Title: R.I.P. Jerry Ito (1927-2007)
Description: Star of Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA
Description: Star of Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA
August Ragone - July 10, 2007 03:42 AM (GMT)
I am sad to relay the bad news (via director Fred Olen Ray):
Eurasian actor and singer Jerry Ito (born Gerald Tamekichi Ito) passed away in his Los Angeles home on July 7, 2007 at 8:00 PM, due to complications of pneumonia, while undergoing treatment for stomach cancer. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, Sakae.
Mr. Ito was a popular and well-known Master of Ceremonies in the nightclubs and cabarets of post-war Tokyo. Because of his command of Japanese and English, Mr. Ito was tapped for a number of acting roles on stage and screen. His best-remembered--and most beloved--role was that of the vile Clark Nelson, the despicable international treasure-hunter, who snatches the Twin Faeries from Infant Island in Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA (1961).
Mr. Ito's other fantastic film roles included THE MANSTER (shot in the late 1950s, but not released until the early 1960s), a US horror potboiler filmed in Japan, and Shuei Matsubayashi's end-of-the-world thriller, THE LAST WAR (1961). Mr. Ito also appeared in numerous television series over his long career, and he will be greatly missed.
--August Ragone
Eurasian actor and singer Jerry Ito (born Gerald Tamekichi Ito) passed away in his Los Angeles home on July 7, 2007 at 8:00 PM, due to complications of pneumonia, while undergoing treatment for stomach cancer. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, Sakae.
Mr. Ito was a popular and well-known Master of Ceremonies in the nightclubs and cabarets of post-war Tokyo. Because of his command of Japanese and English, Mr. Ito was tapped for a number of acting roles on stage and screen. His best-remembered--and most beloved--role was that of the vile Clark Nelson, the despicable international treasure-hunter, who snatches the Twin Faeries from Infant Island in Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA (1961).
Mr. Ito's other fantastic film roles included THE MANSTER (shot in the late 1950s, but not released until the early 1960s), a US horror potboiler filmed in Japan, and Shuei Matsubayashi's end-of-the-world thriller, THE LAST WAR (1961). Mr. Ito also appeared in numerous television series over his long career, and he will be greatly missed.
--August Ragone
Keith Aiken - July 13, 2007 07:19 AM (GMT)
The SciFi Japan crew is working on a tribute to Jerry Ito that will include comments from friends and family such as his MOTHRA co-star Hiroshi Koizumi. In the meantime, we've posted video clips of Jerry at Godzillafest and in THE MANSTER (courtesy of Fred Olen Ray and Retromedia).
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/07...-ito-1927-2007/
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/07...-ito-1927-2007/