James Shigeta

James Saburo Shigeta (Japanese: 繁田 三郎; June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor and singer. He was known for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), Midway (1976), Die Hard (1988), and Mulan (1998). In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, along with three other actors.

In his early career, Shigeta often played romantic male lead roles, which were almost nonexistent for an actor of Asian descent during his time, making him a trailblazer in Asian American representation in media. The Goldsea Asian-American Daily magazine listed him as one of the "Most Inspiring Asian-Americans of All Time".

Before his Hollywood career he found success as a pop singer and performer abroad, especially in Japan and Australia.

Born in the Territory of Hawaii in 1929 as a sansei, a third-generation Japanese-American, Shigeta was a 1947 graduate of President Theodore Roosevelt High School, and studied drama at New York University.

After completing ROTC, he enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard's 298th Infantry, prior to his 1951 enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He served for two-and-a-half years, and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Shigeta entered and won first prize on Ted Mack's television talent show, The Original Amateur Hour in 1950. Embarking on a singing career in Los Angeles, he teamed with Hawaiian operatic tenor Charles K.L. Davis. Their agent at the time gave them the non-ethnic sounding stage names of "Guy Brion" for Shigeta, and "Charles Durand" for Davis. They developed a supper club musical career in the United States, singing at venues such as the Mocambo and the Los Angeles Players Club. Despite that success, breaking into the movies eluded him.

During the Korean War Shigeta enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he entertained troops in California. En route to Korea, the ceasefire led Shigeta to Japan, where he was discharged from the Marines and hired by the theatrical division of Toho Studios.

Shigeta did not speak Japanese until Toho Studios in Tokyo invited him to be a musical star under his real name in Japan. He became a success in all media aspects of his day–radio, television, stage, supper clubs, movies, recordings–to such an extent that he became widely known as "The Frank Sinatra of Japan".