Okada Masumi

[Aaron Gerow]

The news services report that the actor Okada Masumi died on the 29th 
of cancer of the esophagus. He was 70 years old.

Okada was born in Nice, France, in 1935 to a Japanese father, the 
painter Okada Minoru, and a Dutch mother. His older brother was the 
performer E.H. Eric. He attended international schools in Japan until 
he entered the world of entertainment under the influence of his 
brother. He was a contract player at Nikkatsu for a long time, 
appearing in a variety of films ranging from Bakumatsu taiyoden to 
Arashi o yobu otoku, but his European looks and skill in English gave a 
memorable touch to "taiyozoku" films like Crazed Fruit. After leaving 
Nikkatsu, he appeared frequently on TV and the musical stage, becoming 
a very familiar face on variety television. His later film roles 
included Umi to dokuyaku and Getting Any?

Aaron Gerow
KineJapan owner

Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University

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