Ken Takakura
| Ken Takakura | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Native name | 高倉 健 |
| Born |
Goichi Oda February 16, 1931 Nakama, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Died | November 10, 2014 (aged 83) Tokyo, Japan |
| Alma mater | Meiji University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–2014 |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Spouse(s) | Chiemi Eri (m. 1959–71) |
Ken Takakura (高倉 健 Takakura Ken?), born Goichi Oda (小田 剛一 Oda Gōichi?, February 16, 1931 – November 10, 2014), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brought to his roles. He won the Japan Academy Prize four times, more than any other actor.
Takakura was born in Nakama, Fukuoka in 1931. He attended Tochiku High School in nearby Yahata City where he was a member of the boxing team and English society. It was around this time that he gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza movies. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gangs. After graduating from Meiji University in Tokyo, Takakura attended an audition on impulse in 1955 at the Toei Film Company while applying for a managerial position.
Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. In 1959 he married singer Chiemi Eri, but divorced in 1971. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura left Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films.
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