Keiko Awaji

Keiko Awaji

Keiko Awaji in the 1949 film Stray Dog
Native name 淡路 恵子
Born 17 July 1933
Tokyo, Japan
Died 11 January 2014 (aged 80)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Actress
Years active 1949–2014
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Spouse(s) Rolando "Bimbo" Danao, Yorozuya Kinnosuke
Children Etsuo Shima, Akihiro, Kichinosuke

Keiko Awaji (淡路 恵子 Awaji Keiko, 17 July 1933 – 11 January 2014) was a Japanese film actress.

Notable highlights of her career were an appearance in Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog, and a role as Kimiko in The Bridges at Toko-Ri, in which she appeared alongside William Holden and Mickey Rooney.

Her first husband was Filipino musician and actor Rodrigo "Bimbo" Danao; they had two children together. Their eldest is actor Etsuo Shima.

Her second husband was Japanese actor Yorozuya Kinnosuke, but they divorced in 1987. Their eldest son, Akihiro, died in a car crash in 1990. In 2004, their youngest son, Kichinosuke Yorozuya (Satoshi Ida), was arrested for breaking into her home, for which he served six months in prison.[1] On 16 June 2010, Kichinosuke committed suicide by jumping off her apartment in Shinjuku.[2][3]

She died of esophageal cancer in Tokyo on 11 January 2014, aged 80.[4]

Partial filmography

She has appeared in more than 160 movies since 1949:[5][6]

References

External links

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