Taking a break on the set of GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH (1971) ©Toho
This is the first photo I ever saw of the man who played Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima, in an early '70s issue of Greg Shoemaker's seminal Japanese Fantasy Film Journal (which subsequently appeared in the pages of Randall D. Larson's Cinefan and Forrest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland), and I consider it to be the definitive image of the man (thanks Greg!).
Mr. Nakajima turns a spry 81 today, and wants his fans to know that he is still going strong (check out my 2009 birthday notice for more information on Japan's dean of monster actors)! We cannot thank him enough for his myriad of kaiju roles which started in 1954 with the roar that was heard around the world in GODZILLA. Help us to wish Mr. Nakajima have one of the greatest years ever, by expressing your own personal greetings and sending them to Armand Vaquer, who will officially forward them to Godzilla himself!
8 comments:
always nice to see this pic, thanx!
Right Prof,
Especially since it's the original photo seen in those magazines years ago, courtesy of Greg Shoemaker himself!
Cheers,
August
May I also wish him a happy B-Day.
Though with the mention of Gred Shoemacher, I read that "Japanese Fantasy Film Journal" was canceled because Greg lost interest. Was it that he lost interest in running the fanzine or did he loose interest in the genre?
Evan,
This is the wrong place to ask that question, but JFFJ was a self-published magazine. So, Greg Shoemaker (not "Gred Shoemacher") could do the zine or not. There was no publisher involved, no "cancellation", just Greg. He eventually felt that the magazine had run its course when live action science fiction cinema gave way to animated science fiction in the 1980s — and he was really not into it (he explains this in his editorial in the last issue). So, he pulled the plug. That was his call and nobody else's.
Now, let's get back to the Haruo Nakajima Celebration!
Cheers,
August
Happy Birthday Mr. Nakajima and here's wishing you the best in health and happiness in 2010 and beyond!
The Nakajimas received the birthday greetings that were posted at my blog and sent a thank-you note.
http://armandsrancho.blogspot.com/2010/01/thanks-from-sonoe-nakajima.html
Interesting that the movie is about Godzilla battling a creature that was a spawn of pollution and smog, yet here's a photo of Godzilla holding a cigarette!
Very cool, nonetheless!
Nice Blogging. I like that very much. According to me Godzilla always remains as a heroic monster. I love collecting many Godzilla Toys. Its a fun playing with it.
Post a Comment