hepclassic Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 http://www.eonline.com/news/563981/james-shigeta-dead-at-81-character-actor-and-singer-had-memorable-roles-in-die-hard-and-flower-drum-song?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories I loved him in "Flower Drum Song", and was planning on writing a tribute to him soon at the Classic Film Union. May he rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 He gave a dam good performance as Adm. Nagumo in Midway. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Kimble Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I will always remember him for two early roles: The coolie gunfighter in Walk Like A Dragon, and most of all for the ending of The Crimson Kimono, which kinda comes out of nowhere and doesn't really make sense for the characters, but in the America of 1959 I bet that it, in the words of today's kids, "rustled a few jimmies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr6666 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 remember him from.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 http://www.eonline.com/news/563981/james-shigeta-dead-at-81-character-actor-and-singer-had-memorable-roles-in-die-hard-and-flower-drum-song?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories I loved him in "Flower Drum Song", and was planning on writing a tribute to him soon at the Classic Film Union. May he rest in peace. I only know his character roles in "Die Hard" (1988) and "Midway" (1976). Very good actor from what little I've seen of him. RIP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr6666 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 to SableGamine: if you're counting views, add the # for this thread too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogiboo Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 http://www.eonline.com/news/563981/james-shigeta-dead-at-81-character-actor-and-singer-had-memorable-roles-in-die-hard-and-flower-drum-song?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories I loved him in "Flower Drum Song", and was planning on writing a tribute to him soon at the Classic Film Union. May he rest in peace. Pull out all the stops, hep. Folks need to know about him. I am literally tearing up reading all the lovely comments. He deserves every accolade. Handsome? To paraphrase Cuddles in Casablanca, "As the day is long." 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogiboo Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 http://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-spark-of-life-james-shigeta-1933-4014 I found this. Hope it works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepclassic Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Pull out all the stops, hep. Folks need to know about him. I am literally tearing up reading all the lovely comments. He deserves every accolade. Handsome? To paraphrase Cuddles in Casablanca, "As the day is long." I need to see a couple more of his films first before I do, yogiboo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 RIP James. You were a good one. Sepiatone 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SableGamine Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 You know, I left a post yesterday regarding cutie pie's (yes, that's what I called James Shigeta ????) passing, on a thread started by Fedya. I said that I wish threads like these discussing him would get more views; the fact that they aren't getting as many says a lot about how underrated he really was. He always admitted such a suave, dignified presence, and going to miss him very much. And that voice, oh! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SableGamine Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 He was one of the first Asian-American actors to play well-rounded roles that weren't just a caricature. My personal favorites for him were "The Crimson Kimono" and "Bridge to the Sun". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepclassic Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 You know, I left a post yesterday regarding cutie pie's (yes, that's what I called James Shigeta ) passing, on a thread started by Fedya. I said that I wish threads like these discussing him would get more views; the fact that they aren't getting as many says a lot about how underrated he really was. He always admitted such a suave, dignified presence, and going to miss him very much. And that voice, oh! It also says how unaware people are at the reality of diversity that presents itself in classic film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepclassic Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 I just read the New York Times obituary for James Shigeta, and according to his brother Clarence, he died of puliminary failure, and he was born in 1929, not 1933. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SableGamine Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I just read the New York Times obituary for James Shigeta, and according to his brother Clarence, he died of puliminary failure, and he was born in 1929, not 1933. I noticed that they kept changing the age in his obituaries over the last day or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hepclassic Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 I noticed that they kept changing the age in his obituaries over the last day or so. How's that for respecting the classic movie actors of color and their contributions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogiboo Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 How's that for respecting the classic movie actors of color and their contributions. I don't particularly think it has to do with that, hep, Many actors of the Classic era have birthdates that are incorrect due to bad record keeping or actors changing their ages for obvious reasons. Just sayin'. Was his family interred during WWII? Perhaps dates got confused in the shuffle. I choose to believe this rather than some form of snobbery or worse. It would be nice if during any number of films being shown during SUTS there could be a film that Shigeta was in. Not sure if that's possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts