# Sab Shimono

Saburo Shimono (下野 三郎, Shimono Saburō, born July 31, 1937), commonly known as Sab Shimono, is an American actor of Japanese descent. He began his career on stage on Broadway and in regional theaters, starring in musicals like Mame, Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen, and Pacific Overtures. He has appeared in dozens of films and television shows in character roles, including Midway, Gung Ho, Presumed Innocent, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, The Shadow, Jackie Chan Adventures, Samurai Jack, and Southland Tales.

## Early life and education

Shimono was born and raised in Sacramento, California, to restaurant owners Edith Mary (née Otani) and Masauchi Shimono.
During World War II, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Shimono and his family were interned at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center and the Granada War Relocation Center. Shimono later played a character who had a similar experience in a 2023 TV episode.
He attended Sacramento High School and graduated from University of California, Berkeley.

## Career

Shimono has appeared on Broadway and in regional theaters including San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He was cast as Ito opposite Angela Lansbury's Auntie Mame in Jerry Herman's Broadway musical hit Mame in 1966. This was followed by Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen (1970), The Chickencoop Chinaman (1972), and the role of Manjiro in Stephen Sondheim & Harold Prince's Pacific Overtures (1976) – he would go on to play Lord Abe in the 2004 Broadway revival. He was in the short lived 1978 musical Barbary Coast, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his leading performance in Philip Kan Gotanda's The Wash. In 2010, he appeared in the world premiere of No-No Boy by Ken Narasaki based on the novel by John Okada. He is closely affiliated with the East West Players and South Coast Repertory companies, most recently starring in a run of Julia Cho's Aubergine.
His film roles include Lt. Tomonaga in Midway, Saito in the 1986 comedy Gung Ho, Hiroshi Kawamura in the 1990 drama Come See the Paradise, the coroner "Painless" Kumagai in 1990's Presumed Innocent, Dr. Max Shinoda in 1993's Suture, Lord Norinaga in 1993's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and in Old Dogs, alongside John Travolta and Robin Williams, as Japanese billionaire Yoshiro Nishamura. He played Dr. Tam in the 1994 film The Shadow. He can also be seen in Asian American independent films Americanese (2006), The Sensei (2008) and Life Tastes Good (1999). Shimono performed the voice of Subotai in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, dubbing actor Gerry Lopez.
On television, he starred on the 2008 ABC family miniseries Samurai Girl. Shimono provided the voices of antique-shop owner/Chi Wizard Uncle Chan on the television series Jackie Chan Adventures, the elderly version of the Emperor (Jack's father) on Samurai Jack, Airbending Master Monk Gyatso and Master Yu on the popular series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Mister Sparkle ("In Marge We Trust") and Master Sushi Chef ("One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish") on The Simpsons and Mr. Murakami on 2012's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. He also appeared in Royal Pains, season 3 episode "But There's a Catch", as Jono the gardener. In 2007, he appeared in the episode "Don't Worry, Speed Racer" on Two and a Half Men. In 1991 he had a role in the television pilot Plymouth, which at the time was considered to be one of the most expensive such movies ever made. He also appeared in two episodes of the television show M*A*S*H.

## Personal life

Shimono is gay and has been in a relationship with writer Steve Alden Nelson since 2001. The couple registered their domestic partnership in April 2005 and married in San Diego on June 23, 2008.

