Japanese comedian Hitoshi Ueki passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80. The cause of his death was a heart failure.
Although well known across Japan, Ueki is less familiar to audiences outside of is homeland. In fact, Stuart Galbraith IV mentions in his excellent obituary published at Scifi Japan that the only Ueki performance currently available on DVD in the US is his role in Kurosawa’s Ran, where he played the role of General Fujimaki.
For more about Ueki, see the above-mentioned Galbraith-penned obituary, or the one published at the Mainichi Daily.
It is sad to see Ueki’s generation passing away. We are losing the last of the golden age.