Today would have been the 97th birthday of voice actor Toru Ohira.
From Dennis Hayes:
On this date September 29, 1929 Tōru Ōhira (大平 透) was born in Tokyo, Japan.
Ōhira was a Japanese narrator and voice actor (seiyu) from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is a representative of Ōhira Production.
One of his most known roles is the dub voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars on the home video releases. He is also known for his many narration roles, most notably in the Super Sentai series.
He was a very influential figure in the dubbing industry during the Sousei period.
After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan University Jōnan Senior High School (in which he was also the supervisor of the school's volleyball team), he went on to graduate from the Meiji University Department of Political Science and Economics. In 1954, he joined the Nippon Broadcasting System, in which he became an announcer and producer. In 1955, with the opening of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, he enlisted in its theatrical company. He left the company in 1958 to become a voice artist.
His breakthrough performance was the dubbing voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series. He reprised this role for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and a crossover appearance in Soulcalibur IV- notable because the game was originally in Japanese, meaning that Ōhira was Vader's "original" voice in the game, unlike with the films. In addition, he is usually cast in either astringent villain roles or gag characters.
The first dubbed television show in Japan was "Adventures of Superman", which began broadcasting in 1956 with Tōru Ōhira voicing George Reeves (Clark Kent/Superman). Television had made a strong impression on the Japanese from Emperor Hirohito down. About 99 percent of Japanese TV shows were American, including the Emperor's favorite, "Superman." Emperor Hirohito even sent George Reeves a fan letter.
Ōhira was also the voice of Marlon Brando (Jor-El) in "Superman: The Movie" (1978) when it was released in Japan.
He would have been 97 years old today.
Happy Birthday Tōru !
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