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Haruo Nakajima
Haruo Nakajima
中島春雄
	Nakajima in 2013
Born	January 1, 1929; Sakata, Yamagata, Empire of Japan
Died	August 7, 2017 (aged 88); Tokyo, Japan
Occupations	Actor; suit actor; stunt performer;
Years active	1949–1973
Known for	Portraying Godzilla
Children	Sonoe
Signature

Haruo Nakajima (Japanese: 中島春雄, Hepburn: Nakajima Haruo, January 1, 1929 – August 7, 2017)^[2] was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original Godzilla (1954) until Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). Nakajima also played various other kaiju in Toho's tokusatsu films, including: Rodan (1956), Mothra (1961) and The War of the Gargantuas (1966) and also appeared in a minor role in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954).

Career

Nakajima was born in the city of Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, on January 1, 1929.^[3]

His first credited role in a motion picture was in the 1952 film Sword for Hire.^[2] He began his career as a stunt actor in samurai films and he acted in a small role in the 1954 film Seven Samurai, portraying a bandit slain by master swordsman Kyūzo (Seiji Miyaguchi).^[2]^[4]^[5]

He was considered by many to be the best suit actor in the long history of the Godzilla franchise.^[1] At the time, Toho's special effects director, Eiji Tsuburaya considered him completely invaluable,^[1] and he was employed to essay the roles of most of the kaiju (Japanese monsters) during his career as a suit actor.

Before shooting began for the first Godzilla movie, in 1954, Nakajima said he spent a week at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, where he studied the motion of elephants and bears. He said he threw a piece of bread at the bears to see how they moved to catch it. He also studied the heavy, ponderous gait of the elephants. "When elephants walk, they never show the bottom of their feet," he said. When filming began, he said the original suit weighed 100 kilograms and required two men to help him put it on. "How can I act in this thing?" Nakajima said he asked himself. He eventually mastered the suit, and went on to teach the other suit actors who came after him.^[6]

After 24 years, Nakajima retired from suit acting upon completion of Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), when the studio cycled him out of their contract actor system, after it split into several subsidiaries in 1970. He stayed employed by Toho for several years, and was reportedly transferred to a job at its bowling alley, located on the now defunct studio lot.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Beginning in the late 1990s, Nakajima made a series of personal appearances at various Japanese monster-themed conventions. He appeared at the Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank, California in April 2011.^[10] His Japanese-language autobiography, 『怪獣人生元祖ゴジラ俳優・中島春雄』 (Monster Life: Haruo Nakajima, the Original Godzilla Actor), was released in 2010.^[11]^[12]

Death

On August 7, 2017, several media outlets reported that Nakajima had died, at the age of 88.^[12]^[13]^[14] The following day, on August 8, his daughter Sonoe Nakajima confirmed that he had died of a pneumonia.^[4] In 2018, asteroid 110408 Nakajima was named in his honour. The film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) was dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes	Ref(s)
1949	Stray Dog	Bar patron	Deleted scene	^[15]^[16]
1952	Sword for Hire		First credited role in a film	^[2]
1953	Eagle of the Pacific	Fighter pilot on fire		^[12]
1954	Seven Samurai	Bandit		^[4]
1954	Godzilla	Godzilla		^[12]
1954	The Invisible Avenger			^[17]
1955	Godzilla Raids Again	Godzilla		^[14]
1956	Rodan	Rodan		^[17]^[18]
1957	The Mysterians	Moguera		^[17]
1958	The H-Man	Sailor		^[18]
1958	Varan the Unbelievable	Varan		^[17]
1958	The Hidden Fortress			^[17]
1960	The Human Vapor			^[17]
1961	The Story of Osaka Castle			^[5]
1961	Yojimbo			^[17]
1961	Mothra	Mothra (larva)		^[18]^[19]
1962	King Kong vs. Godzilla	Godzilla		^[14]
1963	Matango			^[17]
1963	Atragon			^[17]
1964	Mothra vs. Godzilla	Godzilla		^[14]
1964	Dogora			^[17]
1964	Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster	Godzilla		^[14]
1965	Frankenstein vs. Baragon	Baragon		^[17]^[18]
1965	Invasion of Astro-Monster	Godzilla		^[14]
1966	The War of the Gargantuas	Gaira		^[17]^[18]
1966	Ebirah, Horror of the Deep	Godzilla		^[14]
1967	King Kong Escapes	King Kong		^[19]
1967	Son of Godzilla	Godzilla		^[14]
1968	Destroy All Monsters	Godzilla, Baragon		^[14]
1969	Latitude Zero			^[17]
1969	All Monsters Attack	Godzilla		^[14]
1970	Space Amoeba	Gezora, Ganimes		^[17]
1971	Godzilla vs. Hedorah	Godzilla		^[14]
1972	Godzilla vs. Gigan	Godzilla		^[14]
1973	Tidal Wave	Chauffeur		^[20]

Television

Year	Title	Notes	Ref(s)
1966	Ultra Q	Acting role, Gomess, Pagos	^[17]
1966–1967	Ultraman	Neronga, Gabora, Jirahs, Kemur II, Keylla.	^[18]
1967–1968	Ultraseven	Acting role, U-Tom.	^[17]
1970	Chibira-kun	Gebagoro	^{[citation needed]}