RIP, Takashi Nakao

Toho set photographer Takashi Nakao at a Grissom Gang dinner in May 2013. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Word is circulating that Toho Studios SFX set photographer Takashi Nakao has passed away. I met Nakao-san at a dinner party in May 2013 and had a pleasant chat with him. (He spoke some English.) I was also hoping to reconnect with him at some point, but sadly it was not to be. His SFX photography dates back to King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and runs through GMK (2001).

In the photo above, I am holding a reproduction of a picture Nakao-san took of Baragon on the set of Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965). Over the years, Nakao-san became a close friend of Godzilla suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma.

My condolences to his friends and family. Rest well, Nakao-san.

GOLDEN WEEK 3: Tokyo During the Holidays!

Yours truly meets (and hugs!) the legendary composer Riichiro Manabe before Akira Ifukube's 99th birthday concert in Tokyo.

I just returned home from spending Golden Week in Tokyo (my third one so far), and it was an exciting time. The highlight proved to be meeting Riichiro Manabe, whose scores to Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) are fan favorites. (Well, among some fans, anyway!) Manabe-sensei is truly a unique individual. More on that meeting in a future blog post.

At a Grissom Gang dinner, my friend Yasushi and I met several Toho alumni, including veteran kaiju suit builder Keizo Murase.

Also on hand was Toho Studios set photographer Takashi Nakao, whose tokusatsu career at Toho dates back to King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and runs through GMK (2001)! 

The gregarious suit builder Fuyuki Shinada ate with us fans, too, and he had many cool stories to tell.

Through my friend Aizu Shingo, I was able to meet former child star Yoshinobu Kaneko. Kaneko-san was the boy in King Kong vs. Godzilla who wanted to see Godzilla (and was quickly shut down by his mother). He is much better known for his roles in Watari the Ninja Boy (1966) and Red Shadow (1967).

Tokyo Tower -- nuf sed! All in all, it was a great time, made better by all the friends I saw. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it one for the history books!