Toshiro Mifune

Born on April 1, 1920 in Tsingtao China, Toshiro Mifune was a most famous Japanese actor. Mifune's father was an importer and a commercial photographer and Mifune worked in his studio after graduating from Middle School. He was drafted into the Japanese army when he was 20 an enlisted in the Air Force. He was assigned to the Aerial Photography Unit during WWII.
In 1947 Mifune auditioned for a role in Shin baka jidai. He then joined with Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and the two become a very dominant actor-director pairing. They made Drunken Angel in 1948 and Mifune went on to appear in 16 of Kurosawa's films. One classic is Rashomon in 1950 which made Mifune one of the most famous Japanese actors in the world He was dynamic and excelled in action roles.
Mifune and Kurosawa had a falling out in 1965 over the movie Red Beard and Mifune continued to act in major films in foreign countries. He has been named the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for Yojimbo in 1961 as well as Akahige. Mifune achieved American fame in the miniseries Shogun in 1980. He appeared in cameo roles after that series. He was plagued with Alzheimer's Syndrome his last years and Mifune died of organ failure in 1997. He married Sachiko Yoshimine n 1950 until her death in 1995. They had three children.