, born Satoshi Nakamura (also credited as Tatsu Nakamura and Tetu Nakamura), was a Japanese film actor and

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

active from the 1940s to the 1980s. He featured in over 40 films.

Early years

Born in

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 British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, to a father involved in the lumber industry, Nakamura studied at

Britannia Secondary School Britannia Community Secondary School is a public community secondary school located in the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood on the east-side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school educates its students using a district-wide block schedule p ...

before enrolling at a music academy to become a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

singer. After graduating, he performed on radio and in recitals before moving to Japan in 1940. There he enrolled in

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

's film acting school, and graduated in 1941. In the meantime, he was selected by the opera singer Yoshie Fujiwara to appear as Escamillo in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' in a performance at the

Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form. History The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and o ...

Career

He became a contract actor at the

Toho Studios is a Japanese film studio and production company that is a subsidiary of Toho Co., Ltd. One of the most successful films produced by Toho Studio is the live-action film ''Godzilla Minus One'' (2023), which generated more than $100 million at t ...

in 1942, and started appearing in roles in such films as ''The Opium War'' (1943), '' Ano hata o ute'', and '' Aru yoru no tonosama'' (1946). After touring the United States as part of Fujiwara's opera company in 1953, he concentrated on film acting. With his fluency in English, he often appeared in foreign co-productions. He played the antagonist in ''

Tokyo File 212 ''Tokyo File 212'' (Japanese: ) is a 1951 spy film directed by and . George Breakston wrote the film's script and co-produced it with Dorrell McGowan jointly under the banner of their newly formed Breakston–McGowan Productions and Japanese ...

'' (1951) and a supporting role in '' Geisha Girl'' (1952). Writing about ''Tokyo File 212'' in his book ''Korean War Filmography'', Robert J. Lentz opined that "Nakamura assmooth and oily as the villain Oyama, who at heart asas much a capitalist as a Communist". His other prominent roles include Dr. Robert Suzuki in George Breakston's

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

The Manster is a 1959 American science-fiction horror film. Shot in Japan, it was produced by George P. Breakston and directed by Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane from a screenplay by Walter J. Sheldon. Sheldon's script was based on Breakston's story, which ...

'' (1962), Japanese Ambassador in the international co-production '' Red Sun'' (1971), Dr. Kawamoto in the B-movie '' The Last Dinosaur'' (1977) and other roles in ''

Oriental Evil ''Oriental Evil'' is a 1951 American drama film directed and produced by George Breakston and starring Martha Hyer and Tetsu Nakamura. Plot Sheryl Banning, an American woman, has come to Tokyo to seek information on why her brother killed hims ...

'' (1951), ''

Futari no hitomi a.k.a. ''Girls Hand in Hand'' (USA title) is a 1952 black-and-white Cinema of Japan, Japanese film directed by Shigeo Nakaki. Plot A girl visits her dad in Japan, and she makes friends with an orphan from the war. She then tries to raise mone ...

'' (1952), ''

The H-Man is a 1958 Japanese science fiction thriller film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Plot On a rainy night in the outskirts of Tokyo, a drug smuggler, Misaki, is killed while trying to escape in a getaway car ...

'' (1958), ''

Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...

'' (1961), ''

The Lost World of Sinbad is a 1963 Japanese drama action film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Mie Hama.

'' (1963) and '' Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi'' (1965). He also appeared on television well into the 1980s.

Partial filmography

*''Ano hata o ute'' (1944) *''Kôfuku eno shôtai'' (1947) *''Koun no isu'' (1948) *''

'' (1951) - Mr. Oyama *''

'' (1951) - Noritomu Moriaji *'' Geisha Girl'' (1952) - Tetsu Nakano *''

'' (1952) *''Senkan Yamato'' (1953) *''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'' (1954) - Yamadori *''Tokyo da you okkasan'' (1957) *''

The Mysterians is a 1957 Japanese epic science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first Honda-Tsuburaya collaboration filmed in both color and TohoScope, and s ...

'' (1957) - Dr. Koda *''

'' (1958) - Mr. Chin, gangster *''Yaju shisubeshi'' (1959) *''

'' (1959) - Dr. Robert Suzuki *''Wakai koibitotachi'' (1959) - Customer at Bar B *''Kaoyaku to bakudan musume'' (1959) *''Samurai to oneechan'' (1960) - Daisaku Tsubaki *'' Storm Over the Pacific'' (1960) *''Gasu ningen dai 1 gô'' (1960) - Journalist *'' The Big Wave'' (1961) - Toru's Father *''Honkon no yoru'' (1961) *''

'' (1961) - Nelson's Henchman *''

Attack Squadron! is a 1963 Japanese film directed by Shue Matsubayashi, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film is about Lt. Colonel Senda (Toshiro Mifune) who commands three fighter squadrons, eventually being dominated by Allied forces in June 1944. R ...

'' (1963) *''Gojuman-nin no isan'' (1963) - Asian man *'' Interpol Códe 8'' (1963) - Binh Hoa *''

The Lost World of Sinbad is a 1963 Japanese drama action film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Mie Hama.

'' (1963) - Chief Archer *''

Atragon is a 1963 Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho, it is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō ...

'' (1963) - Warship Captain *'' Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Tora no kiba'' (1964) - Okada *''Hi no ataru isu'' (1965) *'' Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi'' (1965) - Sritai *''Kureji no daiboken'' (1965) *''Nippon ichi no gorigan otoko'' (1966) *''Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsu'' (1967) - Head of ZZZ Hong Kong Branch Office *'' Latitude Zero'' (1969) - Dr. Okada *''

Space Amoeba is a 1970 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Ei Ogawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Fumio Tanaka, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, the film stars Akira Kubo, ...

'' (1970) - Chieftain Ombo *'' Red Sun'' (1971) - Japanese Ambassador *'' Tidal Wave'' (1973) - Philippines Ambassador to United Nations *''

Marco Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

'' (1973) - Sea Captain *''Karei-naru ichizoku'' (1974) - Shirakawa *''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...

'' (1976) - Mr. Hiruta *'' The Last Dinosaur'' (1977) - Dr. Kawamoto (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Tetsu 1909 births 1992 deaths Japanese male film actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male actors of Japanese descent Canadian emigrants to Japan 20th-century Japanese male opera singers Male actors from Vancouver Musicians from Vancouver