (final film role)

External links

* The Independent Obituary https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-david-toguri-1287171.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Toguri, David Canadian male television actors Canadian choreographers 1933 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors