Never to be Forgotten:James Shigeta 1933-2014

James Shigeta, the Hawaiian born actor best known for his work in Flower Drum Song and Die Hard, died today at the age of 81. He got his break first as a singer, winning on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. Some obits compare the show to American Idol, though it didn't become the cultural touchstone that the current show is. In its defense, Pat Boone and Ann-Margret were also winners. In some ways, it was more like Star Search.

Shigeta is mentioned here for his roles in genre productions including Space Marines, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, The Greatest American Hero, The Questor Tapes and The Outer Limits, shown here in a publicity still from the episode Nightmare. In the first season, a new scary monster (known on the set as "the bear") was a requirement of the production. The scary monster here was played by John Anderson, who made four appearances on the original Twilight Zone without wearing prosthetics.

In the musical commentary to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Maurissa Tancharoen has a lament entitled Nobody's Asian in the Movies. One could argue James Shigeta's 88 roles in a 51 year career puts the lie to that sentiment, but if you look at similar careers for other Oh That Guy actors with similar longevity, they can easily have hundreds of roles in a half century.

Whatever position you hold on the industry treatment of Asian actors in Hollywood, James Shigeta had a long successful career with several roles in sci-fi and fantasy, the reason he is mentioned here.

Best wishes to the family and friends of James Shigeta. His is never to be forgotten.