James Shigeta
Acting
Born: June 17, 1929 · Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Died: July 28, 2014 (aged 85)
Highest Rated
Biography
James Saburo Shigeta (June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor, singer, and musician of Japanese descent. He was noted for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), 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.
Known for
Die Hard
1988
Mulan
1998
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005
Little House on the Prairie
1974
Beverly Hills, 90210
1990
Babylon 5
1994
Brother
2000
Airwolf
1984
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Magnum, P.I.
1980
Midway
1976
Mission: Impossible
1966
Photos (1)
Movies (37)
Die Hard
Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Mulan
General Li (voice)
Midway
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Brother
Sugimoto
The Yakuza
Goro
Drive
Mr. Lau
China Cry
Dr. Sung
Lost Horizon
Brother To-Lenn
The Crimson Kimono
Detective Joe Kojaku
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Tin Lum Yin
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Danny Kohana
Flower Drum Song
Wang Ta
Cage
Tin Lum Yin
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
Field Marshal Abehata
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
David Lao
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
Carol for Another Christmas
Japanese Doctor
Nobody's Perfect
Diver Toshi O'Hara
Cry for Happy
Suzuki
The Young Lawyers
Lee Ahn
Space Marines
Ambassador Nakamura
The Questor Tapes
Dr. Chen
The People I've Slept With
Charles Yang
Death Walks in Laredo
Lester Koto
Midnight Man
Mao Mak
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Det. Whoo
The Renegades
Jimmy Lee
Samurai
Takeo Chisato
Bridge to the Sun
Hidenari Terasaki
Tomorrow's Child
Donald Shibura
Matt Helm
Tom McCauley
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
Walk Like a Dragon
Cheng Lu
Manila, Open City
Captain Murakami
Escape to Mindanao
Lt. Takahashi
Operation Heartbeat
Chief Resident
Slaying the Dragon
1988
TV Shows (49)
Perry Mason
Ward Toyama · 1 eps
The Love Boat
Bud's Father · 1 eps
Ironside
2 eps
Beverly Hills, 90210
Ben Sosna · 3 eps
Babylon 5
Taro Isogi · 1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
John Sukahara · 1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
Luc Li · 1 eps
Hawaii Five-O
Joseph Matsukino · 1 eps
Magnum, P.I.
Richard Enoka · 1 eps
Magnum, P.I.
Mr. Obotu · 1 eps
Simon & Simon
3 eps
The Rockford Files
Clement Chin · 1 eps
Little House on the Prairie
Sam Wing · 1 eps
T. J. Hooker
Chow Duc Khan · 1 eps
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Old Wanderer (voice) · 1 eps
Airwolf
Colonel Tranh Van Zung · 1 eps
Jake and the Fatman
Mr. Koso Nakasone · 1 eps
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Roy Shigera · 1 eps
Mission: Impossible
Shiki · 1 eps
Emergency!
1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
Prosecutor · 1 eps
Renegade
1 eps
Renegade
Mr. Ota · 1 eps
seaQuest DSV
Vietnamese President Chi · 2 eps
The Outer Limits
Maj. Jong · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
AIO Captain Newa · 1 eps
Police Woman
1 eps
Naked City
James Kam · 1 eps
Ben Casey
1 eps
Ben Casey
Dr. Harvey Lee · 1 eps
Cybill
Mr. Matsuzaki · 1 eps
Burke's Law
Sidney Ying · 1 eps
Medical Center
Dr. Osaka · 2 eps
Matt Houston
Lin Ha · 1 eps
The Hitchhiker
Nishi · 1 eps
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1 eps
Ellery Queen
Stephen Yang · 1 eps
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Inspector Mantjur (voice) · 1 eps
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Dr. Yamashiro (voice) · 1 eps
Threat Matrix
Kang Sok-Joo · 1 eps
S.W.A.T.
1 eps
Masquerade
Makko · 1 eps
The Lieutenant
1 eps
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1 eps
Once an Eagle
Lin Tso-Han · 7 eps
The Bing Crosby Show
1 eps
Kung Fu
Master Kwan Li · 1 eps
Kung Fu
Col. Lin Pei · 1 eps
Self / Appearances (7)
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Audience Member · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner · 1 eps
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self · 1 eps
Hollywood Chinese
Self
Beam Me Up, Sulu
Self
The Slanted Screen
Himself