Miiko Taka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miiko Taka
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Taka in 1958
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| Born |
Miiko Shikata
July 24, 1925 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
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| Died | January 2023 (aged 97) |
| Other names | Betty Ishimoto |
| Years active | 1957–1982 |
| Spouse(s) |
Dale Ishimoto
(m. 1944; div. 1958)Lennie Blondheim
(m. 1963) |
| Children | 2 |
Miiko Taka (高美以子, Taka Miiko) (born Miiko Shikata July 24, 1925 – January 2023) was an American actress, popular for her film and TV roles from the late 1950s until the early 1980s. Her best known role was as an elegant Japanese dancer starring opposite Marlon Brando in the Korean War drama Sayonara. She also acted in several other films and TV shows with fellow performers such as Miyoshi Umeki, James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Toshirō Mifune.
Early years
Taka was born in 1925 in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California 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 director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, 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. Although she had no previous acting experience, Variety gave her a positive review in their review of the film. Warner Bros. gave her a term contract as a result of her performance in Sayonara.
After Sayonara, she worked in films with James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Glenn Ford and Toshirō Mifune (alongside whom she also worked in the 1980 television miniseries, Shõgun). She also served as an interpreter for Mifune as well as Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood.
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.
Taka's death, at the age of 97, was announced by her grandson on January 4, 2023.
Motion pictures
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Sayonara | Hana-ogi | Screen debut, co-star with Marlon Brando |
| 1958 | Panda and the Magic Serpent | Fish Spirit | Voice: English version |
| 1960 | Hell to Eternity | Ester | Stars Jeffrey Hunter |
| 1961 | Cry for Happy | Chiyoko | Reunites with Sayonara co-star Miyoshi Umeki |
| 1961 | Operation Bottleneck | Ari | Shares top billing with Ron Foster and Norman Alden |
| 1963 | A Global Affair | Fumiko | Stars Bob Hope |
| 1965 | The Art of Love | Chou Chou | Reunites with Sayonara co-star James Garner |
| 1966 | Walk, Don't Run | Aiko Kurawa | Final film of Cary Grant's career |
| 1968 | The Power | Mrs. Van Zandt | |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Nurse | |
| 1975 | Paper Tiger | Madame Kagoyama | first movie working with Toshirō Mifune |
| 1976 | Midway | TV version only, Uncredited | |
| 1978 | The Big Fix | Saleswoman | Stars Richard Dreyfuss |
| 1982 | The Challenge | Yoshida's wife | Taka's last film, starring Toshirō Mifune |
See also
In Spanish: Miiko Taka para niños
- History of the Japanese in Los Angeles
