James Shigeta

Overview

Known for
Acting
Gender
Other
Birthday
Jun 17, 1929 (95 years old)
Death date
Jul 28, 2014

James Shigeta

Known For

Yorktown: A Time to Heal
0h 23m
Movie 2022

Yorktown: A Time to Heal

Having escaped capture by the Klingons, a damaged Starfleet reconnaissance probe crashes undetected on the planet Pahl III. Hikaru Sulu, serving as first officer on the retrofitted USS Yorktown, is sent by Admiral Nogura on a secret mission to help locate the missing spy drone.

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
0h 53m
Movie 2019

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood

A history of anti-Asian racism and yellowface in Hollywood after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.

Cage
1h 40m
Movie 1989

Cage

A GI in Vietnam saves his buddy's life, but in the process is shot in the head. The injury results in brain damage to the point where he basically has a child's brain in a (very large) man's body. When they get out of the army the two open up a bar together, but some local gangsters make things tough for them after they refuse to take part in brutal "cage" matches where fighters battle to the point of serious injury and/or death.

Slaying the Dragon
0h 58m
Movie 1988

Slaying the Dragon

A highly critical documentary about the history of Asian-American actresses in Hollywood. Features interviews with pioneering Asian-American actresses and clips from classic films such as "The Thief of Bagdad", "The Good Earth", and "The World of Suzie Wong", interspersed with Asian/feminist sociological commentary.

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.

By browsing this website, you accept our cookies policy.