(July 24, 1925 – January 4, 2023), known professionally as , was an American actress. She was known for her film and television roles from the late 1950s until the early 1980s. Her best known role was as an elegant Japanese dancer starring with Marlon Brando in the romantic drama Sayonara (1957).
Early years Taka was born on July 24, 1925 in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles 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 Audrey Hepburn, director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, 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 and brought to Warner Bros. for a screen test, and subsequently offered the part. Although she had had no previous acting experience, Variety gave her a positive review for the role, and Warner Bros. gave her a term contract after completing Sayonara.
After Sayonara, she worked in films with James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Glenn Ford, Miyoshi Umeki and Toshirō Mifune (alongside whom she also worked in the 1980 television miniseries Shõgun). She also served as an interpreter for Mifune and Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood. - Taka mentioned on page 19.
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. Following Blondheim's death in 2002, she married Reginald Hsu in 2003.
Death Taka died on January 4, 2023, at the age of 97.Reginald Lei Hsu She is interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park.Miiko Taka Hsu
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1957 Sayonara Hana-ogi 1958 Panda and the Magic Serpent Fish Spirit (voice) English dub 1960 Hell to Eternity Ester 1961 Cry for Happy Chiyoko 1961 Operation Bottleneck Ari 1963 A Global Affair Fumiko 1965 The Art of Love Chou Chou 1966 Walk, Don't Run Aiko Kurawa 1968 The Power Mrs. Van Zandt 1973 Lost Horizon Nurse 1975 Paper Tiger Madame Kagoyama 1976 Midway TV version only, uncredited 1978 The Big Fix Saleswoman 1982 The Challenge Yoshida's wife
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1959Hawaiian EyeSumikoEpisode: "Second Day of Infamy"Alcoa TheatreNika ShioyaEpisode: "Small Bouquet"1961Adventures in ParadiseRenge YoshikawaEpisode: "The Wonderful Nightingale"1965The Man from U.N.C.L.E.JadeEpisode: "The Hong Kong Shilling Affair"The F.B.I.Akiko MaddockEpisode: "The Problem of the Honorable Wife"I SpyYoshino TasukoEpisode: "Tigers of Heaven"1967The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.Madame DaoEpisode: "The Fountain of Youth Affair"The Wild Wild WestHaruko IshidaEpisode: "The Night of the Deadly Blossom"1972Anna and the KingPoor PeasantEpisode: "The Baby"1974The Brian Keith ShowMrs. BrowningEpisode: "Sean, the Dad"Judge Dee and the Monastery MurdersJade MirrorTV movie1975The Lives of Jenny DolanSecretary1976The MoneychangersMomMiniseries1977Billy: Portrait of a Street KidReceptionistTV movie1978A Family Upside DownMrs. Taka1980ShōgunKiriMiniseries Source:
See also History of the Japanese in Los Angeles
References
External links