Harold Sakata
Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata (born July 1, 1920 in Holualoa ; Hawaii ; † July 29, 1982 in Honolulu , Hawaii) was an American actor of Japanese descent, who mainly because of his role as the villain Oddjob ("casual work") in James Bond film Goldfinger became known.
Life
When Sakata moved to the mainland after finishing school, he adopted the Western first name Harold. Sakata was a talented weightlifter and won at the 1948 Olympic Games in London a silver medal. He also tried his hand at wrestling under the pseudonym Tosh Togo and made it to the Canadian and Hawaiian tag team titles alongside his "brother" The Great Togo , who was actually called Kazuo George Okamura .
Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman hired Sakata mainly because of his heavy build - he was 1.78 meters tall and weighed 130 kilograms. The role of oddjob was perfect for Sakata. He had no acting experience at all, but Oddjob was not a speaking role and required few acting skills.
Sakata became so famous for this role that he appeared under this name as a wrestler and made Oddjob his third name. After the Bond film, he got a taste for it and played supporting roles in numerous other films. However, these were limited to military types, muscle-bound thugs and mute bodyguards . Sakata died at the age of 62 years to cancer .
Others
In the film Rikidōzan : A Hero Extraordinary , Sakata is played by Keiji Mutō .
The also Hawaiian wrestler and actor Charles Kalani, Jr. (1930-2000), known by his stage name Professor Toru Tanaka, looks very similar to Sakata and was cast in the same role .
Filmography (selection)
- 1964: Goldfinger
- 1966: The Poppy Is Also a Flower (The Poppy Is Also a Flower)
- 1976: Mako the Beast (Mako: The Jaws of Death)
- 1978: The Lone Fighter (Death Dimension)
- 1982: Mercenaries of Death (Horror Safari)
- 1984: Mad Mission 3
Web links
- Harold Sakata in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Harold Sakata in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christian Schneider: The big catcher scandals: Part 4 - Scandal about Mr. Oddjob. In: wwf4ever.de. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014 ; accessed on March 20, 2020 .
- ^ Sascha Imme: Rikidōzan: A Hero Extraordinary (2004). In: OFDb.de . July 29, 2006, accessed March 20, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sakata, Harold |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sakata, Toshiyuki |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actor of Japanese descent |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Holualoa |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 29, 1982 |
| Place of death | Honolulu , Hawaii |