Hideaki Nitani, Japanese actor (Tokyo Drifter), died from pneumonia he was 81.

Hideaki Nitani was a Japanese actor died from pneumonia he was 81..

(二谷英明 Nitani Hidaki^?, 28 January 1930 – 7 January 2012)

Career

Born in Kyoto Prefecture, Nitani attended Doshisha University but quit before graduating.^[1] He first worked as an announcer at Nagasaki Broadcasting Company, but in 1956 made his debut as an actor at Nikkatsu.^[1] Gaining the nickname "Dump Truck Guy" for his handsome, tough guy roles,^[2] he soon became a staple in Nikkatsu Action movies, often playing the second lead, but sometimes starring in his own films. He is probably best known abroad for his role in Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter. Nitani left Nikkatsu in 1971 and moved to television, where he starred in the Tokusō saizensen police detective series, which ran for ten years between 1977 and 1987.^[2]
Nitani married the actress Yumi Shirakawa and their daughter, Yurie Nitani, is also an actress.^[2] He died of pneumonia on 7 January 2012.^[2]

Selected filmography

Film

• I Am Waiting (俺は待ってるぜ Ore wa matteru ze) (1957)
• Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (幕末太陽伝 Bakumatsu taiyōden) (1957)
• Underworld Beauty (暗黒街の美女 Ankokugai no bijo) (1958)
• Voice Without a Shadow (影なき声 Kagenaki koe) (1958)
• Young Breasts (青い乳房 Aoi chibusa) (1958)
• Man with a Shotgun (散弾銃の男 Shottogan no otoko) (1961)
• Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者 Tōkyō nagaremono) (1966)
• Retaliation (縄張はもらった Shima wa moratta) (1968)
• Nihon Chinbotsu (日本沈没) (1973)

Television

• Mighty Jack (マイティジャック Maiti Jakku) (1968)
• Tokusō saizensen (特捜最前線) (1977–1987)

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