Visiting Noriaki Yuasa's Final Resting Place

 

Noriaki Yuasa's final resting place. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The entire Showa Gamera series (minus Gamera vs. Barugon, 1966) was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, whose youthful, energetic spirit made the monster movies he helmed true standouts. Mr. Yuasa passed away in 2004, and yesterday, I visited his grave for the first time.

His final resting place is located in Kissho-in Temple near Keio Tama-Center Station in Tama, Tokyo. As someone who has always enjoyed the Showa Gamera series, and who had the privilege of meeting Mr. Yuasa back in 2003, I was glad to have a chance to pay my respects to the late director.

RIP, Mr. Yuasa.

King Kong (and Son) Appear in Kitami!

 King Kong (chompin' a cigar) plays with his favorite toy in Kitami. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In the past, I've blogged about a large King Kong (or at least a giant gorilla) sculpture in Sangenjaya, but it was recently brought to my attention that there was another such sculpture in Setagaya Ward. About a seven-minute walk from Kitami Station (not too far from Toho Studios) is another great ape (and son) atop a building. Naturally, I had to see it for myself, which I did yesterday. Here are my photos. Enjoy!

Hangin' with a Gaijin Superstar!

Tony Cetera. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, May 29, I was able to spend an afternoon with a gaijin actor whom I met for the very first time. Tony Cetera has lived in Japan since the early 1960s, and his credits include a wide variety of films, ranging from the Toho tokusatsu epic The Last Days of Planet Earth (a.k.a. Prophecies of Nostradamus, 1974) to the Sonny Chiba actioner The Street Fighter (1974). It was certainly a joy to speak with him about his career.

I'd known about Tony long before moving to Japan, and I'd always figured that when I moved here, he'd be one of the first I'd connect with. So you can imagine it still surprises me it took this long to make it happen. But good things come to those who wait.

Danny Goldman, Godzilla 1985's Casting Director, Passes Away at 80

Actor Danny Goldman in the famous opening scene from the Mel Brooks comedy Young Frankenstein (1974).

Actor Danny Goldman passed away on April 12 due to stroke-related complications at his L.A. home. He was 80. Goldman was an actor known for his roles in the hit films MASH (1970) and Young Frankenstein (1974), but folks of my generation would probably know him best as the voice of Brainy Smurf on the long-running cartoon series The Smurfs (1981-89).

The news of Goldman's passing was widely reported last month, but what I didn't realize at the time (until director R. J. Kizer pointed it out to me yesterday) was that he also worked as the casting director for the American scenes of Godzilla 1985. 

Suffice it to say, I was floored to learn that the voice of Brainy Smurf had worked in any capacity on Godzilla 1985. I can't begin to explain how I missed that intriguing bit of information in all my research of the film, but it just goes to show that you can always dig deeper. 

RIP, Danny Goldman.

A Nice Surprise

It's not every day that the director of a Godzilla movie retweets your blog. But when it does happen, it's quite cool.

Eizo Kaimai, Veteran Modeler of the Original Godzilla, Passes Away at 90

A recent photo of Eizo Kaimai.

Monster suit-maker Eizo Kaimai passed away of leukemia at his Setagaya Ward home on April 24. He was 90.

Born in 1929, Kaimai joined the production of the original Godzilla (1954) to help build the Godzilla suit, working closely with Teizo Toshimitsu and the other sculptors. Kaimai would go on to work on many of the tokusatsu classics of Toho's golden age, such as Rodan (1956), The Mysterians (1957), Mothra (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), before founding his own production company, Kaimai Productions, in 1966. He would continue working on kaiju films while also moving over to television productions like Ultra Q (1966) and Return of Ultraman (1971-72).

A private funeral was already held, but plans for a farewell party are under way.

RIP, Mr. Kaimai.