Yuri Toru

[Aaron Gerow]

Much of the morning wide show news was filled with reports that Yuri 
Toru, one of the first comedians to become famous through TV, died 
yesterday of cancer at the age of 78.  A veteran of the postwar strip 
shows, he shot to stardom in the mid 1950s as part of the Dassen Trio on 
TV, creating such ryukogo as "gakkun."  He used his trademark northern 
Japanese accent in over 270 movies, and not just in comedies: he was a 
regular in the "Abashiri bangaichi" and "Onna bancho" series.  The great 
gag manga artist, Akatsuka Fujio, was at Yuri's bedside when he died.