He embodied the brave young sailor who was the first to stand up to the most famous of Japanese monsters.
Japanese actor Akira Takarada, best known for starring in the first
Godzilla film in 1954
,
died Monday in Tokyo at the age of 87.
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Takarada, who appeared at the premiere of his latest film earlier this month, died in hospital after contracting pneumonia, Japanese media reported on Friday.
“We are saddened to learn of Akira Takarada's passing.
May his memory continue to inspire the lives of many Godzilla fans
,” said production company Toho, which notably manages the Godzilla franchise, on Twitter.
Akira Takarada (left), then 20, with the rest of the cast of the first
Godzilla
.
Everett Collection/Bridgeman Images
The best enemy of monsters
Akira Takarada rose to stardom quickly after starring as a heroic captain in the first
Godzilla
.
The film made a deep impression on audiences with its equating of the gigantic monster - a
kaiju
- with a devastating force of nature, and its motif playing on nuclear fears in post-war Japan, just nine years after the bombings. Americans from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Popular in Japan, Akira Takarada later reappeared in other
Godzilla films,
including
Mothra vs. Godzilla
(1964), where the actor took over the lead - at least behind the two colossal monsters.
He had also appeared in more recent films in the saga -
Godzilla vs. Mothra
in 1992 or
Godzilla: Final Wars
in 2004 - although in more modest roles.
Apart from
kaiju films,
Akira Takarada also had a small role in
Last Whim
, a 1961 film by Japanese cinema master Yasujiro Ozu.