## Theater credits

| Year | Title | Role | Company | Notes |
| 1964 | Flower Drum Song | Wang Ta | Melody Fair Theatre | |
| 1965 | South Pacific | Henry | New York City Center | |
| 1966-68 | Mame | Ito (original cast) | The Shubert Organization | |
| 1968 | Mame (West Coast) | Ito (replacement) | The Shubert Organization | |
| 1968-70 | Mame | Ito (replacement) | The Shubert Organization | |
| 1970-71 | Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen | Ancient Man, Mr. Keora, Okinawan, Mr. Oshira (understudy) | Majestic Theatre | |
| 1972 | The Chickencoop Chinaman | Kenji | The American Place Theatre | |
| 1973 | Othello | The Clown | Amas Musical Theatre | |
| 1973-75 | Santa Anita '42 | Commissioner, Michael | Playwrights Horizons Company | |
| 1974 | Ride the Winds | Yamada | Majestic Theatre | |
| 1976 | Pacific Overtures | Manjiro, Ensemble Member | The Shubert Organization | |
| 1978 | Barbary Coast | Captain Chung | Orpheum Theatre | LA Weekly Theater Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role |
| 1980 | The Music Lessons | Kaoru Kawaguchi | The Public Theater | |
| 1983 | Mame | Ito | Gershwin Theatre | |
| 1985-86 | As the Crow Flies | P.K. | Los Angeles Theatre Center | |
| 1985-86 | The Wash | Sadao | Mark Taper Forum | |
| 1988-89 | Yankee Dawg You Die | Vincent Chang | Playwrights Horizons | Drama-Logue Award |
| 1990-91 | The Wash | Nobu Matsumoto | Manhattan Theatre Club | Nominated- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
| 1995-96 | Ballad of Yachiyo | Papa | South Coast Repertory | |
| 1998 | Red | Hua | Intiman Theatre | |
| 2000 | Follies | Ben | East West Players | |
| 2001 | Yankee Dawg You Die | Vincent Chang | East West Players | |
| 2002 | Sisters Matsumoto | Hideo | East West Players | |
| 2003 | The Nisei Widows Club | Tak | East West Players | |
| 2004 | The Wind Cries Mary | Dr. Nakada | East West Players | |
| 2004-05 | Pacific Overtures | Lord Abe | Roundabout Theatre Company | |
| 2008 | The Pleasure of His Company | Toi | Old Globe Theatre | |
| 2008 | A Majority of One | Koichi Asano | West Coast Jewish Theatre | |
| 2010 | No-No Boy | Pa | Miles Memorial Playhouse | |
| 2011 | Wrinkles | Grandpa Harry | East West Players | |
| 2014 | The Orphan of Zhao | Gongsun Chujiu, Ensemble Member | American Conservatory Theater | |
| 2015 | tokyo fish story | Koji | South Coast Repertory | |
| 2016 | Aubergine | Mr. Park | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | |
| 2019 | Aubergine | Mr. Park | South Coast Repertory | |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | Loving | Byron | |
| 1971 | The Hospital | Operating Room Staff Member | Uncredited |
| 1972 | Parades | Togo | |
| 1976 | Midway | Lt. Joichi Tomonaga | |
| 1978 | Rabbit Test | Chinese Leader | |
| 1981 | Nice Dreams | Oriental Bus Boy | |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Subutai | Voice, uncredited |
| 1982 | The Challenge | Toshio Yoshida | |
| 1983 | Where the Toys Come From | Kenji the Designer | |
| 1986 | Gung Ho | Saito | |
| 1987 | Blind Date | Mr. Yakamoto | |
| 1988 | The Wash | Sadao | |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Dr. "Painless" Kumagai | |
| 1990 | Come See the Paradise | Hiroshi Kawamura | |
| 1993 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III | Lord Norinaga | |
| 1993 | Suture | Dr. Max Shinoda | |
| 1994 | 3 Ninjas Kick Back | Koga | |
| 1994 | Murder Between Friends | Dr. Lee | |
| 1994 | The Shadow | Dr. Roy Tam | |
| 1995 | Waterworld | Elder | |
| 1996 | Zoo Rush 2: Destination New York | Akira the forest cobra | Voice |
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Col. Hirota | |
| 1998 | The Big Hit | Jiro Nishi | |
| 1999 | Life Tastes Good | Harry Sado | |
| 2000 | Luminarias | Lu's Father | |
| 2001 | Ice Planet | Karteez A. Rumla | |
| 2003 | Robot Stories | John | Segment: "Clay" |
| 2004 | Worlds Apart | Teijo | |
| 2006 | Americanese | Wood Ding | |
| 2006 | Southland Tales | Hideo Takehashi | |
| 2008 | The Sensei | Taki Nakano | |
| 2009 | Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword | Takagawa | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2009 | Old Dogs | Yoshiro Nishamura | |
| 2011 | The Arcadian | Moto | |
| 2013 | Yellow Face | HYH | |
| 2013 | Sex & Marriage | Mike | |
| 2016 | The Watcher | Wendell | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1962 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Father Chen | Episode: "The Cross and the Dragon" |
| 1964 | East Side/West Side | Sam | Episode: "If Your Grandmother Had Wheels" |
| 1967 | Coronet Blue | Student | Episode: "Tomoyo" |
| 1973 | Pueblo | Capt. Rhee | Television film |
