Celebrity Biographies
James Shigeta
The new generations knew him as Takagi, the Japanese executive who owns the Nakatomi building kidnapped by terrorists, in Die Hard . But James Shigeta had a long career as a singer and actor behind him. He passed away on July 28, 2014, at the age of 81.
Born in Hawaii on June 17, 1933, James Shigeta belonged to the third American generation of a family of Japanese origin. During the Korean War he enlisted in the Marines, eventually reaching the rank of sergeant.
He started in show business when he entered a television singing contest. After winning first prize he launched a musical career under the nickname Guy Brion.
Although he did not speak a word of Japanese, the Japanese Toho studios recruited him to make him a successful soloist, succeeding with his musical themes on radio and television, to the point that he earned the nickname of The Frank Sinatra of Japan. He later began a theatrical career in the United States, coming to star in a successful production of “The King and I.”
When he was offered his film debut, James Shigeta took acting lessons. He first appeared on the big screen in the thriller The Red Kimono , where he played an Asian detective. He later starred with Glenn Ford and Donald O’Connor in The House of the Three Geishas , about a group of US Army photographers in Japan. He was a diplomat who married an American, Carroll Baker , in Bridge to the Sun , and a friend of Elvis Presley in Hawaiian Paradise . Later he devoted a lot of time to television.
In recent years, James Shigeta made his most remembered appearance in Die Hard , where the head of the terrorists, Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman ) shot him in the head because he refused to provide him with the security code: “Nice suit. It would be a shame to destroy it, Mr. Takagi”, the villain of the show told him.