Tetsurō Tamba

Tetsurō Tamba
Native name	丹波 哲郎
Born	(1922-07-17)July 17, 1922 Tokyo, Japan
Died	Tokyo, Japan
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–2006
Known for	You Only Live Twice as Tiger Tanaka

Tetsurō Tamba (丹波 哲郎, Tanba Tetsurō, July 17, 1922 – September 24, 2006) was a Japanese actor.

Biography

Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice (he was dubbed by Robert Rietti). By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan. He also portrayed the lead character in the police dramas Key Hunter and G-Men '75, the latter of which remains his best-known role in Japan.

He also portrayed the voice of the "Cat King" in the original Japanese version of the Studio Ghibli anime film The Cat Returns. More recently, he had parts in Twilight Samurai and two Takashi Miike films, The Happiness of the Katakuris and Gozu, as well as acting as a spokesperson for the Dai Rei Kai spiritual movement.

Tamba's son, Yoshitaka Tamba, is also an actor.

In February 2005, Tamba was hospitalized for influenza and appendicitis. He lost weight drastically and his health degenerated. On September 24, 2006, he died in Tokyo at the age of 84 of pneumonia.

Filmography

Films

2

TV dramas

2

Animation

• Crayon Shin-chan: Explosion! The Hot Spring's Feel Good Final Battle (1999)
• The Cat Returns (2002)

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 2000: Nikkan Sports Film Award: Best Supporting Actor for 15-Sai: Gakko IV
• 1981: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for 203 kochi
• 1981: Blue Ribbon Awards: Best Supporting Actor for 203 kochi
• 1974: Mainichi Film Award: Best Actor for Ningen kakumei

Awards nominated

• 2001: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for 15-Sai: Gakko IV

External links

• Tetsuro Tamba at the Internet Movie Database
• Japanese Wikipedia page (also source)
• BBC article, retrieved December 10, 2006.