Harold Sakata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Harold Sakata |
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| Birth name | Toshiyuki Sakata |
| Born | July 1, 1920 Holualoa, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Died | July 29, 1982 (aged 62) St. Francis Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tosh Togo Tosh Tojo Harold Sakata Mr. Sakata Toska Sakata |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | Honolulu, Hawaii Tokyo, Japan Yokohama, Japan Osaka, Japan |
| Trained by | Tsutao Higami Ben Sherman |
| Debut | c. 1949 |
| Retired | c. 1975 |
| Olympic medal record | ||
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| Men's Weightlifting | ||
Representing the  United States |
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| Silver | 1948 London | Light-heavyweight |
Toshiyuki Sakata (born July 1, 1920 – died July 29, 1982), known as Harold Sakata, was an American athlete. He was an Olympic weightlifter, a professional wrestler, and a film actor. He was of Japanese descent.
Harold Sakata won a silver medal for the United States in weightlifting at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Later, he became a popular professional wrestler. He used the ring name Tosh Togo. He often wrestled in tag teams with Great Togo. He also wrestled in Japan. Because of his wrestling, he was chosen to act in the James Bond movie Goldfinger (1964). He played the villain Oddjob, a role he became very famous for.
Contents
Early Life and Growing Up
Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920, in Holualoa, Hawaii. His parents were Japanese-American and worked on a Kona coffee farm. He had many brothers and sisters. When he was a teenager, he started using the name "Harold."
In 1936, Harold left school to help his family on their coffee farm. The next year, he started working at a sugar plantation. After that, he worked on a pineapple farm on the island of Lanai. He then moved to Maui for more farm work. By 1938, he was living in Honolulu, where he lived for most of his adult life.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. He was part of the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.
Becoming a Weightlifting Champion
When Harold was eighteen, he was quite thin. He weighed only 113 pounds (51 kg) and was 5 feet 8 inches tall. He wanted to get stronger and "look as good as the other guys." So, he started lifting weights. He trained at the Nu'uanu YMCA, which was a gym for Asian athletes at the time.
After about a year of training, Harold gained about twenty pounds of muscle. This success made him want to compete. In 1941, he won the light-heavyweight championship in Hawaii. During the war, he won several more championships in Oahu. By 1943, he was very strong.
After leaving the army, Harold stayed in Honolulu. He became a leader for other local weightlifters. In 1946, he set a Hawaiian record in weightlifting. He also won the "Mr. Hawaii" physique title that year.
Harold and his friend Richard Tom decided to form a weightlifting team. Their goal was to do well in the USA Weightlifting National Championships in Texas in 1947. Harold won first place in his weight class.
Because of his success, Harold qualified for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He won a silver medal in the light-heavyweight division. This was a huge achievement for him and the United States.
Life as a Professional Wrestler
Starting Out in Wrestling
In 1949, Harold Sakata stopped weightlifting and began training to be a professional wrestler. His teachers were Tetsuro Higami and Ben Sherman. At first, he was called "the Human Tank, Mr. Sakata." He played a good guy, or "face," using his army service and Olympic medal to gain fans. Later, he became a "heel," or bad guy, and used the name Tosh Togo.
As Tosh Togo, Harold wrestled all over Hawaii. He then traveled across America and Canada, especially on the West Coast. People liked him there because there were many Japanese immigrants.
Wrestling in Japan
In 1951, Harold was invited to go on a special wrestling tour to Japan. This tour was for charity, to help a children's hospital. Harold and other wrestlers flew to Tokyo. They put on many shows. One of these shows was very important. It was the first professional wrestling match for Rikidōzan. Rikidōzan was a famous sumo wrestler who became known as "the Father of Puroresu" (Japanese professional wrestling).
Rikidōzan joined Harold and Bobby Bruns on their tour of Japan. Rikidōzan often won his matches against foreign wrestlers. This helped him become very popular in Japan. The tour lasted until early 1952. Most wrestlers went back to America, but Harold stayed for a few more months. He met and married his wife there. He lived in Japan for some time but later moved back to America.
Tag-Team Success
Harold Sakata returned to America in 1952. He started using the ring name Tosh Togo. "Tosh" was short for Toshiyuki, and "Togo" came from a famous Japanese admiral.
Harold was often presented as the "brother" of other wrestlers like Great Togo. As a tag team, Harold and Great Togo won the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship. Harold also teamed up with Rikidōzan and King Curtis Iaukea. With King Curtis Iaukea, he won the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship. He also won other championships, like the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.
Acting in Movies
Becoming Oddjob
Movie producers noticed Harold Sakata because of his strong build. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 284 pounds. This, along with his serious look, made him perfect for the role of Oddjob in the James Bond movie Goldfinger. Another story says the director saw him wrestling in Australia.
Harold had never acted before, except for his wrestling performances. But the character Oddjob did not speak much, only making a few grunts. So, he didn't need a lot of acting experience. As Oddjob, he was the bodyguard for the Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. Oddjob's special hat with a sharp steel rim became very famous.
Harold Sakata appeared in several other movies. He often played similar strong roles. He even started using "Oddjob" as part of his name in movie credits. For example, in the film Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976), he was called Harold "Oddjob" Sakata.
Over time, Harold's acting skills improved. He acted with William Shatner in the movie Impulse (1974). He also appeared in TV shows like Gilligan's Island and The Rockford Files.
Oddjob in Commercials
In the 1970s, Harold Sakata appeared as Oddjob in TV commercials for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup. In these funny ads, Oddjob would have a bad cough. His coughing fits would make him accidentally break things around him. His wife would then give him Vicks Formula 44, which would cure his cough. Harold even appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and parodied the commercial by "destroying" Carson's TV set.
Personal Life and Death
Harold Sakata had two children. He was married once but later divorced because his constant travel for work made it hard for his family.
Harold Sakata died of liver cancer on July 29, 1982, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was 62 years old. A few months before he passed away, Harold made one last public appearance. He appeared on stage in his Oddjob costume at the 54th Academy Awards.
Championships and Achievements
Harold Sakata won many wrestling championships during his career, including:
- NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with King Curtis Iaukea
- NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Great Togo
- NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Movies and TV Shows
Movies
- Goldfinger (1964) as Oddjob
- Balearic Caper (1966)
- The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966)
- Dimension 5 (1966)
- The Phynx (1970)
- Impulse (1974)
- The Wrestler (1974)
- Mako: The Jaws Of Death (1976)
- Record City (1978)
- Death Dimension (1978)
- Goin' Coconuts (1978)
- Bruce contre-attaque (1982)
- Safari of No Return aka Horror Safari (1982) – his last movie role
Television
- Kraft Suspense Theatre (1965)
- Sarge (1971)
- Highcliffe Manor (1979)
