Yamamoto Tōgō | |
|---|---|
 San Francisco newspaper, 1906 | |
| Born | 4 November 1886 Yokohama, Japan |
| Died | March 24, 1952 (aged 65) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1904–1947 |
Togo Yamamoto (山本冬郷, Yamamoto Tōgō, November 4, 1886 – March 24, 1952) was a pioneering actor who appeared on stage and film in the United States and Japan.
Born in Yokohama, Japan, on 4 November 1886, Togo emigrated to the United States and began an acting career in the early years of the 20th century.
Yamamoto told Blanche Partington in a 1906 interview that he had been "in the dramatic business" in Japan, playing "tragedy, comedy, both" before coming to the United States. His first appearance on the American stage was in The White Tigress of Japan (1904), a play about the Russo-Japanese War. "I was Japanese spy—I killed half a dozen Russians every night!" he told Partington. Theatrical manager Kirke La Shelle spotted him in the production and hired him to play the part of a Japanese servant in The Heir to the Hoorah (1905). [1]
Yamamoto subsequently appeared in a number of stage plays, including The Offenders (1908), An American Widow (1909), The Inferior Sex (1910), The Muezzin (1910), Kismet (1911), Miss Phoenix (1913), and others. [2]
In 1918, Yamamoto made his first appearances on the silver screen in The Midnight Patrol (1918) and The City of Dim Faces (1918). [3] In both films he played Chinese characters, as he did in many of his later American films. He appeared in more than a dozen American films, most notably Cecil B. DeMille's Something to Think About (1920), in which he played a Japanese servant, and Flesh and Blood , a 1922 film starring Lon Chaney, in which he played a Chinese character, The Prince.
In 1925, Yamamoto returned to his native Japan and appeared with Tokihiko Okada in a film entitled Maboroshi no hansen. After a four-year hiatus, he returned to the Japanese screen in two 1929 films and no fewer than eleven 1930 films, including Sono yo no tsuma and Ojosan, both directed by Yasujirō Ozu.
He worked steadily through the 1930s, appearing in more than 40 films, working with directors like Ozu and Hiroshi Shimizu, usually in supporting roles. In the 1940s, however, he appeared in only a handful of films. Among his last were Nishi manrui (Two outs, Bases Loaded, 1946) and Yottsu no koi no monogatari (Four Tales of Passion, 1947). [4]
Setsuko Hara was a Japanese actress. Though best known for her performances in Yasujirō Ozu's films Late Spring (1949) and Tokyo Story (1953), she had already appeared in 67 films before working with Ozu. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest Japanese actresses of all time.
Chishū Ryū was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions.
Bertram Mortimer Lytell was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films.
David Powell was a Scottish stage and later film actor of the silent era.
Andrew Arbuckle was an American stage and film actor. He was the brother of Macklyn Arbuckle and cousin of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
Josephine Bonaparte Crowell was a Canadian film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1929.
William Gillespie was a Scottish actor.
George Fawcett was an American stage and film actor of the silent era.
Nobuo Nakamura was a Japanese stage and film actor, who appeared in many films by Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse.
Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.
Georg John was a German stage and film actor.
Henry Vibart was a Scottish stage and film actor, active from the 1880s until the early 1930s. He appeared in many theatrical roles in the UK and overseas, and featured in over 70 films of the silent era.
Yūko Mochizuki, also billed as Mieko Mochizuki, was a Japanese stage and film actress who appeared in films of directors such as Keisuke Kinoshita, Mikio Naruse and Tadashi Imai.
Sumiko Kurishima was a Japanese actress and master of traditional Japanese dance. She is often considered Japan's first female movie star.
Gentlemen of the Press is a 1929 all-talking American pre-Code film starring Walter Huston in his first feature film role, and Kay Francis and an uncredited Brian Donlevy in their film debuts. The film still survives. This film's copyright has expired, and it is now in the public domain. It survives in a copy sold to MCA for television distribution.
Guido Herzfeld was a German stage and film actor. Herzfeld established himself in the theatre in the nineteenth century. In 1914 he made his film debut and went on to appear in over sixty films before his death.
Joseph Johnson Dowling was an American stage and silent film actor.
Willet Melbourne MacDowell was an American stage and screen actor. He was the second husband of famed stage actress Fanny Davenport. He began on the legitimate stage in the 1870s and first appeared on the silent screen in 1917.
Atsushi Watanabe was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films from 1921 to 1970.
That Night's Wife is a 1930 Japanese crime and drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. The film stars Tokihiko Okada, Tatsuo Saitō, Chishū Ryū, Emiko Yagumo and Tōgō Yamamoto in the lead roles.
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