James Shigeta

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James Saburo Shigeta (June 17, 1929-1991 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor, singer, and composer of Japanese descent.

He was praised for his appearances in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1988), and Mulan (1998).

He and three other actors received the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male in 1960. Shigeta played romantic male lead roles in his early careers, which were practically nonexistent for an actor of Asian descent at the time, making him a trailblazer in Asian American representation in media.

"Most Inspiring Asian-Americans Of All Time" is the name given to him by the Goldsea Asian-American Daily newspaper. He rose to fame in Japan and Australia right away during his Hollywood career.

Early life

Shigeta, a third-generation Japanese-American, was born in Hawaii in 1929 and studied drama at New York University. He enlisted in the 298th Infantry of the Hawaii National Guard before his 1951 enlistment in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was in charge of Staff Sergeant for two-and-a-half years and then promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant.

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Career

In 1950, Shigeta competed and captured the first prize on Ted Mack's television talent show, The Original Amateur Hour. He began performing in Los Angeles and collaborated with Hawaiian operatic tenor Charles K.L. Davis, a Davis. They were given the non-ethnic sounding stage names "Guy Brion" for Shigeta and "Charles Durand" for Davis by their agent at the time. They began their musical career in the United States, performing at venues such as the Mocambo and the Los Angeles Players Club. Despite his fame, breaking into the movies eluded him.

Shigeta was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he entertained troops in California during the Korean War. The war brought Shigeta to Japan, where he was discharged from the Marines and hired by the Theatre Division of Toho Studios.

Shigeta did not speak Japanese until Toho Studios in Tokyo invited him to be a Japanese musical celebrity under his Japanese name. He was a success in all media aspects of his day, radio, television, film, and recordings, to the point that he was regarded as "The Frank Sinatra of Japan" in Japan.

The Nichigeki Theatre in Tokyo exported their extravaganza Cherry Blossom Exhibition to Australia in 1958, with Shigeta as the male lead. The performance was staged at the Empire Theatre in Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre in Brisbane, the Theatre Royal in Adelaide, and Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne. "The show was a huge success," one Australian reviewer wrote about Shigeta, "has matinee idol good looks and a soothing baritone voice that should make record companies mad for his autograph on recording contracts."

Shigeta appeared on The Dinah Shore Show in the United States for the fourth time. He appeared in the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1959 as the star of the Shirley MacLaine-Steve Parker production of Holiday in Japan.

In 1969, Shigeta toured the United States in the lead role of The King and I, with Melva Niles and Pam Cavan co-starring in the film.

Shigeta took acting lessons from veteran dialogue coach Leon Charles as his film debuts.

Detective Joe Kojaku appeared in The Crimson Kimono, a detective story involving an interracial romantic triangle involving Kojaku and his partner Sgt. Charlie Bancroft (played by Glenn Corbett) and Christine Downes (portrayed by Victoria Shaw) appeared in this film. Shigeta's character was groundbreaking for the 1950s, when an Asian American detective portrayed him with regular American speech patterns rather than a non-Asian who speaks in broken English.

In the 1960 film Walk Like a Dragon, Patrick Clavell played Cheng Lu, a young Chinese man in the American old west who resents that Chinese must be subordinated to white people. Shigeta was still playing in Holiday in Japan in Las Vegas when filming began. After his last show to the Paramount studio by ambulance, an arrangement was made to transport him to make sure he arrived on time. Benson Fong, the technical advisor on Shigeta, who showed Shigeta how to mount a horse Chinese style, was the technical advisor. In this film, Jack Lord appears for the first time, pitting Shigeta against Lord for Kim Sung's affections, directed by Nobu McCarthy. In the 1965 Perry Mason story "The Case of the Wrongful Writ," Shigeta and McCarthy will work together again, while Shigeta and Lord will collaborate in the 1968 Hawaii Five-O episode Deathwatch.

In a tale about Korean War era US Navy photographers in Japan, Miyoshi Umeki co-starring Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, and Miyoshi Umeki in a 1961 romantic comedy Cry for Happiness.

In the Academy Award-nominated film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song in 1961, Shigeta was played as Wang Ta, a role originated by Ed Kenney on Broadway, with Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki playing the love interests.

In the 1961 biographical film Bridge to the Sun, Hidenari Terasaki, a World War II Japanese diplomat, was portrayed opposite Carroll Baker as Gwen Terasaki. The film told the true tale of a racially mixed marriage set against the backdrop of the war between the US and Japan, which was a rarity in the times.

As a Korean War II Chinese Communist who tortured actor Lloyd Bridges, a Shigeta guest appeared on several television shows, beginning with Alcoa Premiere in 1961. Through Avatar: The Last Airbender, he continued to appear on television through 2005.

Shigeta appeared with Elvis Presley in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, in 1965.

Shigeta appeared in "The Case of the Wrongful Writ" by Raymond Burr in 1965, where he appears as counsel Ward Toyama who appears as the accuser. In the 1969 Ironside episode "Love My Enemy" and the 1971 episode "No Reason for Murder" of the same series, Shigeta appeared two times.

Shigeta appeared on television hospital drama Medical Center, in which he alternately appeared as Doctor Osaka and Doctor Osaka for seven episodes from 1969 to 1972. In the series "Guest In the series 1969 2-hour pilot U.M.C., he appeared as Chief Resident.

He has also appeared in films. In 1976, he portrayed Chichi Nagumo, the Japanese admiral, in Midway. He appeared in the action adventure film Die Hard in 1988 as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi, the ill-fated corporate executive. Cage II: The Arena of Death, a 1994 pits actor Lou Ferrigno against Shigeta's character, underworld crime boss Tim Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum. Shigeta lent his voice to Disney's 1998 animated film Mulan.

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