Steven D. Greene, the Baltonian Prime Minister in Toho's 'Espy,' Passes Away at Age 91

Steven Greene (right) poses with actor Yuzo Kayama during the filming of Espy (1974). Photo courtesy of Steven Greene. Espy © 1974, Toho Co., Ltd. 

 

Steven D. Greene, the American actor who played the prime minister of Baltonia in the Toho actioner Espy (1974), passed away peacefully on November 12, according to his son. He was 91 years old.

Prior to his acting role at Toho, Mr. Greene was an Army veteran who worked as a deep-sea diver and newspaperman throughout his varied career. He covered the 1971 Hakone Aphrodite music festival for Pacific Stars and Stripes, at which Pink Floyd was the headlining act. He spent three days there with his family, covering the event. Mr. Greene's article, courtesy of Mr. Greene's son, can be seen below.

Photo © Steven E. Greene.

I was privileged to interview Mr. Greene about his remarkable career, as well as his appearance in Espy, in January 2021. It's well worth a read, as he had many fascinating stories to tell. 

After the interview, I called him to wish him a happy birthday in September 2021. He was still doing well and told me about the great evening out he'd had with his family. I couldn't reach him in September of this year, but now I understand why. I wish I could have spoken to him one last time.

Rest in peace, Mr. Greene.

Spotted in Yokohama Station

Posters seen in Yokohama Station. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While passing through Yokohama Station, two posters caught my eye. Thankfully, they were side-by-side, so photographing them was a cinch.

The poster above is for an event called Ultraheroes Expo the Live, which you can read more about here.

The other is a rather self-explanatory poster for the upcoming concert tour of singer (and former Toho actor) Yuzo Kayama.

Japanese Movie Stars Give Asakusa Public Hall a Hand!

Asakusa Public Hall. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After Hibiya Chanter Square was renovated and renamed Godzilla Square, its Walk of Fame of Toho star was unceremoniously discarded. Thankfully, Asakusa Public Hall still maintains its Plaza of Stars, a similar area honoring many of Japan's biggest names in entertainment. Among them are a few performers familiar to readers of this blog. Let's check them out.

Asakusa Public Hall's Plaza of Stars. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kon Omura, star of Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) and Gamera vs. Jiger (1970).

Izumi Yukimura, star of The Princess of Badger Palace (1958), Desperado Outpost (1959), Ichimatsu Travels with Ghosts (1959), and You Can Succeed, Too (1964).

Norihei Miki, star of Songoku: The Road to the West (1959), The Three Treasures (1959), and Deathquake (1980).

Toshiro Mifune, star of Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), and The Three Treasures (1959).

Frankie Sakai, star of The Last War (1961) and Mothra (1961).

Machiko Kyo, star of Rashomon, Gate of Hell (1953), and Ugetsu (1953).

Yuzo Kayama, star of the Young Guy series and Espy (1974).

BACK FOR MORE! Another Monday Night at the Movies!

Tickets for tonight's show! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

It was that time again. I returned to the Laputa Asagaya to take in some more films. Tonight's lineup featured two movies that were brand-new to me.

The poster for Toho's Hakone-yama. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

First up was Hakone-yama (1962), a black-and-white Toho drama that is sort of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The film stars Yuzo Kayama and Yuriko Hoshi as the young lovers, but their blossoming romance is complicated, Shakespeare-style, by the conflicts of two competing Japanese inns during an explosive period of growth in Hakone's tourism industry.

Black Rose's poster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Following Hakone-yama was the Kinji Fukasaku-directed Black Rose (1969), a pseudo-sequel to Fukasaku's Black Lizard (1968), from Shochiku Studios. I'd never seen Black Rose before, despite knowing of its existence for nearly 20 years. Honestly, I've never seen it available anywhere, officially or unofficially. This was my first opportunity to see the film. What did I think of it? I'll get to that in a moment. But let's return to Hakone-yama first.

