- Harold Sakata
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Harold Sakata 
Ring name(s) Tosh Togo Billed height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1] Billed weight 230 lb (100 kg; 16 st) [1] Born July 1, 1920
Holualoa, Hawaii, United StatesDied July 29, 1982 (aged 62)
Honolulu, HawaiiDebut c. 1949 [1] Retired c. 1975 Olympic medal record Men's Weightlifting Competitor for the 
United StatesSilver 1948 London Light-heavyweight Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata (July 1, 1920 – July 29, 1982) was a Japanese American professional wrestler and film actor most famous for his role as the villain "Oddjob" in the James Bond film Goldfinger.
Contents
Career
Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920 in Holualoa, Hawaii, of Japanese descent; when he moved to mainland America he began to go by the more Western name "Harold." At the age of eighteen, he only weighed 113 lb (8st. 1 lb.) (51 kg) at a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m). Wanting to "look as good as the other guys", he started lifting weights. He spent his early life training as a weightlifter and won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, lifting a total of 410 kg in the Heavyweight division. He also did a stint as a professional wrestler under the name Tosh Togo from the early 1950s until the early 1960s, becoming Canadian Tag Team Champion.[2]
Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli took notice of Sakata because of his heavy build—he stood 5 ft 10 in and weighed 284 lb (129 kg)--which, when coupled with his intimidating gaze, made him the perfect choice for the part of Oddjob. He had no acting background at all besides pro wrestling, but the film character was mute and required little theatrical skill. Before Sakata had secured the role of Oddjob, another former wrestler, British actor Milton Reid, had auditioned for the role[3] In 1964 Reid challenged Sakata to a wrestling contest and whoever was the winner would be the deciding factor for who would get the role. But since Reid had been in Dr. No and his character killed off, the producers decided to go with Sakata and the wrestling match did not take place.[4]
As Oddjob, he was bodyguard to Bond villain Auric Goldfinger and his sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series.[5] He appeared in several other movies in similar roles and took on "Oddjob" as an informal middle name (he was seen in the film The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington credited as Harold "Oddjob" Sakata).[4]
While filming Oddjob's death scene, Harold's hand was badly burnt, but he held on until he heard director Guy Hamilton say "Cut".[4]
With time, Sakata's acting skills improved. He co-starred opposite William Shatner in the movie Impulse, in which he played the character Karate Pete.[4] He also guest starred on a Gilligan's Island episode as Rory Calhoun's henchman.[4] In 1971, Sakata was a regular on the short-lived TV series, Sarge, starring George Kennedy.
He also appeared as Oddjob in a series of TV commercials for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup in the 1970s. The advertisement showed Oddjob with a nasty cough, which results in him demolishing the neighborhood and frightening a woman inside her house as his cough spasms grow worse and worse. The woman grabs a bottle of Vicks Formula 44 and races for the door, only to see Oddjob karate chop through it. She quickly opens the door and gives him a spoonful of the cough syrup, which cures his cough. The two bow to each other, and the woman looks past Oddjob to see the destruction he has caused.[4] He made an appearance on the Tonight Show on which he parodied the commercial by destroying Johnny Carson's set.[4]
Sakata died of liver cancer on July 29, 1982, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Championships and accomplishments
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- NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Great Togo
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- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Ike Eakins
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- NWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Wild Red Berry [6]
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) - with “Wild” Red Berry
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- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) - with John Smith
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- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Toi Yamamoto
Filmography
Feature films
- Goldfinger ..... Oddjob - 1964
- Vier Schlüssel ..... Oddjob (uncredited) - 1966
- Zarabanda Bing Bing ..... Direttore del museo - 1966
- The Poppy Is Also a Flower ..... Martin - 1966
- Le dix-septième ciel ..... Uncredited - 1966
- Dimension 5 ..... Big Buddha - 1966
- Impulse ..... Karate Pete - 1974
- The Wrestler ..... Oddjob - 1974
- Broken House ..... Uncredited - 1976
- Mako: The Jaws Of Death ..... Pete - 1976
- The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington ..... Wong - 1977
- Record City ..... Gucci - 1978
- Death Dimension ..... The Pig - 1978
- Goin' Coconuts ..... Ito - 1978
- The Billion Dollar Threat (TV) ..... Oriental Man - 1979
- Xiong zhong ..... Sakata - 1982
- Safari of No Return aka Horror Safari ..... Tobachi - 1982
References
- ^ a b c Montgomery, Shirly. "1950's Wrestlers: Posing And In Action". Photography of Shirley Montgomery & Venue Programs. http://www.ethereal.net/~magusxxx/thegym/photography/photography.html.
- ^ Svinth, Joseph R.. "Harold Sakata: Olympic Weightlifter and Professional Wrestler". http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_svinth_0401.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ^ .[1]
- ^ a b c d e f g Fin Martin and Antohy Evans (August 2003). "Know their Roles". Power Slam Magazine (Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD): pp. 26–31. 109.
- ^ "BBC News Entertainment: Oddjob's hat bowls them over". 1998-09-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/173353.stm. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ "International Television Tag Team Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ca/la/nwa/int-tv-t.html.
External links
Categories:- 1920 births
- 1982 deaths
- American martial artists
- American professional wrestlers
- American weightlifters
- American film actors
- American sportspeople of Japanese descent
- American people of Japanese descent
- American actors of Japanese descent
- Olympic athletes who wrestled professionally
- Actors from Hawaii
- Olympic weightlifters of the United States
- Weightlifters at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States
- Cancer deaths in Hawaii
- Deaths from liver cancer
- Olympic medalists in weightlifting
- People from Hawaii County, Hawaii
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