Film fans are mourning the loss of an iconic action star. Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba died Thursday, Aug. 19 from Covid-19 complications at age 82, according to his management team. In addition to roles in such Hollywood films as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill saga, the performer was also known for numerous Japanese martial arts movies dating back to the early 1960s. Sonny's manager, Timothy Beal, told CNN in an email that the star was a "humble, caring and friendly man." During a 2007 interview with British host Jonathan Ross, Sonny explained that he didn't have a problem with portraying villainous characters. "For me, the...
- 8/20/2021
- E! Online
Sonny Chiba, the Japanese actor and martial artist known internationally for appearing in the Kill Bill films and The Fast and the Furious, died of Covid complications, his agent confirmed to Deadline. He was 82.
“He was a great friend and an awesome client. Such a humble, caring and friendly man. I will surely miss him,” said the actor’s agent Timothy Beal.
Chiba was a prolific actor in Japanese film and TV, racking up more than 125 credits for the famed Toei studios, and was also a noted stunt choreographer. In his later career, he attracted attention internationally by playing the sushi chef and retired samurai Hattori Hanzo in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Tarantino was a noted fan of Chiba; in his screenplay for True Romance, Christian Slater’s character is a fan of the actor.
After being talent spotted by the famed Toei film studio in the 1960s,...
“He was a great friend and an awesome client. Such a humble, caring and friendly man. I will surely miss him,” said the actor’s agent Timothy Beal.
Chiba was a prolific actor in Japanese film and TV, racking up more than 125 credits for the famed Toei studios, and was also a noted stunt choreographer. In his later career, he attracted attention internationally by playing the sushi chef and retired samurai Hattori Hanzo in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Tarantino was a noted fan of Chiba; in his screenplay for True Romance, Christian Slater’s character is a fan of the actor.
After being talent spotted by the famed Toei film studio in the 1960s,...
- 8/19/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, a martial arts master and a Japanese actor who played legendary sword maker Hattori Hanzo in “Kill Bill,” has died at age 82, according to Japan’s Oricon News.
According to Oricon, Chiba died Thursday in Chiba Prefecture Kimitsu hospital from pneumonia caused by Covid-19. He had been hospitalized since August 8.
Sonny Chiba’s was also confirmed to TheWrap by his manager Timothy Beal, who says that Chiba would have next starred in a film prior to the pandemic called “Outbreak Z” that would have starred Jesse Ventura and Wesley Snipes.
“He was a Great friend and an Awesome client. Such a humble, caring and friendly man,” Beal told TheWrap. “I will surely miss him.”
Chiba, a skilled martial artist, starred in dozens of films and television shows since the early ’60s. Among his popular films were the “Yakuza Cop” and “Street Fighter” series in the ’70s, which...
According to Oricon, Chiba died Thursday in Chiba Prefecture Kimitsu hospital from pneumonia caused by Covid-19. He had been hospitalized since August 8.
Sonny Chiba’s was also confirmed to TheWrap by his manager Timothy Beal, who says that Chiba would have next starred in a film prior to the pandemic called “Outbreak Z” that would have starred Jesse Ventura and Wesley Snipes.
“He was a Great friend and an Awesome client. Such a humble, caring and friendly man,” Beal told TheWrap. “I will surely miss him.”
Chiba, a skilled martial artist, starred in dozens of films and television shows since the early ’60s. Among his popular films were the “Yakuza Cop” and “Street Fighter” series in the ’70s, which...
- 8/19/2021
- by Lawrence Yee and Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The woman who played Michael Jackson's costar in the iconic music video "Thriller" is in the midst of a real-life nightmare ... now that her ex-manager has been charged with felony stalking. Ola Ray's alleged stalker, Timothy Beal, has been slapped with a slew of charges coming on the heels of incidents last month that forced her to file for a restraining order. Beal's been charged with 3 felonies -- stalking, vandalism and grand theft,...
- 2/9/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
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