Makoto Iwamatsu
Makoto Iwamatsu , also Mako ( Japanese 岩松 信 , Iwamatsu Makoto ; born December 10, 1933 in Kobe , Japan , † July 21, 2006 in Somis , California ), was a Japanese actor .
Life
Iwamatsu grew up with his grandparents because his parents studied art in the United States. When Japan declared war on the United States in 1941, his parents were interned.
After the end of the war, Iwamatsu moved to the United States to live with his parents, who worked for the Office of War Information in New York City to study architecture. When he became a US citizen in 1956, he considered it a duty to enlist in the military. There he appeared on stage at military events of the US Army and had initial successes.
Instead of continuing to study architecture, he enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse in California . In 1959 he made his debut in the film Never So Few . For his role Po-Han in the film Gunboat on the Yangtze River , he was nominated for an Oscar in 1966.
He was married to the actress Shizuko Hoshi . With her he had two daughters. Iwamatsu has worked with Chuck Norris repeatedly for many years . Iwamatsu also appeared in series again and again; among others in Magnum , M * A * S * H and Das A-Team .
Makoto Iwamatsu succumbed to esophageal cancer . His last role was in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , where he originally played the rat Splinter. In the episode “Stories from Ba Sing Se” by Avatar - The Last Airbender, Uncle Iroh mourns his fallen son Lu Ten, followed by the words “In memory of Mako”.
Filmography (selection)
- 1959: When the Blood Boils (Never So Few)
- 1966: Gunboat on the Yangtze River (The Sand Pebbles)
- 1966: Beloved Domestic Tyrant (The Ugly Dachshund)
- 1966: The green Hornet
- 1970: Ruler of the Island (The Hawaiians)
- 1974: The Island at the Top of the World (The Iceland at the Top of the World)
- 1974–1980: M * A * S * H (TV series) (5 episodes)
- 1975: The Killer Elite ( The Killer Elite )
- 1978: Columbo (TV series)
- 1980: The Big Brawl ( Battle Creek Brawl - The Big Brawl )
- 1981: The Gigant ( An Eye for an Eye )
- 1982: Conan the Barbarian ( Conan the Barbarian )
- 1983: The Last Testament ( Testament )
- 1984: Conan the Destroyer ( Conan the Destroyer )
- 1988: Tucker ( Tucker: The Man and His Dream )
- 1990: Filofax - I am you and you are nothing
- 1990: Stranger Shadows ( Pacific Heights )
- 1991: A perfect Weapon ( The Perfect Weapon )
- 1992: Robocop 3
- 1992: Sidekicks
- 1993: The Cradle of the Sun ( Rising Sun )
- 1994: Highlander III - The Legend ( Highlander III - The Sorcerer )
- 1995: Crying Freeman - The Son of the Dragon ( Crying Freeman )
- 1996: Female Justice ( Sworn to Justice )
- 1997: Seven Years in Tibet ( Seven Years in Tibet )
- 2001: Pearl Harbor
- 2001-2004: Samurai Jack (voice of the demon Aku)
- 2003: Bulletproof Monk - Bulletproof Monk ( Bulletproof Monk )
- 2005: The Geisha ( Memoirs of a Geisha )
- 2005-2007: Avatar - The Last Airbender ( Avatar: The Last Airbender , voice of Uncle Iroh in the original English for 27 episodes)
- 2007: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( TMNT , voice of Master Splinter in the original)
Web links
- Makoto Iwamatsu in the Internet Movie Database (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Iwamatsu, Makoto |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 岩松 信 (Japanese); Mako |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese-American actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 10, 1933 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Kobe , Japan |
DATE OF DEATH | July 21, 2006 |
Place of death | Somis , California, USA |