{{Short description|American actor (1923–2004)}} {{infobox person | name = Dale Isamu Ishimoto | image = Midway (1976) Press Photo of Dale Ishimoto.jpg | caption = Ishimoto in a publicity photo for ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976) | birth_name = Dale Isamu Ishimoto | birth_date = {{birth date|1923|4|3|}} | birth_place = [[Delta, Colorado]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2004|3|4|1923|4|3|mf=y}} | death_place = [[Culver City, California]], U.S. | years_active = 1957–1998 | spouse = [[Miiko Taka]] (m. 1944; div. 1958) | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{army|United States}} | battles = [[World War II]] | unit = [[442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|442nd Regimental Combat Team]] | service_years = 1943-1945 }} }}
'''Dale Isamu Ishimoto''' (April 3, 1923 – March 4, 2004) was an American actor of [[Japanese people|Japanese]] descent.
== Early life == A second-generation [[Japanese American]] (''[[Nisei]]''), Ishimoto was born in [[Delta, Colorado]] in 1923 and was raised in [[Guadalupe, California]].<ref name="questions">{{cite news |last = Shearer |first = John |title = Question? | publisher = [[Chattanooga Free Press]] | page = A2 |date = 1997-07-20}}</ref>
=== Military service === After being sent to the [[Gila River War Relocation Center|Gila River internment camp]] in Arizona,<ref name=archives>{{cite web | title=Japanese American Internee Data File: Dale Ishimoto|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=3099&mtch=11&tf=F&q=Dale&bc=&rpp=10&pg=2&rid=23841|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]| access-date=2019-08-18}}</ref> 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.<ref name=beachred>{{cite news | last = Scott | first = John L. | title = Japanese Actor No Longer Villain | work = [[Los Angeles Times]] | page=C1 | date = October 3, 1967}}</ref>
==Career== After starting a business in Chicago, he moved back to California, where he grew up, and started his acting career at the Altadena Playhouse. He became a "familiar figure" for playing "villainous Japanese soldiers".<ref name = beachred/>
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 [[Korea]]n doctor in ''[[MASH (film)|MASH]]'' (1970), a karate instructor in ''[[Superchick (film)|Superchick]]'' (1973), and as Vice Admiral [[Boshiro Hosogaya]] in ''[[Midway (1976 film)|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.<ref name=MrK>{{cite news |last = Elliot |first = Stuart |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/14/business/nissan-exults-over-offbeat-campaign-despite-flat-sales-debate-ads-that-entertain.html |title =Nissan exults over an offbeat campaign, despite flat sales and a debate on ads that 'entertain.' | work=[[The New York Times]] | page = A2 |date = 1997-08-14}}</ref> He also appeared in one episode of ''Wanted: Dead or Alive''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
Ishimoto also co-founded the Canyon Theatre Guild in [[Santa Clarita, California|Santa Clarita]], and taught acting at the [[Pasadena Playhouse]]. After retiring from acting in 1998, he chaired local charters of the [[American Red Cross]] and [[Boys & Girls Clubs of America]].
==Personal life== Ishimoto married [[Miiko Taka]], an actress and the long-time interpreter for [[Toshiro Mifune]] and [[Akira Kurosawa]], in [[Baltimore]] in 1944.<ref name = LAdivorce>{{cite news |title=Actress Miiko Taka of Movies Wins Divorce|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 18, 1958|page=B1}}</ref> They had two children: a son and a daughter. They divorced in 1958.<ref name = NYdivorce>{{cite news |title= Miiko Taka Gets Divorce |work=The New York Times|date= November 17, 1958}}</ref> Ishimoto was [[Methodism|Methodist]].
=== Death === Ishimoto died in [[Culver City, California]] on March 4, 2004, aged 80.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dale Ishimoto Obituary (2004) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/dale-ishimoto-obituary?id=27414517 |access-date=2026-03-19 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
==Filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} *''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'' (1956) - Crewman (uncredited) *''[[Tokyo After Dark]]'' (1959) - Reporter (uncredited) *''[[Battle of the Coral Sea (film)|Battle of the Coral Sea]]'' (1959) - Japanese Guard (uncredited) *''[[Never So Few]]'' (1959) - Scout (uncredited) *''[[The Wackiest Ship in the Army (film)|The Wackiest Ship in the Army]]'' (1960) - Japanese Pilot (uncredited) *''[[The Great Impostor]]'' (1961) - Korean Soldier (uncredited) *''[[Operation Bottleneck]]'' (1961) - Matsu *''[[Battle at Bloody Beach]]'' (1961) - Blanco *''[[A Majority of One (film)|A Majority of One]]'' (1961) - Taxi Driver (uncredited) *''[[Sea Hunt]]'' (1961) - Season 4, Episode 17 *''[[The Nun and the Sergeant]]'' (1962) - Pak *''[[PT 109 (film)|PT 109]]'' (1963) - Commander (uncredited) *''[[McHale's Navy (1964 film)|McHale's Navy]]'' (1964) - Japanese Captain *''[[Moro Witch Doctor]]'' (1964) - Manuel Romblon *''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' (1965) - Yoshima *''[[Walk, Don't Run (film)|Walk, Don't Run]]'' (1966) - Plainclothesman (uncredited) *''[[The Sweet and the Bitter (1967 film)|The Sweet and the Bitter]]'' (1967) - Dick Kazanami *''[[Beach Red]]'' (1967) - Captain Tanaka *''[[MASH (film)|MASH]]'' (1970) - Korean Doctor (uncredited) *''[[The Games (film)|The Games]]'' (1970) - Japanese Doctor *''[[Superchick (film)|Superchick]]'' (1973) - Karate Instructor *''[[When the North Wind Blows]]'' (1974) - Yermak *''[[Sharks' Treasure]]'' (1975) - Ishi *''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976) - Vice Admiral [[Boshiro Hosogaya]] *''[[Enter the Ninja]]'' (1981) - Komori *''[[Cracking Up (1983 film)|Cracking Up]]'' (1983) - Japanese Mechanic *''[[Cannonball Run II]]'' (1984) - Japanese Businessman (uncredited) *''[[Ninja III: The Domination]]'' (1984) - Okuda *''[[Come See the Paradise]]'' (1990) - Mr. Ogata *''[[Beverly Hills Ninja]]'' (1997) - Old Japanese Man *''Inconceivable'' (1998) - Mr. Akiyama (final film role) {{div col end}}
==Selected television== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- !scope="col"|Year !scope="col"|Title !scope="col"|Role !scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1962 | ''[[Have Gun - Will Travel]]'' | Temuchin - Paladin's Fencing Instructor | Episode "The Mark of Cain" |- | 1962-63 | ''[[McHale's Navy]]'' | Japanese Officer | 3 Episodes |- | 1961 | ''[[Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series)|Wanted Dead or Alive]]'' | Taro Yamamoto | Season 3, Episode 24 "The Long Search" |- | 1961 | ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' | Sgt. Yamazaki | Season 3, Episode 15 "A Quality of Mercy" | |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0411113}}
{{Arizona during World War II}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishimoto, Dale}} [[Category:1923 births]] [[Category:2004 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:American male actors of Japanese descent]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:American military personnel of Japanese descent]] [[Category:Japanese-American internees]] [[Category:Military personnel from Colorado]] [[Category:People from Delta, Colorado]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Methodists from California]] [[Category:Methodists from Colorado]]