Friday, January 21, 2005
1/21: Today in G-History
No year given: LOU CRISCUOLO, who played Faculty Doctor #2 in "King Kong Lives", is born.
1906: Daiei executive producer MASAICHI NAGATA is born in Kyoto. He produced "Warning from Space", "The Whale God", the Gamera series, and the "Daimajin" and "Yokai Monsters", trilogies, as well as such classics as "Rashomon", "Ugetsu", and "Gate of Hell", which he also wrote. His son, Hidemasa Nagata, produced most of the Showa Gamera films.
1924: DEAN FREDERICKS, who played Detective Curtis in "Them!", is born Frederick J. Foote in Los Angeles.
RONALD SINCLAIR, editor on "The Amazing Colossal Man" and "War of the Colossal Beast", and editorial supervisor on "Earth vs. the Spider", is born Richard Arthur Hould in Dunedin, New Zealand.
1931: YOSHIKO KUGA, who played the Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiko Owada in "Godzilla vs. Biollante", is born in Tokyo.
1936: KOJI HASHIMOTO, director of "Sayonara Jupiter" and "Godzilla 1985", is born in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. He had previously been an assistant director on "King Kong vs. Godzilla", "Ghidrah - the Three-Headed Monster", "Frankenstein Conquers the World", "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero", "Latitude Zero", "Godzilla's Revenge", "Tidal Wave", and "The Last Days of Planet Earth".
1940: RAITA RYU, who played Kimura in "Time Slip", is born in Osaka.
1959: MASAKI KYOMOTO, who played Ryusuke Taki on "Kamen Rider Black", is born in Osaka. He also appeared on several episodes of "Ultraman Tiga" and was in "The Skull Soldier".
1967: Episode 16 of "Ultra Seven", "Glowing Eye in the Darkness" (a.k.a. "The Eyes Have Had It"), debuts on Japanese TV.
1970: MOGENS BRANDT, who played Police Chief Hassing in "Reptilicus", dies.
1972: Episode 41 of "Return of Ultraman", "Revenge of Alien Baltan Jr.", debuts on Japanese TV.
1976: RYUICHIRO NISHIOKA, who played Matoi a.k.a. Go Red on "Rescue Task Force Go-Go V", is born.
FRED KNOTH, who did special effects on "The Deadly Mantis", dies.
1994: Episode 47 of "Five Star Task Force Dairanger", debuts on Japanese TV.
2001: Episode 49, the final episode of "Kamen Rider Kuuga", "Yuusuke", debuts on Japanese TV.
JOSEPH O'CONOR, who played Prof. Hendricks in "Gorgo", dies.
2002: JUNJI KURATA, who was in "Legend of the Dinosaurs", dies of pneumonia in Kyoto.
2003: Volumes 3 and 4 of "Space Sheriff Sharivan" are released on DVD in Japan.
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Tuesday, January 18, 2005
1/18: Today in G-History
1937: KAZUO SUZUKI, who played thugs in many Toho sci-fi films, is born in Tokyo. The Peter Lorre-esque actor was in "Godzilla vs. the Thing", a showoff assassin in "Ghidrah — the Three-Headed Monster", a Planet X spy in "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero", "Ultra Q", a native fleeing in the canoe in "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster", a Who henchman in "King Kong Escapes", a pilot in "Son of Godzilla", a Kilaak henchman in "Destroy All Monsters", Okuda the short bank robber in "Godzilla's Revenge", and the alien in the trenchcoat in "Terror of Mechagodzilla".
1954: LISA KOMAKI, who played Peggy Matsuyama/Momo Ranger on "Secret Task Force Goranger" and did the stunts for Miss America on "Battle Fever J", is born.
1961: TAKASHIGE ICHISE, producer of "Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis", "Ringu", "The Spiral", "Ringu 0: Birthday", "Ju-on", "Ju-on 2", and "Dark Water", is born in Kobe.
1963: MASARU MATSUDA, who was in "Lady Battle Cop" and played Dahran in "Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey", is born in Tokyo.
1973: SHINOBU NAKAYAMA, who played ornithologist Mayumi Naganime in "Gamera the Guardian of the Universe" and "Gamera 3: Revenge of Irys", is born. She also played Yuri Katagiri in "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II".
1975: Episode 14 of "Kamen Rider Amazon", "The Fiend With Ten Masks, Finished! And Then, a New Enemy!?", debuts on Japanese TV.
MICHIKO ENOKIDA, who played Yoko Katagiri on "Space Sheriff Jiban", is born in Tokyo.
ATSUKO SHIMOMURA, who was on "Vanny Knights" and "Hundred Beast Task Force Gaoranger", is born in Shizuoka, Japan.
1980: Episode 16 of "Sky Rider" debuts on Japanese TV.
1988: JOSEPH GERSHENSON, music supervisor for "Tarantula", "The Deadly Mantis", and the U.S. release of "King Kong vs. Godzilla", dies in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Episode 47 of "Electromagnetic Task Force Megaranger", "Terrifying Hineler City", debuts on Japanese TV.
1998: An article on "Godzilla" in the "Los Angeles Times" includes this tidbit:
"To fully background himself in the character, [Roland Emmerich] watched 14 or 15 of the Toho Godzilla movies on laser disc. 'Then I gave up. It's just the same movie over and over again. They always had another monster in it, and I never get anything out of two monsters fighting.... For reasons I can’t explain myself, kids all over the world kept watching these movies....'"
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Monday, January 17, 2005
1/17: Today in G-History
1914: RANKO AKAGI, who played the mother in "Kwaidan", is born in Tokyo.
1919: JACK HADDOCK, who was in "The Angry Red Planet", is born in Los Angeles.
1947: JANE ELLIOT, who was in the U.S. release of "The Final War", is born.
1960: SID CASSEL, who played the farmer who was the first victim in "20 Million Miles to Earth", dies in Hollywood, Calif.
1973: "Janbogu Esu" ("Jumborg Ace") premieres on Japanese TV.
RYO, who played Yurika Saegusa in "Alive" and Osowareru Haha-Oya in "Azumi", is born in Saitama, Japan.
1976: Episode 37 of "Secret Task Force Goranger" debuts on Japanese TV.
1988: The final episode of "Super Manchine: Metalder" airs on Japanese TV.
Episode 15 of "Kamen Rider Black" debuts on Japanese TV.
2001: 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. announces that "Ultraman Tiga" will air in the U.S. for the 2001-02 season.
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Sunday, January 16, 2005
1/16: Today in G-History
1894: ALFRED WILKIN, who was in "Reptilicus", is born in Denmark.
1929: SHIGERU KOYAMA, who was in "Tidal Wave", is born in Hiroshima.
1966: Episode 3 of "Ultra Q", "The Gift from Space", debuts on Japanese TV.
1967: Episode 29 of "The Space Giants", "Capt. Magma and the Goddess of Liberty" a.k.a. "The City Smasher", debuts on Japanese TV.
1976: TAKASHI TAKAYAMA, who played Takehimo Nomi in "Ringu", is born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
1979: TED CASSIDY, who provided the roar of Godzilla on "The Godzilla Power Hour", dies during heart surgery in Los Angeles.
TOSHIKI KASHU, who played Shoichi Tsugami a.k.a. "Kamen Rider Agito", is born in Hyogo, Japan.
1981: Episode 13 of "Kamen Rider Super-1" debuts on Japanese TV.
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