(24 October 1931 – 14 March 2014) was a Japanese actor who worked on stage, film, and television from the 1950s to the 2010s. Ken Utsui

Career and death

Born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Utsui entered the Haiyūza theatre troupe in 1952 and was soon selected to star in the film ''Seishun no izumi'' that was produced by Haiyūza. In 1954, he signed a contract with

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

and starred in 60 films, including the Super Giant series. He moved to

Daiei Film Daiei Film Co. Ltd. ( Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producin ...

in 1963 and starred in another 52 films. From the mid-1960s, he also began to work on television, starring in many television dramas, especially detective series like ''The Guardman'' and ''Sasurai keiji junjōhen'' and some installments of the ''Akai'' series with

Momoe Yamaguchi , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese former singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. Often simply referred to by her given name "Momoe," Yamaguchi is one of the most successful singers in Japanese music, releasing 3 ...

. He died on 14 March 2014 from

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a disti ...

at the age of 82.Japanese actor Ken Utsui dies at 82

Selected filmography

Film

* ''

Ningen gyorai kaiten , literally ''Human-Steered Torpedo Kaiten'', is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Shūe Matsubayashi. Cast * Eiji Okada as Asakura * Isao Kimura as Tamai * Keiko Tsushima as Manabe * Taiji Tonoyama as Ueno * Toshio Takahara a ...

'' (人間魚雷回天 Ningen gyorai kaiten) (1955) * '' Revenge of the Pearl Queen'' (1956) * '' Senun Ajia no joo'' (戦雲アジアの女王) (1957) * '' Evil Brain from Outer Space'' (1964) * '' Attack from Space'' (1964) * '' Invaders from Space'' (1964) * '' Atomic Rulers of the World'' (1964) *''

Giant Horde Beast Nezura is a 2020 Japanese crowdfunded ''kaiju'' biopic film directed by Hiroto Yokokawa. The film was based on Daiei's unfinished 1964 ''Gamera'' precursor, '' Giant Horde Beast Nezura'' and stars Yukijirō Hotaru as a character based on the presid ...

'' (1964) * ''

The Bullet Train (also known as ''Super Express 109'') is a 1975 Japanese action thriller film directed by Junya Satō and starring Ken Takakura, Sonny Chiba, and Ken Utsui. When a Shinkansen ("bullet train") is threatened with a bomb that will explode au ...

'' (1975) * ''

Saimin Saimin is a noodle soup dish common in the contemporary cuisine of Hawaii. Traditionally consisting of soft wheat egg noodles served in a hot garnished with diced green onions and a thin slice of , modern versions of saimin include additional t ...

'' (催眠) (1999) * ''

Blooming Again is a 2003 novel by Ranzō Ōta. It has been adapted into a film by Isshin Inudo in 2004. Film Adaptation * ''Blooming Again'' directed by Isshin Inudo, a Toei production in 2004, it stars Tsutomu Yamazaki. Hisaya Morishige and Takuya Fujioka mad ...

'' (2004) * ''

Gokusen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozueko Morimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''You'' from 2000 to 2007, with its chapters collected in fifteen '' wideban'' volumes. The story follows Kumiko Yamaguchi, the grand ...

- The Movie'' (2009) (Ryuichiro Kuroda)

Television

*'' Akai Meiro'' (1974) – adoptive father * ''Akai Unmei'' (1976) – father of Izumi * ''Akai Shisen'' (1980) – carjack victim and pilot * ''

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful Daimyo, daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of ...

'' (1988) – Naoe Kagetsuna * ''Onna tachi no Hyakuman goku'' (1988) –

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

* ''Nobunaga'' (1991) – Hayashi Michikatsu * '' Aoi'' (2000) –

Mōri Terumoto Mōri Terumoto (毛利輝元, January 22, 1553 – June 2, 1625) was a Japanese ''daimyō''. The son of Mōri Takamoto, and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, he fought against Oda Nobunaga but was eventually overcom ...

* ''

'' (2002–2005) – Ryuichiro Kuroda * '' Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari'' (2006-13) - Daikichi Okakura * '' Tenchijin'' (2009) – Maeda Toshiie

References

External links

* *
Official profile
(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Utsui, Ken Japanese male actors 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Tokyo