Toru Watanabe


Toru Watanabe was a Japanese actor and singer. He starred in Taiyō ni Hoero!, Yoake no Runner, and , and won the 1985 Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year. He released several singles, one of which topped at #2 on the Oricon Singles Chart.

Biography

Early life

Watanabe was born on 12 May 1961 in Oyama, Tochigi. His mother worked as a poster girl for a local restaurant her family ran, and his father worked as a nagashi accordionist. The family moved frequently, around "the heart of the Kantō Plain, on the borders of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Saitama prefectures", and he once lived in a six-story tenement house in the Kosuna area in Koga, Ibaraki. He was educated at. He later attended the Bungakuza Theatre Institute and joined the agency in 1985.

Media career

In 1981, he debuted as Junji Takemoto/Rugger in the TV drama Taiyō ni Hoero!, before starring in the 1984 Nippon TV drama. In 1987, he played Hiroshi Kiyomitsu in the film. He won the 1982 Golden Arrow Award for Best Newcomer in Broadcasting. He starred in his film debut in Yoake no Runner. He was one of the winners of the 1985 Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year.
In 1982, he released his first single "Kare ". He rose to popularity with his second single "Yakusoku", made for Glico Almond Chocolate commercials, topping at #2 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Three more singles, "Ai no Naka e", "Yaketsuku Memory", and "Again", reached the top 30 of the same chart. He also appeared on several variety shows. He appeared alongside Jackie Chan in Kirin Company's commercial for its Nama A Beer. The Yomiuri Shimbun noted that he had a reputation for his cheerful personality.
Watanabe also performed on the stage for several decades, including at Bungakuza. He won the 2000 Theater Award for his roles as Teppei Ōmori in and Yamauchi Kazutoyo in.
In 2019, he served as the emcee of the opening and closing ceremonies of the in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Illness and death

Watanabe suffered from chronic health problems. He was reportedly a voracious eater, consuming 6,000 calories a day, and he normally ate six meals a day, including three bento boxes during filming. He once peaked at, before slimming down to, and he was later diagnosed with diabetes. After having a heart attack, he was diagnosed with ischemic heart disease in April 2021, underwent surgery for aortic valve stenosis in May, and was discharged from the hospital with a weight of. He resumed activities in July 2021. He dropped out of several planned stage performances due to his illness that year. He often underwent dialysis due to chronic kidney failure from diabetes.
On 19 November 2022, his final appearance before his death was a remote appearance at the Akita University Medical Forum; despite his precautionary negative COVID test, the forum had gone remote. After returning to Tokyo the next day, he was diagnosed with bacterial gastroenteritis and hospitalized. He died of sepsis at 9:01 p.m. on 28 November 2022. He was 61.
A family funeral was held in Tokyo on 5 December, with his eldest son as the chief mourner, and the same day his wife and eldest son held a joint press conference about his death. His dharma name was "Yōkōin Kentoku Tetsushinkoji". A farewell ceremony was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa on 28 March 2023, with approximately 1,200 people in attendance.

Personal life

After co-starring together in Kaze no Naka no Aitsu, Watanabe married singer and actress Ikue Sakakibara in October 1987. Their wedding reception took place at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and was broadcast live on Nippon Television Network, hosted by Kazuo Tokumitsu and reaching an audience rating of 40.1%. The couple had two children, actors and Takuya. In 1993, after reports surfaced that he had been having an affair with a 27-year-old model for more than nine months; he denied the affair at a press conference.
Watanabe had also spoken about his experiences with death threats made by a maternal uncle against his father. Watanabe built two houses in Setagaya, both after each of his sons was born; by 2022, the latter was worth an estimated 400 million yen.
Watanabe loved mayonnaise so much that he secretly consumed it even though his wife, worried about his health, limited the condiment in the household. At his farewell ceremony, attendees received a specially designed bottle of mayonnaise in his honour.

Filmography

  • Sorobanzuku
  • , Hiroshi Kiyomitsu
  • , Ken'ichirō Mashio
  • , Takashi Furuya

    Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards