James Shigeta
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
Perry Mason
Ward Toyama
Murder, She Wrote
John Sukahara
Murder, She Wrote
Luc Li
Beverly Hills, 90210
Ben Sosna
Little House on the Prairie
Sam Wing
Magnum, P.I.
Richard Enoka
Magnum, P.I.
Mr. Obotu
The Love Boat
Bud's Father
Babylon 5
Taro Isogi
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Old Wanderer (voice)
Mission: Impossible
Shiki
Hawaii Five-O
Joseph Matsukino
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Audience Member
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
Die Hard
Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi
Ironside
Emergency!
The Rockford Files
Clement Chin
Airwolf
Colonel Tranh Van Zung
Renegade
Renegade
Mr. Ota
T. J. Hooker
Chow Duc Khan
seaQuest DSV
Vietnamese President Chi
Police Woman
Simon & Simon
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Roy Shigera
Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Dr. Harvey Lee
Mulan
General Li (voice)
Naked City
James Kam
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Inspector Mantjur (voice)
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Dr. Yamashiro (voice)
The Outer Limits
Maj. Jong
The Outer Limits
AIO Captain Newa
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
Prosecutor
Jake and the Fatman
Mr. Koso Nakasone
Cybill
Mr. Matsuzaki
The Hitchhiker
Nishi
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
Burke's Law
Sidney Ying
Medical Center
Dr. Osaka
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
Matt Houston
Lin Ha
Ellery Queen
Stephen Yang
Threat Matrix
Kang Sok-Joo
Midway
Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
Drive
Mr. Lau
Brother
Sugimoto
S.W.A.T.
Hollywood Chinese
Self
The Lieutenant
Midnight Man
Mao Mak
The Bing Crosby Show
Masquerade
Makko
Kraft Mystery Theatre
China Cry
Dr. Sung
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Tin Lum Yin
Space Marines
Ambassador Nakamura
Cage
Tin Lum Yin
Once an Eagle
Lin Tso-Han
Bridge to the Sun
Hidenari Terasaki
Death Walks in Laredo
Lester Koto
Kung Fu
Master Kwan Li
Kung Fu
Col. Lin Pei
The Yakuza
Goro
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Danny Kohana
Yorktown: A Time to Heal
Admiral Heilachiro Nogura
The Crimson Kimono
Detective Joe Kojaku
Lost Horizon
Brother To-Lenn
Nobody's Perfect
Diver Toshi O'Hara
Flower Drum Song
Wang Ta
Home from the Eastern Sea
Narrator
Cry for Happy
Harue
Tomorrow's Child
Donald Shibura
Walk Like a Dragon
Cheng Lu
The Questor Tapes
Dr. Chen
The Young Lawyers
Lee Ahn
Carol for Another Christmas
Japanese Doctor
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
Beam Me Up, Sulu
Self
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Det. Whoo
Manila, Open City
Captain Murakami
The Slanted Screen
Himself
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb
Field Marshal Abehata
Samurai
Takeo Chisato
The People I've Slept With
Charles Yang
The Renegades
Jimmy Lee
Matt Helm
Tom McCauley
Escape to Mindanao
Lt. Takahashi
The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
George Ti Ming
Slaying the Dragon
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
David Lao
Operation Heartbeat
Chief Resident
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
Narrator