Deceased

How Did James Shigeta Die?

Life & Death

Died aged 85

Also known asJames Saburo Shigeta, 繁田三郎GenderMaleNationalityUnited StatesBorn17/06/1929Born inHonolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USADied28/07/2014 (aged 85)Died inLos AngelesCauserespiratory failureWikidataQ1400297 ↗TMDb#4995 ↗

James Saburo Shigeta was an American actor and singer. He was known for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), Midway (1976), Die Hard (1988), and Mulan (1998). In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, along with three other actors.

Read full Wikipedia article ↗

Filmography73 titles

Year	Title	Character	Age at release
2025	Beam Me Up, SuluMovie	Self	96
2022	Yorktown: A Time to HealMovie	Admiral Heilachiro Nogura	93
2019	Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in HollywoodMovie	(archive footage)	90
2007	Hollywood ChineseMovie	Self	78
2006	The Slanted ScreenMovie	Himself	77
2005	Avatar: The Last AirbenderSeries	Old Wanderer (voice)	76
2003	Threat MatrixSeries	Kang Sok-Joo	74
2000	BrotherMovie	Sugimoto	71
1998	MulanMovie	General Li (voice)	69
1996	The Real Adventures of Jonny QuestSeries	Inspector Mantjur (voice)	67
1996	Space MarinesMovie	Ambassador Nakamura	67
1995	CybillSeries	Mr. Matsuzaki	66
1995	Midnight ManMovie	Mao Mak	66
1994	Babylon 5Series	Taro Isogi	65
1994	Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never DieMovie	Det. Whoo	65
1994	Cage II: The Arena of DeathMovie	Tin Lum Yin	65
1993	seaQuest DSVSeries	Vietnamese President Chi	64
1992	RenegadeSeries	—	63
1990	Beverly Hills, 90210Series	Ben Sosna	61
1990	China CryMovie	Dr. Sung	61
1989	CageMovie	Tin Lum Yin	60
1988	Die HardMovie	Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi	59
1988	Slaying the DragonMovie	—	59
1987	Jake and the FatmanSeries	Mr. Koso Nakasone	58
1984	AirwolfSeries	Colonel Tranh Van Zung	55
1984	Murder, She WroteSeries	John Sukahara	55
1983	The HitchhikerSeries	Nishi	54
1983	MasqueradeSeries	Makko	54
1982	T. J. HookerSeries	Chow Duc Khan	53
1982	Matt HoustonSeries	Lin Ha	53
1982	The RenegadesMovie	Jimmy Lee	53
1981	Simon & SimonSeries	—	52
1980	Magnum, P.I.Series	Mr. Obotu	51
1979	SamuraiMovie	Takeo Chisato	50
1977	The Love BoatSeries	Bud's Father	48
1977	The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew MysteriesSeries	—	48
1976	MidwayMovie	Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo	47
1976	The Killer Who Wouldn't DieMovie	David Lao	47
1976	Once an EagleSeries	Lin Tso-Han	47
1975	Ellery QueenSeries	Stephen Yang	46
1975	S.W.A.T.Series	—	46
1975	Matt HelmMovie	Tom McCauley	46
1974	Police WomanSeries	—	45
1974	The Rockford FilesSeries	Clement Chin	45
1974	Little House on the PrairieSeries	Sam Wing	45
1974	The YakuzaMovie	Goro	45
1973	Lost HorizonMovie	Brother To-Lenn	44
1972	Emergency!Series	—	43
1972	The Streets of San FranciscoSeries	—	43
1972	Kung FuSeries	Col. Lin Pei	43
1969	Medical CenterSeries	Dr. Osaka	40
1969	Operation HeartbeatMovie	Chief Resident	40
1969	The Young LawyersMovie	Lee Ahn	40
1968	Hawaii Five-OSeries	Joseph Matsukino	39
1968	Escape to MindanaoMovie	Lt. Takahashi	39
1967	IronsideSeries	—	38
1967	The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese JunkMovie	George Ti Ming	38
1966	Mission: ImpossibleSeries	Shiki	37
1966	Paradise, Hawaiian StyleMovie	Danny Kohana	37
1964	Carol for Another ChristmasMovie	Japanese Doctor	35
1964	The Bing Crosby ShowSeries	—	35
1963	Burke's LawSeries	Sidney Ying	34
1963	The LieutenantSeries	—	34
1963	The Outer LimitsSeries	Maj. Jong	34
1961	Ben CaseySeries	—	32
1961	Dr. KildareSeries	Dr. Roy Shigera	32
1961	Kraft Mystery TheatreSeries	—	32
1961	Cry for HappyMovie	Suzuki	32
1961	Bridge to the SunMovie	Hidenari Terasaki	32
1959	The Crimson KimonoMovie	Detective Joe Kojaku	30
1958	Naked CitySeries	James Kam	29
1957	Perry MasonSeries	Ward Toyama	28
1956	The Dinah Shore Chevy ShowSeries	Self	27