Akira Takarada, the original “Godzilla” star from the 1954 film dies at the age of 87. Takarada was a Japanese actor who starred in the original Godzilla franchise.
His death was announced by Toho studios, which produced the original film. The date and cause of death of the infamous actor were not revealed.
Akira Takarada played the role of a sailor namely Hideto Ogata in the original Godzilla. His character was accompanied by the Japanese coast guard in the film, after the ship in which Godzilla is sent sinks in the sea.
He is also present in the death scene of Godzilla, witnessing him dying from an oxygen destroyer.
Toho studios wrote about his death on the official twitter account for the movie stating,“We are saddened to hear of the passing of Akira Takarada. May his memory continue to inspire the lives of many Godzilla fans.”
Akira Takarada appeared in the American re-edit of the original film named “Godzilla, king of the monsters,” along with Raymond Burr. He was also a lethal part of the Godzilla series and appeared in the 1964 installment of the franchise titled “Mothra vs. Godzilla.”
Takarada made a comeback in the Godzilla series with an updated version of “Godzilla vs. Mothra” in 1992.
His last appearance in the Godzilla series was in 2004 in the film “Godzilla: Final Wars.”
Apart from a film career, Akira Takarada had a career at stage productions and did a lot of voiceover work. He was also part of the Japanese dubbed version of “Doctor Dolittle” back in 1967. He gave voice to the character of Rex Harrison and later on was also featured in several animated Disney movies namely; “Aladdin” and “The Great Mouse Detective.” He gave voice to the villains Jafar and Ratigan in the respective movies.
Akira Takarada was also the voice of Jafar in “Kingdom Hearts” – a video game series. He was behind Henry, the master of ceremonies in the Country Bear theater at Disneyland Tokyo.
No further news regarding his death has been made public. His family and survivors’ details are also unknown.
