Movie and television actor Takahiro Tamura has died, his office said Thursday. He was 77.
Born in Kyoto into an acting family, Tamura played supporting roles in several productions, including the "Heitai Yakuza" ("Hoodlum Soldier") series of war comedies that started in 1965 and starred the late Shintaro Katsu.
Tamura also performed in movies, including "Nijushi no Hitomi" ("Twenty-Four Eyes"), a 1954 wartime school story directed by Keisuke Kinoshita that won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and other awards, as well as in TV drama series aired by NHK.
His father was the legendary actor Tsumasaburo Bando and the actors Masakazu Tamura and Ryo Tamura are his younger brothers.