Keiichirō Akagi

Keiichirō Akagi
Born
Chikahiro Akatsuka (赤塚 親弘)

(1939-05-08)May 8, 1939
Azabu Kōgai-chō, Azabu District, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
DiedFebruary 21, 1961(1961-02-21) (aged 21)
Komae, Kitatama District, Tokyo, Japan
Other namesThe Third Man
Tony
Cool Guy
Japanese James Dean
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1958-61

Keiichirō Akagi (赤木 圭一郎, Akagi Keiichirō), born Chikahiro Akatsuka (赤塚 親弘, Akatsuka Chikahiro) was a Japanese actor. Akagi appeared in over 26 films in his short three-year career. Kenju burai-chō series[1] and The Call of the Foghorn are Akagi's notable films.[1]

In 1958, he joined the Nikkatsu company. He landed the lead role for the first time in 1959 film Age of Nudity directed by Seijun Suzuki.[2] In 1960, Akagi won Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year.[3][4][5] Akagi was one of the box office hitter of Nikkatsu company alongside Yujiro Ishihara and Akira Kobayashi.[6][7][8] At around 12:20 PM on February 14, 1961, during a lunch break while shooting Gekiryū ni Ikiru Otoko, where he served as a replacement for injured Yūjirō Ishihara, Akagi was driving a go-cart brought by a salesman in the Nikkatsu studio but spun out of control and crashed into a steel door of a large tool warehouse at a speed of more than 60 km/h. He regained consciousness for a time, but on February 20 he fell into a coma again and died at 7:50 AM on February 21 of a subdural hematoma associated with a fracture of the cracked frontal bone, at the young age of 21.[8]

At the time, some of his family conceded to his funeral in the Soto Zen religion at the Dai-enji Temple in Suginami, Tokyo. Later on, his cremated ashes were moved to the Head Temple Taisekiji in Fujinomiya.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "映画 拳銃無頼帖 コンプリートDVD‐BOX 全5枚". NHK. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. ^ "新撰 芸能人物事典 明治～平成「赤木 圭一郎」の解説". kotobank. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  3. ^ 赤木圭一郎さん ポスター集刊行 生誕８０周年記念 (in Japanese). Mainichi. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  4. ^ よみがえる赤木圭一郎 (in Japanese). 神保町シアター. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  5. ^ 映画 紅の拳銃 (in Japanese). NHK. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  6. ^ 3年の俳優活動で出演作26本！21歳で帰らぬ人に… 50回忌を迎えた赤木圭一郎とは？ (in Japanese). シネマトディ. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. ^ "The callof the foghoorn". Nikkatsu. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b 赤木圭一郎生誕80周年、ファンの心の中で生き続ける和製ジェームズ・ディーン (in Japanese). シネマトディ. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  9. ^ "激流に生きる男（1967）". eiga.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.


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