Chiezō Kataoka
| Chiezō Kataoka | |
|---|---|
Chiezō Kataoka in 1920s or 1930s
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| Native name | 片岡 千恵蔵 |
| Born |
March 30, 1903 Gunma Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | March 31, 1983 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 1912–1983 |
Chiezō Kataoka (片岡 千恵蔵 Kataoka Chiezō?) (March 30, 1903 – March 31, 1983) was a Japanese film and television actor most famous for his starring roles in jidaigeki.
Born in 1903 in Gunma Prefecture (his real name was Masayoshi Ueki), he was raised in Tokyo. As a child he began training in Kabuki in a theatre troupe run by Kataoka Nizaemon XI, and appeared in one film in 1923. He eventually entered the movie world for good in 1927 first at Makino Productions, but following the lead of other former Makino stars like Tsumasaburō Bandō, Chiezō started his own independent production company, Chiezō Productions, the next year. That studio became the longest lasting of the independent, star-centered productions, in part because it had such talented directors as Mansaku Itami and Hiroshi Inagaki, and produced such masterworks as Akanishi Kakita. He folded the company in 1937 and joined Nikkatsu.
Specializing in jidaigeki, he played the lead in various films before and during World War II. During the Occupation of Japan, however, when Allied censors restricted the production of jidaigeki, Chiezō also appeared in a series of eleven films as Bannai Tarao, a modern era detective who is a master of disguise. He eventually joined Toei, where he also served on the board of directors. Among his starring roles for Toei were six films in which he played Tōyama no Kin-san and a three-part Daibosatsu Tōge. Another role was in Akō Rōshi, a drama based on the Forty-seven Ronin. Later, he portrayed the father of Ōoka Tadasuke in the television series Ōoka Echizen. His career spanned six decades.
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