Mickey Curtis

For other people named Michael Curtis, see Michael Curtis (disambiguation).
Mickey Curtis
Native name ミッキー・カーチス
Born Michael Brian Curtis
(1938-07-23) 23 July 1938
Tokyo, Japan
Other names Igarashi Shinjirô[1]
Mikkī Kāchisu
Ethnicity Japanese
Occupation Actor, singer
Years active 1958–present
Spouse(s) Mari Yoshimura

Mickey Curtis (ミッキー・カーチス Mikkī Kāchisu, born 23 July 1938) is a Japanese actor, singer, and TV celebrity. His birth name was Michael Brian Curtis born to English-Japanese parents.[2]

A pivotal figure in Japanese popular music, Mickey is considered one of the three big Japanese names in rock music, helping to popularize the genre in the 1950s where he began as a rockabilly singer.[3][4] In 1967 he became internationally known for his avant-garde rock band "Mickey Curtis & The Samurai". After five years Mickey disbanded the group and returned to Japan in 1972, where he began producing other musicians.

As an actor his first role was as a rock singer in the 1958 film All About Marriage by Kihachi Okamoto, and has since gone on to star in more than 70 feature films. At over 70 years of age he is one of the oldest major celebrities in Japan and a regular TV personality. Apart from his entertainment career he has also been a race car driver and owns a motorcycle shop in Meguro, Tokyo. He speaks Japanese, English, French, German, Italian and Thai.[2]

Selected filmography

Year Film Role
1959 Fires on the Plain
(野火 Nobi)
Nagamatsu
1963 Brave Records of the Sanada Clan
(真田風雲録 Sanada fūunroku)
1986 Jikuu Senshi Spielban Emperor Guillotine
1989 Gunhed Bansho
1992 8 Man
(8マン すべての寂しい夜のために Eitoman - Subete no sabishii yoru no tame ni)
Sniper
1995 Kamikaze Taxi Animaru
1996 Swallowtail Butterfly
(スワロウテイル Suwarōteiru)
Doctor
Fudoh: The New Generation
(極道戦国志 不動 Gokudō sengokushi: Fudō)
Yasha Gang Assassin
1998 Blues Harp
Hana no O-Edo no Tsuribaka Nisshi
(花のお江戸の釣りバカ日誌)
2001 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie Rasheed
Lily Festival
(百合祭 Yurisai)
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge
(赤い橋の下のぬるい水 Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu)
Nobuyuki Ohnishi
2002 Agitator
(荒ぶる魂たち Araburu tamashii-tachi)
Yokomizo
The Laughing Frog
(笑う蛙 Warau Kaeru)
Kiichiro Aisawa
Aiki Miyaji
2003 Kikoku
(鬼哭)
2004 Izo
2005 Custom Made 10.30 A god
2008 SS Nishiyama President
Kurosagi
(映画 クロサギ Eiga Kurosagi)
Cafe Isobe
(純喫茶磯辺 Junkissa Isobe)
Hongo
2011 Deadball
(デッドボール Deddobōru)
2012 Robo-G
(ロボジー Robo Ji)
Shigemitsu Suzuki

References

  1. http://eiga.com/news/20110701/1/
  2. 1 2 http://www.watanabepro.co.jp/mypage/artist/mickeycurtis.html
  3. 昭和浪漫ロカビリー―聞き書き:ジャズ喫茶からウエスタン・カーニバルへ. Heibonsha Publishing. 2001. ISBN 4-19-861365-6.
  4. The Japanese rock stars interviews 集~時代を築いた20人の言葉. T.O Entertainment. 2010. ISBN 4-904376-18-8.

External links

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