We pay tribute to the actor James Shigeta, famous for his roles in Flower Drum Song, Die Hard, and a legion other turns on stage and TV.
For a generation of moviegoers, James Shigeta will be immediately recognisable as Joseph Takagi, the Nakatomi Corporation boss who's ruthlessly despatched by Alan Rickman's sneering villain in the 1988 hit, Die Hard. But there was so much more to Shigeta than John McTiernan's action classic - that appearance was, in fact, but one of many in a long and fruitful career on stage, television and the silver screen.
Born in Hawaii in 1933, Shigeta embarked on a singing career after winning first place in a TV show called Original Amateur Hour. His subsequent success was such that a lengthy run of appearances in Tokyo musicals left him with the nickname, The Frank Sinatra of Japan.
Returning to America in the late 1950s, Shigeta...
For a generation of moviegoers, James Shigeta will be immediately recognisable as Joseph Takagi, the Nakatomi Corporation boss who's ruthlessly despatched by Alan Rickman's sneering villain in the 1988 hit, Die Hard. But there was so much more to Shigeta than John McTiernan's action classic - that appearance was, in fact, but one of many in a long and fruitful career on stage, television and the silver screen.
Born in Hawaii in 1933, Shigeta embarked on a singing career after winning first place in a TV show called Original Amateur Hour. His subsequent success was such that a lengthy run of appearances in Tokyo musicals left him with the nickname, The Frank Sinatra of Japan.
Returning to America in the late 1950s, Shigeta...
- 7/29/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Dick Berg, a prominent television writer and producer whose career ranged from live TV to movies of the week and longform programming, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 87.
His producing credits range from "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater" to the detective series "Checkmate" to the miniseries "Space" and "The Martian Chronicles."
With his wife of 63 years, Barbara, he also headed something of a modern-day Hollywood dynasty. Their sons are Icm chairman and CEO Jeff Berg, author A. Scott Berg, music producer and executive Tony Berg and producer and manager Rick Berg.
"More than anybody I can think of in television, my father proved to be extremely successful on a commercial level without every compromising quality," Scott Berg said. "It wasn't just that he had a great eye for talent -- especially writers -- but he really knew how to get the best out of everybody.
His producing credits range from "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater" to the detective series "Checkmate" to the miniseries "Space" and "The Martian Chronicles."
With his wife of 63 years, Barbara, he also headed something of a modern-day Hollywood dynasty. Their sons are Icm chairman and CEO Jeff Berg, author A. Scott Berg, music producer and executive Tony Berg and producer and manager Rick Berg.
"More than anybody I can think of in television, my father proved to be extremely successful on a commercial level without every compromising quality," Scott Berg said. "It wasn't just that he had a great eye for talent -- especially writers -- but he really knew how to get the best out of everybody.
- 9/2/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
James Whitmore, who played such American icons as Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday of lung cancer at his home in Malibu. He was 87.
Whitmore was twice nominated for Academy Awards -- as best actor in 1976 for "Give 'em Hell, Harry!," in which he played Truman, and as best supporting actor in 1950 for the war movie "Battleground."
He also won an Emmy Award in 2000 for a guest-starring role on "The Practice," as well as a Tony Award for "Command Decision."
Whitmore was diagnosed with cancer a week before Thanksgiving. "My father believed that family came before everything, that work was just a vehicle in which to provide for your family," his son Steve Whitmore, who works as spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told the Associated Press. "At the end, and in the last two and a half months of his life, he was surrounded by his family.
Whitmore was twice nominated for Academy Awards -- as best actor in 1976 for "Give 'em Hell, Harry!," in which he played Truman, and as best supporting actor in 1950 for the war movie "Battleground."
He also won an Emmy Award in 2000 for a guest-starring role on "The Practice," as well as a Tony Award for "Command Decision."
Whitmore was diagnosed with cancer a week before Thanksgiving. "My father believed that family came before everything, that work was just a vehicle in which to provide for your family," his son Steve Whitmore, who works as spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told the Associated Press. "At the end, and in the last two and a half months of his life, he was surrounded by his family.
- 2/6/2009
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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