Jirō Sakagami (坂上 二郎, Sakagami Jirō, 16 April 1934 – 10 March 2011) was a Japanese comedian, actor, and singer.

Career

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Sakagami was born in Kagoshima Prefecture but spent most of his childhood in Manchukuo.[1] Winning an NHK song contest at age 19, he headed to Tokyo to try to make a name in the entertainment business, eventually training as a comedian at the Asakusa strip clubs.[1] It was there that he met Kin'ichi Hagimoto and in 1966, the two formed the owarai duo Konto 55-gō.[2] Konto 55-gō became nationally famous, starring in several top-rated shows on television. Sakagami continued to release songs and branched out into acting, appearing in television dramas as well as in films such as Nagisa Ōshima's Taboo.[2]

He died of a stroke on 10 March 2011 at a Tochigi Prefecture hospital.[1]

Partial filmography

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  • Hatsukoi sengen (1968) - Manager
  • Hakuchû dôdô (1968)
  • Konto gojugo-go: Seiki no daijukuten (1968) - Yota Kitagawa
  • Kamisama no koibito (1968)
  • Hitokiri-O Castigo (1969)
  • Konto 55-gō jinrui no daijakuten (コント55号 人類の大弱点) (1969)
  • Konto55go-ore wa ninja no mago (1969) - Konto55
  • Mito Kômon man'yûki (1969) - Jirobei
  • Konto 55-gō uchū no daibōken (コント55号 宇宙大冒険) (1969)
  • Namida no nagashi uta inochi azukemasu (1970) - Patron
  • Kigeki sore ga otoko no ikiru michi (1970)
  • Futari de hitori (1970)
  • Fuji Keiko Waga uta no arukagiri (1971)
  • Konto Gojugo-go to Miko no zettai zetsumei (1971) - Jiro Sakamoto
  • The Last Samurai (1974)
  • Kigeki damashi no jingi (1974)
  • Kigeki: onna no naki-dokoro (1975)
  • Hadashi no seishun (1975)
  • Seisyun no Kôzu (1976) - Gorô Sakaguchi
  • Omatsuri yarô: uogashi no kyôdai-bun (1976)
  • Inubue (1978) - Cab driver
  • Edo no Taka (1978)- House keeper/Spy
  • Nutcracker Fantasy (1979) - Chinese Wiseman (Japanese version, voice)
  • Kindaichi Kosuke no boken (1979) - Goemon Ishida
  • The Highest Honor (1982) - Kimura
  • Kono ko no nanatsu no oiwai ni (1983) - Ikumatsu
  • Amagigoe (天城越え Amagigoe) (1983) - Sweet Shop Owner
  • Okinawa no shonen (1983) - Production chief
  • Shiosai (1985)
  • A Class to Remember (学校 Gakko) (1993)
  • Kappa (1994) - Village Mayor
  • Anne no Nikki (1995) - Mr. Hans Van Dann (Hermann van Pels) (voice)
  • Sada: Gesaku · Abe Sada no shôgai (1998) - Risaburo Miyazaki
  • Taboo (御法度 Gohatto) (1999) - Lieutenant Genzaburo Inoue
  • Drug (2001) - Shoichiro Hirakawa
  • Shin yukiguni (2001) - Kobayashi
  • Fukumimi (2003)
  • Hokushin naname ni sasu tokoro (2007) - Sanada (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sayonara Jiro-san". Japan Zone. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Sagami Jirō-shi shikyo". 47 News. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
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