Japanese Actor Tonpei Hidari Dies at 80

February 25, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese actor Tonpei Hidari, known for his outstanding supporting roles, died of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on Saturday. He was 80.

Hidari, whose real name was Michihiro Hidaki, started to attract attention through his appearances in "Jikan-desuyo" (It's Time) and "Terauchi Kantaro Ikka" (Kantaro Terauchi and His Family), both blockbuster television drama series in the 1970s.

He also played a role in 1983 movie "Narayama Bushiko" (The Ballad of Narayama), which was directed by Shohei Imamura and won the Palme d'Or top prize in the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.

Hidari, a native of Tokyo, debuted as a singer in 1973 with "Tonpei's Hey You Blues." He suffered acute myocardial infarction in June last year. Jiji Press