| 1976 | Pacific Overtures | Manjiro, Ensemble Member | Television film |
| 1977 | Baa Baa Black Sheep | Japanese Bomber Commander | Episode: "Divine Wind" |
| 1977–78 | The Krofft Supershow | Huli | Main cast |
| 1978 | And the Soul Shall Dance | Murata | Television film |
| 1978, 1980 | M*A*S*H | Kwang, Jin | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | How the West Was Won | Cook | Episode: "The Gunfighter" |
| 1979 | Mandrake | Ho | Television film |
| 1979 | When Hell Was in Session | Cao | Television film |
| 1980, 1981 | Quincy, M.E. | Ito, Governor | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | The Waltons | Cpl. Kiyomo | Episode: "The Last Ten Days" |
| 1981 | Palmerstown, U.S.A. | Yeung-Lee | Episode: "Epidemic" |
| 1982 | Bring 'Em Back Alive | Nakamoto | Episode: "Seven Keys to Singapore" |
| 1982 | Cagney & Lacey | Cunningham | Episode: "One of Our Own" |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Koji | Episode: "Rich and Hartless" |
| 1982 | Modesty Blaise | Weng | Television film |
| 1982, 1986 | Remington Steele | Kenji Ito, Sam Kuromatsu | 2 episodes |
| 1983 | Knight Rider | Hito Osaka | Episode: "Give Me Liberty... or Give Me Death" |
| 1983 | Tales of the Gold Monkey | Gen. Anago | Episode: "Mourning Becomes Matuka" |
| 1984 | Call to Glory | Diem | Episode: "Go/No Go" |
| 1984 | Santa Barbara | Caretaker | Episode #1.58 |
| 1985 | Airwolf | Ko | Episode: "The American Dream" |
| 1985 | Street Hawk | Mr. Chen | Episode: "Chinatown Memories" |
| 1985 | Hotel | Inspector James Matsuoka | Episode: "Identities" |
| 1986 | Our House | Veterinarian | Episode: "Choices" |
| 1986 | A Year in the Life | Kwan | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 1986–87 | Gung Ho | Saito | 9 episodes |
| 1988 | Max Headroom | Ped Xing | Episode: "Neurostim" |
| 1989 | Knots Landing | Pharmacist | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Newhart | Suntara | Episode: "The Last Newhart" |
| 1990 | Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes | Shizuo | Television film |
| 1990 | Dear John | Charlie Moura | Episode: "Hot Lips Lacey" |
| 1991 | Plymouth | Hiro | Television film |
| 1991 | American Playhouse | Takahashi Hosoume | Episode: "Hot Summer Winds" |
| 1991, 1997 | The Simpsons | Master Chef, Mr. Sparkle | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Raven | Mr. Koyosaka | Episode: "The Death of Sheila" |
| 1993 | Silent Cries | Natsume | Television film |
| 1994 | All-American Girl | Sammy | Episode: "Yung at Heart" |
| 1994 | The X-Files | Gung Bituen | Episode: "Excelsis Dei" |
| 1996 | The Steve Harvey Show | Bobby Wong | Episode: "Loose Lips Sink Friendships" |
| 1996 | Seinfeld | Executive No. 1 | Episode: "The Checks" |
| 1996 | ER | Dr. Richard Okida | Episode: "No Brain, No Gain" |
| 1999 | Jack & Jill | Mr. Tanaka | Episode: "The Awful Truth" |
| 2000–05 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Uncle Chan | Voice, main role |
| 2001–17 | Samurai Jack | The Emperor | Voice, 5 episodes |
| 2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Monk | Voice, episode: "Dead Reckoning" |
| 2006 | Popcorn Zen | Kan Ogawa | Episode #2.1 |
| 2005–07 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Monk Gyatso, Master Yu | Voice, 6 episodes |
| 2007 | Two and a Half Men | Hiroshi | Episode: "Don't Worry, Speed Racer" |
| 2007 | Clark and Michael | Man at Driving Range | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Legion of Super Heroes | K3NT | Voice, episode: "The Man from the Edge of Tomorrow" |
| 2007 | Ben 10: Race Against Time | Old Man | Television film |
| 2008 | Samurai Girl | Noriyuki | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Boondocks | Mr. Long Dou | Voice, episode: "The Red Ball" |
| 2010 | Mad Men | Ichiro Kamura | Episode: "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" |
| 2011–12 | Hawaii Five-0 | Keako Kelly | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Longmire | Francis Igawa | Episode: "War Eagle" |
| 2012–15 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Mr. Murakami | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Flaked | Wild Bill | Episode: "Palms" |
| 2016 | Legends of Tomorrow | Ichiro Yamashiro | Episode: "Shogun" |
| 2017 | The Blacklist | Daniel Nakamoto | Episode: "Dembe Zuma (No. 10)" |
| 2017 | Ave 43 | Dr. Dye | Web series; 4 episodes |
| 2017-18 | Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters | Grandpa Park | Voice, recurring role (seasons 1 and 2) |
| 2019 | The Terror | Kazu | Episode: "Into the Afterlife" |
| 2023 | Magnum P.I. | George Nakamura | Episode: "Appetite for Danger" |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings | Archie Tan | |