Ultraman Taro's Toyoyuki Kimura Passes Away at Age 71

Toyoyuki Kimura poses with Ultraman Taro in November 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

According to his What Is Youth? (1965-66) co-star Yumi Mizusawa, actor Toyoyuki Kimura, who played ZAT member Tadao Nambara on Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman Taro (1973-74), has passed away at age 71. Prior to his role on Ultraman Taro, Mr. Kimura acted in several Toho movies during the 1960s and '70s, especially ones directed by Kihachi Okamoto, namely Fort Graveyard (1965), Epoch of Murder Madness (1967), Red Lion (1969), and Battle of Okinawa (1971).He can also be seen in The Crazy Cats' Big Explosion (1969), which was Teruyoshi Nakano's first work as special effects director.

Series writer Shigemitsu Taguchi (left) poses with Toyoyuki Kimura at an event promoting the release of Ultraman Taro on Blu-ray in Japan. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Kimura at a signing event in November 2017 and had a pleasant chat with him. 

No other details are available at this time. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Kimura.

UPDATE (4/9): According to his Japanese Wikipedia page, Mr. Kimura passed away on April 3. However, there is still no cause of death given.

ULTRAMAN TARO COMES TO BLU-RAY! A Special Event in Shibuya Helps Promote the Release!

Writer Shigemitsu Taguchi (left) and actor Toyoyuki Kimura pal around with an old colleague onstage. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

In order to help promote the upcoming Blu-ray release of Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman Taro (1973-74), a special event was hosted by Cast Co. in Shibuya that was all about the sixth Ultra-series.

Two episodes from the series were screened, and after that, Ultra-series scribe Shigemitsu Taguchi and actor Toyoyuki Kimura (who played ZAT member Tadao Nambara) took the stage to answer questions about their work on the program.

After that, audience members could pose for photos with Ultraman Taro and get autographs from the two guests. In particular, Kimura-san was surprised to see an American at this event, and even though the signings were a bit rushed by the staff, he made took the time to ask me some questions about myself. That gesture was truly appreciated.

Aside from his regular appearances on Ultraman Taro, Kimura-san acted in several Toho movies during the 1960s and '70s, especially ones directed by Kihachi Okamoto, namely Fort Graveyard (1965), Epoch of Murder Madness (1967), Red Lion (1969), and Battle of Okinawa (1971).He can also be seen in The Crazy Cats' Big Explosion (1969), which was Teruyoshi Nakano's first work as special effects director.