Shizuko Hoshi

Shizuko Hoshi
Born
Japan
Occupation(s)Actress, theater director, dancer, choreographer
Years active1972–2005
SpouseMako
Children2

Shizuko Hoshi is a Japanese and American actress, theater director, dancer and choreographer. Born in Japan,[1] she is a graduate of Tokyo Women's College and University of Southern California.[2] She was married to actor Mako, the founding artistic director of East West Players in Los Angeles, and worked closely with the Asian-American theatre company from 1965 to 1989.

Career

Shizuko Hoshi arrived in the United States in 1957 and enrolled at the University of Southern California. Hoshi won the US Open women's singles titles in table tennis in 1958 and 1959. She stopped tournament play following her marriage to Mako.[2]

While at East West Players, Hoshi received many awards for performance, directing and choreography, including a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Featured Performance in Wakako Yamauchi's And the Soul Shall Dance,[3] as well as Drama-Logue Awards for Best Director for Hokusai Sketchbooks, Asa ga Kimashita, A Chorus Line and Mishima.[4] Her film credits include Memoirs of a Geisha, Come See the Paradise and M. Butterfly.

She appeared in the indie film, Charlotte Sometimes and narrated the Academy Award-winning Live Action Short Film, Visas and Virtue. She has also appeared on television, in such shows as Chicago Hope and M*A*S*H*. In 1995, Hoshi co-directed the English language premiere of the Japanese comedy The Fall Guy off-Broadway in New York City.

Personal life

Hoshi was married to Mako until his death in 2006. They have two daughters (both of whom are actresses) and two grandchildren.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1985 Sylvester Mrs. Daniels
1990 Come See the Paradise Mrs. Kawamura
1993 M. Butterfly Comrade Chin
2002 Charlotte Sometimes Aunt
2005 Memoirs of a Geisha Sayuri Narration voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1972–73 The Bob Newhart Show Hostess/The Waitress 2 episodes
1974 Fer-de-lance Suan Kuroda TV movie
1975 Police Story Bin Han Episode: "Year of the Dragon: Part 2"
The Six Million Dollar Man Japanese Woman Episode: "The Wolf Boy"
1977 Quincy M.E. Mom Kamura Episode: Touch of Death
Starsky and Hutch Mrs. Hong Episode: Manchild on the Streets
1978 My Husband Is Missing Vice Consul TV movie
1974–1979 M*A*S*H Mrs.Li/Mother/The Mother 4 episodes
1982 Dangerous Company Mrs. Hikaru TV movie
1983 Baby Sister Mrs. Chang TV movie
1990 Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes Nurse Yama TV movie
1996 Chicago Hope Baby Doctor Episode: The Parent Rap
1997 Visas and Virtue Narrator (as Elderly Mrs. Sugihara) Short
1998 C-16: FBI Episode: My Brother's Keeper
1999 Independent Lens Narrator Segment "Visas and Virtue"

References

  1. ^ Lee, Esther Kim (2006). A History of Asian American Theatre. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0521850513.
  2. ^ a b "Susie" Hoshi early history in table tennis
  3. ^ LA Drama Critics Circle winners (1977) Archived 2010-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Awards history Archived 2007-11-19 at the Wayback Machine on EWP website
  5. ^ "Mako, 72, Actor Who Extended Asian-American Roles, Dies". The New York Times. July 25, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
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