(born Yasuo Watanabe (渡部泰雄, Watanabe Yasuo); 22 February 1932 – 11 September 2010) was a Japanese comedian, actor and musician. Born in Tokyo, he learned to play the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

and, while a student at

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...

, began playing in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bands performing for American soldiers during the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

. He quit university and joined the City Slickers with Frankie Sakai in 1953. In 1956, he joined the comic-jazz band The Crazy Cats with Hajime Hana and Hitoshi Ueki. He came to fame when the Crazy Cats started appearing on television, especially through their variety show "Shabondama Holiday," and in movies, through comedy series such as the "Irresponsible" (Musekinin) series at

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

. Some of his nonsense one-word gags, such as "gachon" became buzzwords imitated throughout the nation. He also appeared alone in dramatic roles on film and television, was a regular in the " Tsuribaka Nisshi" film series, and continued to be a popular figure on variety TV. His real name was Yasuo Watanabe, but his stage name, especially with the Japanese name order "Tani Kei," was based on a pun on the name

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

. He died of a brain contusion on 11 September 2010 after falling down the stairs in his Mitaka home.

Selected filmography

* '' Nippon musekinin jidai'' (ニッポン無責任時代) (1962) * '' Young Season'' (若い季節)　(1962) * '' Zūzūshii yatsu'' (図々しい奴) (1965) * '' Fancy Paradise'' (1968) * '' Kofuku'' (1981) * '' Tokyo Heaven'' (1990) * ''

Samurai Fiction is a 1998 comedy-samurai film directed by Hiroyuki Nakano. It is almost entirely black-and-white, and follows a fairly standard plotline for a comedy and ''jidaigeki'' samurai film, but the presence of Tomoyasu Hotei's rock-and-roll soundtrack se ...

'' (1998) * '' After Life'' (1998) * '' Waterboys'' (2001) * '' Swing Girls'' (2004) * '' Blooming Again'' (2004) * ''

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

'' (2008)

Selected television roles

* ''

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

'' (1979) as Daode Tianzun * ''

Dokuganryū Masamune is a 1987 Japanese historical television series. It is the 25th NHK ''taiga'' drama. The broadcast received an average viewer rating of 39.7 percent in the Kanto area with the highest viewing rating of 47.8%. The drama was adapted from the novel ...

'' (1987) as

Imai Sōkun was a prominent weapons merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and master of the Japanese tea ceremony. He was also known by the names Imai Hiratsuna and Imai Kanehisa. Sōkun was the son of weapons merchant and tea master Imai Sōkyū, ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tani, Kei 1932 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Japanese male actors 20th-century Japanese musicians 21st-century Japanese male actors Male actors from Tokyo Japanese male comedians Japanese male film actors Comedians from Tokyo Musicians from Tokyo Japanese trombonists Male trombonists 21st-century Japanese musicians Crazy Cats members 20th-century Japanese male musicians 21st-century Japanese male musicians