While there is something to be said for the merits of Hakone-yama, I must admit that it bored me much of the time. Of course, this isn't entirely the movie's fault, as it's to be expected when you're watching an unsubtitled drama in a foreign language, but so much of the movie moved at a glacial pace that I must ding it for that. Still, the performances were strong, and I do hope to have the chance to see the film subtitled someday.

Black Rose was a much more dynamic and interesting film, even with no subtitles. That said, it is a much less ambitious and much less of a genre picture than Black Lizard, and it has virtually nothing to do with its predecessor, aside from the fact that male actor Akihiro Maruyama returns as a female character. In fact, some actors from Black Lizard return here, but in completely different roles. The camp you'd expect from a film like this is certainly evident, but in much less quantities. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I appreciated the fact that it didn't try to rehash the first film.

WHO'S WHO IN HIBIYA CHANTER! Identifying the Japanese Actors!

 The Godzilla statue in Hibiya Chanter. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Hibiya Chanter is known to fans in the West for its Godzilla statue, which was erected there in 1995. There's also an area very similar to Hollywood's Walk of Fame, which honors several Japanese actors. But who are they? Which ones might Westerners want to see? Here's a handy guide.

Akira Takarada -- the star of Godzilla (1954), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), Monster Zero (1965), and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966).

Yosuke Natsuki -- the star of Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Dogora the Space Monster (1964), and Godzilla 1985 (1984).

Toshiro Mifune -- the star of numerous Akira Kurosawa films, as well as The Three Treasures (1959), The Lost World of Sinbad (1963), Adventure in Kigan Castle (1966), and Princess from the Moon (1987).

Izumi Yukimura -- the Japanese singing star who appeared in many films for Toho, including the genre-ish The Princess of Badger Palace (1958) and Ichimatsu Travels with Ghosts (1959).

Keiju Kobayashi -- one of the stars of Submersion of Japan (1973) and Godzilla 1985.

Ken Takakura -- one of Japan's most popular leading men, whose yakuza films are still widely seen in Japan.

Tadao Takashima -- the star of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Atragon (1963), Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), and Son of Godzilla (1967).

Ken Uehara -- one of Japan's leading men in the 1930s, but better known in the West for his supporting roles in Mothra (1961), Gorath (1962), and Atragon.

Hisaya Morishige -- one of Toho's most bankable actors during the Showa era, starring in the long-running Shacho series. He appears in Sayonara Jupiter (1984) as the Earth Federation President.

Yuzo Kayama -- the handsome star of Toho's Young Guy series, who also appeared in several war films with SFX by Eiji Tsuburaya.

Yuriko Hoshi -- the female lead of The Last War (1961), Godzilla vs. the Thing, and Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster.

Frankie Sakai -- a successful comedy actor whom Westerners would know best as the star of the original Mothra.

Yasuko Sawaguchi -- Godzilla 1985's leading lady, who also had turns in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) and Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994).

Kyoko Kagawa -- one of the stars of Yasujiro Ozu's seminal Tokyo Story (1953) and the sci-fi classic Mothra.

YUZO KAYAMA DRINKS COKE! 100 Years of the Iconic Coca-Cola Bottle Celebrated in Japan!

A vending machine in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, depicts movie star Yuzo Kayama as a Coca-Cola pitchman. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Coca-Cola is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its iconic Coke bottles in a big way, and the party has reached the shores of Japan. Vending machines, train stations, and other locations all have pictures of various celebrities drinking Coke, and the celeb who would appeal most to fans of Showa-era Toho films is Yuzo Kayama.

The son of Ken Uehara (Mothra, Atragon), Kayama-san himself never appeared in a monster movie, but he did dabble in tokusatsu with appearances in Espy (1974) and war films like Attack Squadron! (1963). Otherwise, he is best known to Westerners for his co-starring role in Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard (1965) and for playing the title character in Toho's Young Guy series.

It's certainly nice to see a classic Toho star adorning vending machines throughout Tokyo!