R.I.P. JERRY ITO (1927-2007)

[August]

I am sad to relay the bad news (via director Fred Olen Ray):



Eurasian actor and singer Jerry Ito (born Gerald Tamekichi Ito) passed away in his Los Angeles home on July 7, 2007 at 8:00 PM, due to complications of pneumonia, while undergoing treatment for stomach cancer. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife, Sakae.

Mr. Ito was a popular and well-known Master of Ceremonies in the nightclubs and cabarets of post-war Tokyo. Because of his command of Japanese and English, Mr. Ito was tapped for a number of acting roles on stage and screen. His best-remembered--and most beloved--role was that of the vile Clark Nelson, the despicable international treasure-hunter, who snatches the Twin Faeries from Infant Island in Ishiro Honda's MOTHRA (1961).

Mr. Ito's other fantastic film roles included THE MANSTER (shot in the late 1950s, but not released until the early 1960s), a US horror potboiler filmed in Japan, and Shuei Matsubayashi's end-of-the-world thriller, THE LAST WAR (1961). Mr. Ito also appeared in numerous television series over his long career, and he will be greatly missed.

--August Ragone

[SeaHawk]

This really sucks. I thought Ito was great in Mothra.

[JordanGLC]

[kiryugoji04]

[August]

It's too bad that there was a missed opportunity to shoot an interview with Mr. Ito for a future MOTHRA DVD. Apparently, Fred Olen Ray of Retromedia fame, was trying to secure Mr. Ito for their upcoming DVD of THE MANSTER (remastered from a 35mm print!), but he was too ill. But, they did get Carl Craig Jr. to do an Audio Commentary for their upcoming release of DESTROY ALL PLANETS (aka GAMERA VS. VIRAS).

I was privileged to know Mr. Ito and his wife, first meeting him at G-Fest '99 in Burbank, and then getting to know him and his wife while I was hosting Godzillafest at the Castro Theatre. It was wonderful to see the reunion of Mr. Ito and Mr. Koizumi in the lobby of their hotel—they hugged and shed tears of joy—it was an emotional moment that I was very happy to be a part of.

Dave Chapple, who arranged and sponsored the Japanese guests (Hiroshi Koizumi, Akira Kubo and Tsutomu Kitagawa), found himself suddenly in charge of Mr. Ito (and his lovely wife), who did not want to leave Mr. Koizumi's side. It was very touching—they hadn't seen each other in almost twenty yearss—and they were very grateful to us for being reunited.

Since the news of Mr. Ito's passing has already been covered by the Japanese Media, I also send out my condolences to Mr. Koizumi and all of Mr. Ito's friends and family.

[MouthForWar]

[Dogora]

[jaymazing]

[Reaper G]

[August]

[kpa]

The SciFi Japan crew is working on a tribute to Jerry Ito that will include comments from friends and family such as his MOTHRA co-star Hiroshi Koizumi. In the meantime, we've posted video clips of Jerry at Godzillafest and in THE MANSTER (courtesy of Fred Olen Ray and Retromedia).

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007 ... 1927-2007/

[SciFi Geek]

Sad. Especially when his character in Mothra was somebody I LOVED to hate. May he RIP. Just one question though? How exactly is he Eurasian when, well, he was born in time period where intermarriage with other races (INCLUDING ASIANS) was a big no, no. Further, can someone explain his Japanese ancestry and where was be was born.

Sorry if this seems naive and stupid, but Jerry, in Mothra when I watched, stuck me as full American.

[kpa]