Mako (actor)
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Makoto Iwamatsu (マコ 岩松, also 岩松 信 Iwamatsu Makoto, December 10, 1933 - July 21, 2006) was a Japanese-American actor.
He was born in Kobe, Japan, the son of noted children's book author and illustrator Taro Yashima. His parents moved to the United States when he was a small child. He joined them there after World War II, joining the military in the 1950s. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1956. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as "Mako", omitting his surname.
[edit] Career
Mako's first cinema role was in the 1959 film Never So Few.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1966 film The Sand Pebbles, and for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the 1976 musical Pacific Overtures.
He has appeared on the TV show M*A*S*H, playing multiple roles such as a Chinese doctor, North Korean soldier, and South Korean Major.
He was also known for his role as the Wizard Akiro, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, the narrator of the two Conan movies Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. In 2001 he appeared as Admiral Yamamoto in Pearl Harbor. In 2005, Mako had a cameo role in Memoirs of a Geisha.
He has played the sorcerer Nakano in Highlander III.
He has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7095 Hollywood Blvd.
He was the voice actor of the evil demon Aku in the animated series Samurai Jack, and as the parody of Aku, Achoo, in Duck Dodgers, as well as Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He had a guest appearance in the Nickelodeon movie Rugrats in Paris as the boss of Coco. He guest-starred in the episode "A Good Day" of The West Wing as an economics professor and former rival of President Bartlet.
Mako died on July 21, 2006, aged 72, after a long battle with esophageal cancer.[1] Prior to his death, Mako had been recently confirmed to star in the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, providing the voice of Splinter.[2] His involvement in the project was announced on July 20; one day before his death. It is known that he had done most of the voice work, but not the ADR.[3] In a recent interview with the director Kevin Munroe, it was confirmed that Mako had completed his recording before his death, and his voice will be used in the movie.[4]
During an Avatar: The Last Airbender episode, entitled The Tales of Ba Sing Se, which comprises several small stories about the main characters, there is a segment intitled, "The Tale of Iroh." It features a dedication to him, as he was the voice actor for the character of Iroh.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Mako at the Internet Movie Database
- Mako Iwamatsu at the Voice Chasers Database
- Mako at the Internet Broadway Database
- A 1998 interview about Pacific Overtures
- Los Angeles Times, "Mako, 72; Actor Opened Door for Asian Americans", July 23, 2006
- Nichi Bei Times, "Mako, Pioneering Asian American Actor"
Categories: 1933 births | 2006 deaths | Nicktoons voice actors | Japanese film actors | Japanese character actors | Japanese stage actors | Japanese voice actors | Japanese Americans | People from Kobe | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominees | Naturalized citizens of the United States | M*A*S*H actors | RoboCop actors | The A-Team actors | Throat cancer deaths | Highlander actors | 7th Heaven actors | Charmed actors | The West Wing actors | Columbo actors | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actors | Magnum, P.I. actors
