was a Japanese

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

Acting career

Born , he was best known to ''

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

'' fans as the android Ichiro in the ''

Kikaider 01 (Pronounced as ''Kikaider Zero One''), is a tokusatsu superhero TV series, and a sequel series to '' Android Kikaider''. Produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions, it was broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from May 12, 1973 to March 30, 19 ...

'' series (1973–74). Ikeda's interest in acting came at an early age from his father, respected sword fight choreographer Tatsuo Ouchi. He also had a black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. Ikeda studied with the Bunka-za Theater, first appearing on-screen in ''Hibari's Guitar of Motherly Love'' (1962). Ikeda made only a handful of films, but found his niche on television, where he appeared in such shows as ''Special Mobile Investigation Unit'' (1963), ''Comrades'' (1963), ''Story of Coming Wind'' (1963), ''Aboard With 27 People'' (1964) and ''Onihei Hankacho'' (1969–70). While Ikeda's biggest and best-known ''

'' role was in ''

'', and Takeshi Minami in ''

Return of Ultraman is a List of Japanese television series, Japanese ''tokusatsu'' Science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The third entry (fourth overall) in the Ultra series, the series aired on TBS Tel ...

'', he also appeared in ''Operation: Mystery'' (1968–69), ''Silver Mask'' (1971–72), ''

Himitsu Sentai Gorenger is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' superhero television series. ''Gorenger'', created by Shotaro Ishinomori, was the first in the long-running ''Super Sentai'' metaseries of ''tokusatsu'' programming. The series aired on NET (now TV Asahi) from April 5, ...

'' (1975–77), and ''

Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers is a superhero and kaiju film released in Japan on September 16, 2006, serving as a threatical tie-in to the Ultraman Mebius series. It is the 10th original film in the Ultraman franchise, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the franchise. The ...

'' (2006).

Education

Ikeda graduated from

Hosei University formerly known as Tokyo University of Law (東京法学社, Tokyo Hogakusha) is a top research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Hosei University and four other private universities in Tokyo are collectively known as "MARCH (Japanese univers ...

in 1967 with a degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Later years

Ikeda was a

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

for th
SOS Modeling Agency
a commercial

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

, and also appeared in several stage productions.

Popularity

Ikeda developed a fan following in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

as well as

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 ...

. In 2001, he and ''

Kikaider is a manga series written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori. A two-season tokusatsu series titled ''Android Kikaider'' (''Kikaider 01'' in season 2) was produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions in early 1970s. A 18-episode an ...

'' star Daisuke Ban made a personal appearance in Hawaii, meeting with fans who grew up watching the

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

broadcasts of ''

'' and ''

''. This led to both series being revived on TV and released on DVD, as well as additional live appearances, special events, and autograph sessions in both Japan and Hawaii. In a 2008

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

, Ikeda mentioned that he was upset that ''

s Hawaii popularity was not widely known in Japan.

Death

Ikeda died on June 11, 2010, from complications of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Filmography

References

External links

SOS Model Engine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Shunsuke 1941 births 2010 deaths Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Japanese male models People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Diabetes-related deaths Male actors from Kanagawa Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors