Jirō Sakagami
Jirō Sakagami (坂上二郎) (16 April 1934 – 10 March 2011) was a Japanese comedian, actor, and singer.
Career
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]
Selected filmography
- Konto 55-gō jinrui no daijakuten (コント55号 人類の大弱点) (1969)
- Konto 55-gō uchū no daibōken (コント55号 宇宙大冒険) (1969)
- Amagigoe (天城越え Amagigoe) (1983)
- A Class to Remember (学校 Gakko) (1993)
- Taboo (御法度 Gohatto) (1999)
References
- 1 2 3 "Sayonara Jiro-san". Japan Zone. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
- 1 2 "Sagami Jirō-shi shikyo". 47 News. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
External links
- Jiro Sakagami at the Internet Movie Database
- Sakagami Jirō at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)