A Fun Birthday Celebration with Ultraman Jack!

Eiichi Kikuchi poses with two of his alter egos. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the evening of Friday, August 18, I joined a birthday celebration for suit actor Eiichi Kikuchi, best known for portraying Ultraman Jack in Return of Ultraman (1971-72), as well as Ultra Seven in episodes 14 and 15 of Ultra Seven (1967-68). Kikuchi-san was born on August 21, 1942, so we were a bit early with the celebration, but the timing worked out well for all attendees.

Suffice it to say, Kikuchi-san was in great spirits, and I don't think I've ever seen him so animated at such a gathering before. He was making jokes and having fun the entire evening, which was wonderful to see. Hard to believe he was on the cusp of turning 81!

Kikuchi-san even poured drinks for some of the attendees, who were in awe of the fact that Ultra Seven and Ultraman Jack was giving them such an honor. When I jokingly offered my glass (I'm a lifelong teetotaler, to say nothing of the fact that my glass was the wrong type to be receiving such an alcoholic beverage), he was amused and said I'd make a good manzai partner for him. Now that's what I call an honor!

Later on in the evening, when Kikuchi-san was demonstrating an action scene, he stopped suddenly in the middle of his demonstration to ask me how to say "action" in English. It was another memorable moment from the evening. 

Kikuchi-san passed around some memorabilia from his collection, including a photo album of pictures he took on the set of Ultraman Mebius (2006-07) when he made a guest appearance on the show.

When we were all heading back to the train station, Kikuchi-san asked me how old I was, and, when I told him, he seemed surprised and responded that I was young. All I can say is, I hope to be as young as Kikuchi-san is when I reach his age.

What a fun celebration. I'd never seen Kikuchi-san happier, which in turn made me over the moon for him. Below are just some of the snapshots I took. I think his enthusiasm comes across quite well in them.