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Title: Westerners in Sanshiro Sugata II
Description: who are they?


Jeff Billington - March 15, 2008 10:17 AM (GMT)
Although wikipedia claims this was made in post-war Japan, it was made in early 1945. Whilst not overtly propogandistic, it has an East v West, Japan v US theme, and as such features a number of western actors and extras. Who are they? Voices are dubbed crudely into English, which suggests they were not native english speakers.

Ian Friedman - March 18, 2008 04:39 PM (GMT)
Turkish guy Osman Yussef is one. Turned up in a ton of Toho movies. I think there listed in most filmographies of AK's work

August Ragone - March 18, 2008 07:36 PM (GMT)
Osman "Johnny" Yusef was Turkish, one of the many who emigrated to Japan before the Pacific War, were born and died in Japan. Many of the foreigners you see in pre-war and post-war Japanese Cinema are really Turkish, such as Enver Altenby. Yusef also ran a foreigner's talent agency, casting parts for Japanese studios, called the "Kokusai Agency" (International Agency), which he ran with Korean War veteran Ed Keane (who also appeared in a number of films, such as THE HUMAN CONDITION and MOTHRA). Keane currently lives in San Francisco.

Born in France, "E.H. Eric" or "Eric H. Eric" (born Taibe Okada) was the son of a Japanese artist, Minoru Okada, and a Danish dancer (allegedly the model for the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen). His family, including his younger brother, actor Masami Okada (THE SPACE GIANTS, LATITUDE ZERO, etc.), returned to Japan in 1941. Eric appeared in a number of musicals and was known as a comic, and also a was cast in several feature films and television series. In 1966, Eric was the MC for The Beatles concert in Tokyo. In 2000, he passed away due to complications from Parkinson's Disease in Hawaii.

Brian Camp - March 18, 2008 07:43 PM (GMT)
QUOTE (August Ragone @ Mar 18 2008, 01:36 PM)


Born in France, "E.H. Eric" or "Eric H. Eric" (born Taibe Okada) was the son of a Japanese artist, Minoru Okada, and a Danish dancer (allegedly the model for the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen).

This particular statue turns up in the last shot of a live epilogue to the Japanese animated version of THE LITTLE MERMAID (1975).




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