Takashi Okamura

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Takashi Okamura (岡村隆史 Okamura Takashi) is a Japanese comedian, born on July 3, 1970 in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. He is the shorter and more energetic half of the owarai duo Ninety-nine. He is the "comic stooge" or boke of the group. His nicknames range from "OkatakaLeader" to "Okachan". His partner is Hiroyuki Yabe, or "Yabecchi."

Okamura has consistently been a large-audience draw on Japanese TV for his wild antics and strange and original skits, such as breakdancing naked while wearing the cowl of anime/professional wrestling hero Tiger Mask. At 156cm (he being the biggest member of his family) he is a striking contrast to the taller and lankier Yabe.

He and Yabe formed Ninety-nine in 1990 (when Okamura dropped out of Ritsumeikan University), and in three years won the ABC Owarai Gran Prix competition's New Talent Prize. The 1993 event was further punctuated by the interview after the competition, when emotion overwhelmed Okamura driving him to tears of joy on-air. The next year, Ninety-Nine hosted their first on-air show "Ninety-Nine All Night Nippon," which is still aired today. Their success continued to grow with their program "Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!" In 1999, Okamura tried to grab a fly on-air and fell violently onto the ground, breaking his right shoulder. He also appeared in Japanese theater in the Disney stage adaptation of The Lion King.