Frankie Sakai
Frankie Sakai was a Japanese comedian, actor, and musician.
Career
From his days at Keio University, Sakai worked as a jazz drummer at American Army camps during the Occupation of Japan, often doing comic routines with his music. Becoming a professional comedian, he appeared in many famous film comedies such as Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and the Shachō and Ekimae series at the Toho Studios. He was named best actor at the Blue Ribbon Awards for his work in Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate and Shiawase wa orera no negai.
He also appeared in musicals such as Kimi mo shusse ga dekiru, serious dramas such as I Want to Be a Shellfish, and kaiju eiga like Mothra. He was also known for his personal study of the ukiyo-e artist Sharaku and helped produce the film Sharaku directed by Masahiro Shinoda. He is best known to American audiences for his dramatic role in the 1980s television production of Shōgun in which he played the part of Lord Yabu.
He died of liver failure on 10 June 1996 at the age of 67.
Selected filmography
Films
Seishun jazu musume Musume jûroku jazz matsuri Jazz on Parade 1954 nen: Tokyo Cinderella musume Hatsukoi kanariya musume - FurakichiAi no onimotsu Jazz on Parade: Jazz musume kampai! - Fura-sanMidori haruka ni - PierrotTokyo baka odori Chika kara kita otoko - Shimpei TakiguchiZoku ueru tamashii Gyûnyû ya Furankî - Rukuheita Sakai / Kogorô SakaiTange Sazen: Kenun no maki Otemba san'nin shimai: Odoru taiyô - Kunio YamatoFrankie Bûchan no Aa gunkanki Shiawase wa orera no negai - Gorô SudôSun in the Last Days of the Shogunate - Inokori Saheiji, the stayerSun in the Last Days of the Shogunate - Inokori Saheiji, the stayerFrankie Bûchan no zoku aa gunkaki: Nyogo ga-shima funsenki Man Who Causes a Storm - Man in jail A Boy and Three Mothers - Seiji, the FarherButtsuke homban - Tetsuo MatsumotoKigeki ekimae ryokan - Kinichi KoyamaFuranki no sannin mae Gurama-to no yuwaku - TamenagaAisaiki Moro no Ichimatsu yûrei dochu Abarenbo miri ni Ishimatsu Hanayome-san wa sekai-ichi I Want to Be a Shellfish Kashima ari Shiranami gonin otoko: tenka no ô-dorobô Hito mo arukeba - Keima SunagawaYurei Hanjo-ki - HachigogoDokuritsu gurentai nishi-e
Akasaka no shimai' yori: yoru no hada - Junpei Tanabe jonan Shima no sehiro no oyabun-shû Tokkyu Nippon - KiichiTôkyô yawa - Ken-chanOnna wa nido umareru - NozakiMothra - Senichiro 'Sen-chan' FukudaKigeki: ekimae danchi Minami no shima ni yuki ga furu The Last War - Mokichi TamuraKigeki ekimae bentô Salary man Shimizu minato - Kyû RokkanHagure kigeki mandara Shachô yôkôki Zoku shachô yôkôki Heso no taisho Ao beka monogatari - GoroKigeki ekimae onsen - Jirô SakaiShin kitsune to tanuki Chikata nikki Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki - HeigorôKigeki ekimae hanten Kigeki: Detatoko shôbu - 'Chinjarara monogatari' yori - Nadare no SabuShachô manyûki Onna ni tsuyoku naru kufû no kazukazu - Nobuo KoyamaZoku shachô manyûki Shachô gaiyûki - Willie TanakaKigeki: Tonkatsu ichidai - Shinichi TamakiKawachi udoki-Oiroke hanjoki Zoku shachô gaiyûki Charan boran monogatari Daidokoro taiheiki Kigeki ekimae chagama Todan Goro ichiza Wanpaku tenshi Shachô shinshiroku Kigeki ekimae okami - Jirô Ban'noMisuta jaiantsu Zoku shachô shinshiroku Kigeki: Yôki-na mibôjin - Ghost / Shunji Ogata / Assistant Professor Kida / Junji Shimamichi / an acupressure therapist / Haruo Taniyama / Middle-aged ManKimi mo shusse ga dekiru - Zenta YamakawaKigeki ekimae kaidan Kigeki ekimae ondo Kigeki ekimae tenjin Shachô ninpôchô Kigeki ekimae iin Zoku shachô ninpôchô - Tsuyoshi KebanaiKigeki ekimae kinyû Rokunin no onna o koroshita otoko Hana no o-Edo no hôkaibô - HokaiboKigeki ekimae daigaku Anma taiheiki Shachô gyôjôki Kigeki ekimae benten Zoku shachô gyôjôki - Tsuyoshi KebanaiKigeki ekimae manga - Jiro SakaiKigeki ekimae bantô Dark the Mountain Snow - JiroKigeki ekimae keiba Shachô senichiya Kigeki ekimae mangan - Jiro SakaiRâmen taishi Kigeki ekimae gakuen Zoku shachô senichiya Kigeki ekimae tanken Kigeki ekimae hyakku-nen Kigeki ekimae kaiun Kigeki ekimae kazan - Jiro SakaiKawachi fûten zoku - FûkichiHakuchû dôdô - Lawyer SakashitaKigeki: Otto urimasu Dorifutazu desu yo! Totte totte torimakure Kigeki ekimae sanbashi - Jiro SakaiYotarô senki - Yotarô AkimotoYosakoi ryoko - Goichi HasegawaGyakuten ryoko - Goichi HasegawaMastermind - Captain YamadaShin Yotarô senki - Yotarô AkimotoGokudô petenshi Chibikko Remi to meiken Capi - Kapi Kigeki aa gunka Onna kumichô Kigeki Kaiun ryokô Kigeki: Inochi no nedan Kawaii akujo: Koroshi no mae nikuchidzukeo - Deputy headKigeki kaidan ryokô Love of a Bad Woman-Kiss Before the Killing Kigeki otoko no komoriuta Miyamoto Musashi - Honiden MatahachiMachi no hi - Cosmetic surgeryOrenochi wa Taninnochi - Rokosuke SawamuraMiyamoto Musashi II Miyamoto Musashi Kigeki-otoko no ude dameshi Ganbare! Wakadaishô Hana no kô-ni trio: Hatsukoi jidai - Ippei YazawaGekitotsu! Wakadaishô Kigeki hyakkuten manten Nihon no jingi Dainamaito don don - TokuemonTsubasa wa kokoro ni tsukete - Nobuo SuzukiHawaian rabu: Kikenna hanemûn - Frank ÔmoriVengeance Is Mine - Inspector KawaiHokusai manga - Nakajima IseArashi o yobu otoko - RaymondKokushi muso - IsenokamiShinran: Path to Purity - Yorishige InadaOre wa otokoda! kanketsu-hen Aitsu - Tadashi OnoSono kido o tootte - Gonemon TaharaKowagaru hitobito - Man of iron pot, man of water-busChounouryoku-sha - Michi eno tabibito Sharaku - Tsutaya JūzaburōShakuhachi Setouchi munraito serenade -Television
Taikōki Shōgun - Lord Kashigi Yabu, Daimyo of IzuOnna Taikōki - Tokugawa IeyasuTaiheiki - Nagasaki Enki
Honours