Dale Ishimoto

Dale Ishimoto (April 3, 1923 – March 4, 2004) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923

Dale Ishimoto was born on April 3, 1923 in Delta, Colorado and was raised in Guadalupe, California. He was an actor, known for Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), King Rat (1965) and Kung Fu (1972). He was previously married to Miiko Taka. He died on March 4, 2004 in Culver City, California, USA.

Military service

After being sent to the Gila River internment camp in Arizona, Ishimoto volunteered to fight in World War II, joining the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. After two years, he was awarded a Purple Heart and given a medical discharge.

Entertainment career

After starting a business in Chicago, he moved back to California, where he grew up, and started his acting career by acting at the Altadena Playhouse. He became a "familiar figure" for playing "villainous Japanese soldiers".

Over the course of his career, he acted in a wide variety of movies, such as a Japanese army captain in Beach Red (1967), a Korean doctor in MASH (1970), a karate instructor in Superchick (1973), and as Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya in Midway (1976).

He became known in the late 1990s for his appearances in television commercials for Nissan in which he portrayed Yutaka Katayama, the company's former president. He also appeared in one episode of Wanted: Dead or Alive.

Appearances

• Butterfly (Mission: Impossible) (1970)
• Cannonball Run II (1984)