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Miiko Taka
Miiko Taka 1958b.jpg
Taka in 1958
Born
Miiko Shikata

(1925-07-24)July 24, 1925
Died January 2023(2023-01-00) (aged 97)
Other names Betty Ishimoto
Years active 1957–1982
Spouse(s)
Dale Ishimoto
(m. 1944; div. 1958)
Lennie Blondheim
(m. 1963)
Children 2

Miiko Taka (高美以子, Taka Miiko) (born Miiko Shikata July 24, 1925 – January 2023) was an American actress, popular for her film and TV roles from the late 1950s until the early 1980s. Her best known role was as an elegant Japanese dancer starring opposite Marlon Brando in the Korean War drama Sayonara. She also acted in several other films and TV shows with fellow performers such as Miyoshi Umeki, James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Toshirō Mifune.

Early years

Taka was born in 1925 in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California as a Nisei; her parents had immigrated from Japan. In 1942, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, she was interned with her family at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona.

Career

After director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down, he looked to cast an unknown actress. Taka, who at the time was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles, was discovered by a talent scout at a local Nisei festival. Although she had no previous acting experience, Variety gave her a positive review in their review of the film. Warner Bros. gave her a term contract as a result of her performance in Sayonara.

After Sayonara, she worked in films with James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Glenn Ford and Toshirō Mifune (alongside whom she also worked in the 1980 television miniseries, Shõgun). She also served as an interpreter for Mifune as well as Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood.

Personal life

Taka married Japanese-American actor Dale Ishimoto in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1944, and they had one son, Greg Shikata, who works in the film industry, and one daughter. They divorced in 1958.

Taka married Los Angeles television news director Lennie Blondheim in 1963. She resided in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Taka's death, at the age of 97, was announced by her grandson on January 4, 2023.

Motion pictures

Miiko Taka 1958
Miiko Taka in 1958
Year Title Role Notes
1957 Sayonara Hana-ogi Screen debut, co-star with Marlon Brando
1958 Panda and the Magic Serpent Fish Spirit Voice: English version
1960 Hell to Eternity Ester Stars Jeffrey Hunter
1961 Cry for Happy Chiyoko Reunites with Sayonara co-star Miyoshi Umeki
1961 Operation Bottleneck Ari Shares top billing with Ron Foster and Norman Alden
1963 A Global Affair Fumiko Stars Bob Hope
1965 The Art of Love Chou Chou Reunites with Sayonara co-star James Garner
1966 Walk, Don't Run Aiko Kurawa Final film of Cary Grant's career
1968 The Power Mrs. Van Zandt
1973 Lost Horizon Nurse
1975 Paper Tiger Madame Kagoyama first movie working with Toshirō Mifune
1976 Midway TV version only, Uncredited
1978 The Big Fix Saleswoman Stars Richard Dreyfuss
1982 The Challenge Yoshida's wife Taka's last film, starring Toshirō Mifune

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Miiko Taka para niños

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