Hitoshi Ueki

Hitoshi Ueki (植木 等, Ueki Hitoshi, December 25, 1926 – March 27, 2007) was a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, voice actor, and guitarist. He won six awards for acting. His film credits stretch from 1960 to 1995.
Alias: Mickey Ueki (ミッキー植木, mikkī ueki)
Nicknames: Bon-san (ボンさん), Ueki-ya (植木屋), Ueki Yan (植木やん)
== Career ==
Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in 1926, Ueki came to fame through the comic jazz-band The Crazy Cats led by Hajime Hana. His major appearances were in the Musekinin Otoko film series, the comedy variety show Shabondama Holiday, the prime-time television series The Hangman, and the ten 2-hour television shows in the Nagoya Yomeiri Monogatari franchise. He appeared in the Akira Kurosawa epic jidaigeki film Ran, and received a nomination for the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1978, he won that honor for his performance in Congratulatory Speech, directed by Tomio Kuriyama. On stage, he portrayed Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago.
Additionally, Ueki voiced the Roddy McDowall role in Planet of the Apes.
His hit song with Hana Hajime and the Crazy Cats, Sūdara-bushi, placed in the Oricon top ten, and landed him an appearance on the NHK annual music spectacular Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Ueki received the Purple Ribbon Medal of Honour in 1993 and the 4th Class Order of the Rising Sun in 1999. He also served as a narrator in the Japanese version of Tom and Jerry in the late 1960s to early 70s. Currently, new technology is being used to create a Vocaloid voicebank using his voice. Ueki passed away at the Tokyo Hospital in 2007 from a respiratory failure at the age of 80. 
== Films ==
* All films on IMDB