Dale Ishimoto

Dale Ishimoto (April 3, 1923 – March 4, 2004) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California.[1]

Dale Ishimoto
Ishimoto in a publicity photo for Midway (1976)
Born(1923-04-03)April 3, 1923
Delta, Colorado, U.S.
DiedMarch 4, 2004(2004-03-04) (aged 80)
Culver City, California, U.S.
Years active1957–1998
SpouseMiiko Taka (m. 1944; div. 1958)

Military service

After being sent to the Gila River internment camp in Arizona,[2] Ishimoto volunteered to fight in World War II, joining the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After two years, he was awarded a Purple Heart and given a medical discharge.[3]

Entertainment career

After starting a business in Chicago, he moved back to California, where he grew up, and started his acting career by acting at the Altadena Playhouse. He became a "familiar figure" for playing "villainous Japanese soldiers".[3]

Over the course of his career, he acted in a wide variety of movies, such as a Japanese army captain in Beach Red (1967), a Korean doctor in MASH (1970), a karate instructor in Superchick (1973), and as Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya in Midway (1976).

He became known in the late 1990s for his appearances in television commercials for Nissan in which he portrayed Yutaka Katayama, the company's former president.[4] He also appeared in one episode of Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Personal life

Ishimoto married Miiko Taka in Baltimore in 1944,[5] and they had two children: a son and a daughter. They divorced in 1958.[6]

Filmography

Selected television
Year Title Role Notes
1962 Have Gun - Will Travel Temuchin - Paladin's Fencing Instructor Episode "The Mark of Cain"
1962-63 McHale's Navy Japanese Officer 3 Episodes
1961 Wanted Dead or Alive Taro Yamamoto Season 3, Episode 24 "The Long Search"

References
  1. Shearer, John (1997-07-20). "Question?". Chattanooga Free Press. p. A2.
  2. "Japanese American Internee Data File: Dale Ishimoto". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  3. Scott, John L. (October 3, 1967). "Japanese Actor No Longer Villain". Los Angeles Times. p. C1.
  4. Elliot, Stuart (1997-08-14). "Nissan exults over an offbeat campaign, despite flat sales and a debate on ads that 'entertain.'". The New York Times. p. A2.
  5. "Actress Miiko Taka of Movies Wins Divorce". Los Angeles Times. November 18, 1958. p. B1.
  6. "Miiko Taka Gets Divorce". The New York Times. November 17, 1958.


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