Chosuke Ikariya of Drifters dies | 日本のニュースを英語で読むならジャパンタイムズウィークリー


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Chosuke Ikariya of Drifters dies

Chosuke Ikariya

Chosuke Ikariya, an actor and leader of the Drifters, one of Japan's best-known slapstick comedy groups, died March 20 at a Tokyo hospital after battling lymph node cancer for nearly a year. He was 72.

Ikariya, whose real given name was Choichi, and four other men formed the Drifters in 1964 and it became one of the biggest successes in Japanese comedy.

The Drifters were famous for their prime-time television slapstick comedy show Hachijidayo Zeninshugo! (It's 8 o'clock, Assemble Everyone!) that was launched in 1969.

After the program ended a 16-year run, Ikariya ventured into acting and appeared in Akira Kurosawa's Dreams in 1990 and other movies.

He often took the role of a police detective in TV dramas and movies, including the recent blockbuster Odoru Daisosasen The Movie 2 -- Rainbow Bridge Wo Fusaseyo! (Bayside Shakedown 2 -- Save The Rainbow Bridge!).

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