Acclaimed former TV producer Takeshi Yokozawa died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital Saturday evening, his family said Monday. He was 73.
After joining Fuji Television Network Inc. in 1962, he worked on the popular entertainment program "The Manzai," featuring comic dialogues.
He also worked on other popular entertainment shows, and helped many comedians break through to stardom.
He left the private broadcaster in 1995, and taught media and culture as a professor at Kamakura Women's University in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.