Dale Ishimoto

Dale Ishimoto
Born April 3, 1923(1923-04-03)
Delta, Colorado
Died March 4, 2004(2004-03-04) (aged 80)
Years active 1957–1998

Dale Ishimoto (April 3, 1923 - March 4, 2004) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California.[1]

Contents

Military service

After being sent to the Gila River internment camp in Arizona,[2] Ishimoto volunteered to fight in World War II, joining the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After two years, he was awarded a Purple Heart and given a medical discharge.[3]

Entertainment career

After starting a business in Chicago, he moved back to California, where he grew up, and started his acting career by acting at the Altadena Playhouse. He became a "familiar figure" for playing "villainous Japanese soldiers".[3]

Over the course of his career, he acted in a wide variety of TV and movies, such as Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya in Midway (1976) and a Korean doctor in MASH (1970).

He became famous in the late 1990s for his appearances in television commercials for Nissan in which he portrayed Mr. K, supposedly Yutaka Katayama, the company's former president.[4]

Personal life

Ishimoto married Miiko Taka in Baltimore in 1944,[5] and they had one son and one daughter. They divorced in 1958.[6]

References

  1. ^ Shearer, John (1997-07-20). "Question?". Chattanooga Free Press. p. A2. 
  2. ^ "National Archives: Dale Ishimoto". http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=2003&mtch=1&tf=F&q=Dale+Ishimoto&bc=,sl,fd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=23841. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
  3. ^ a b Scott, John L. (October 3, 1967). "Japanese Actor No Longer Villain". Los Angeles Times. p. C1. 
  4. ^ Elliot, Stuart (1997-08-14). "Nissan exults over an offbeat campaign, despite flat sales and a debate on ads that 'entertain.'". New York Times. p. A2. 
  5. ^ "Actress Miiko Taka of Movies Wins Divorce". Los Angeles Times. November 18, 1958. p. B1. 
  6. ^ "Miiko Taka Gets Divorce". New York Times. November 17, 1958. 

External links