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Shinichi Chiba ( Japanese: 千葉 真一, Hepburn: Chiba Shin'ichi, born Sadaho Maeda; 23 January 1939 – 19 August 2021), known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. [1] . Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Shin'ichi Chiba. Actor: Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Sonny Chiba was born as Sadao Maeda in Fukuoka, Japan on January 22, 1939. His father was a military test pilot. During his youth, he had an interest in both theater & gymnastics. He was talented enough to make the Japanese Olympic Team until a chronic back injury ended his career.
- January 1, 1
- Fukuoka, Japan
- January 1, 1
- Kisarazu, Japan
- Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961) Since Chiba got his start in tokusatsu, we had to include at least one title from this uniquely Japanese genre, and this one is truly vintage, shot in black and white.
- The Street Fighter (1974) The Street Fighter was a game changer, one of the very first modern Japanese martial arts films to get international distribution.
- Wolf Guy: Enraged Lycanthrope (1975) This is not a Mystery Science Theater film, but it should be. Wolf Guy is a hard-to-find cult film where Chiba plays Akira Inugami, the last survivor of a clan of werewolves who uses his lupine powers to solve crimes.
- Karate Bullfighter aka Champion of Death (1975) Chiba played his illustrious sensei Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama in a film trilogy based on a biographical manga titled Karate Baka Ichidai (Karate fanatic) by Ikki Kajiwara that began in 1971 and ran until 1977.
Shin'ichi Chiba. Actor: Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Sonny Chiba was born as Sadao Maeda in Fukuoka, Japan on January 22, 1939. His father was a military test pilot. During his youth, he had an interest in both theater & gymnastics. He was talented enough to make the Japanese Olympic Team until a chronic back injury ended his career.
- January 22, 1939
- August 19, 2021
Aug 19, 2021 · Chiba died Thursday at age 82, his management company announced. His friend Ryuji Yamakita, the director and producer of Chiba's final film, confirmed he died in a hospital in Chiba...
- 3 min
- Andrew Limbong
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Oct 18, 2021 · Sonny Chiba, a transformative force in martial arts cinema, amassed six black belts and over 200 film credits. ... (Hiroki Matsukata) is set after the young boy to kill him before his journey's end.
Aug 20, 2021 · Sonny Chiba became a name you knew in 1975. He was previously Shinichi Chiba, a movie star who was discovered in a 1959 talent contest by Japan’s Toei film studio. Chiba was also Sadaho Maeda, an athlete and would-be gymnast, born in 1939.
