Jirō Sakagami (坂上二郎) (16 April 1934 – 10 March 2011) was a Japanese comedian, actor, and singer.
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Sakagami was born in Kagoshima Prefecture but spent most of his childhood in Manchukuo.[1] Winning an NHK song contest at age 19, he headed to Tokyo to try to make a name in the entertainment business, eventually training as a comedian at the Asakusa strip clubs.[1] It was there that he met Kin'ichi Hagimoto and in 1966, the two formed the owarai duo Konto 55-gō.[2] Konto 55-gō became nationally famous, starring in several top-rated shows on television. Sakagami continued to release songs and branched out into acting, appearing in television dramas as well as in films such as Nagisa Ōshima's Taboo.[2]
He died of a stroke on 10 March 2011 at a Tochigi Prefecture hospital.[1]