fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Miiko Taka (高美以子, Taka Miiko) (born Miiko Shikata[1] July 24, 1925), is an American actress best known for co-starring with Marlon Brando as Hana-ogi in the 1957 movie Sayonara.

Miiko Taka
Miiko Taka in 1958
Born	(1925-07-24) July 24, 1925 (age 97) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Other names	Betty Ishimoto
Years active	1957–1982
Spouse(s)	Dale Ishimoto (1944–1958) Lennie Blondheim (1963–Present)
Children	2

Early years

Taka was born in 1925 in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California[2] as a Nisei;[3] her parents had immigrated from Japan. In 1942, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, she was interned with her family at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona.[4]

'Sayonara'

After director Joshua Logan's first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down, he looked to cast an unknown actress.[3] Taka, who at the time was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles, was discovered by a talent scout at a local Nisei festival.[2] Although she had no previous acting experience,[3] Variety gave her a positive review in their review of the film.[5] Warner Bros. gave her a term contract as a result of her performance in Sayonara.[6]

Post-'Sayonara' career

After Sayonara, she worked in films with James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Glenn Ford and Toshirō Mifune (alongside whom she also worked in the 1980 television miniseries, Shõgun). She also served as an interpreter for Mifune as well as Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood[7][8]

Personal life

Taka married Dale Ishimoto in Baltimore in 1944,[9] and they had one son, Greg Shikata, who works in the film industry, and one daughter. They divorced in 1958.[10]

She married Los Angeles TV news director Lennie Blondheim in 1963.[11] She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.[12]

Motion pictures

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	Sayonara	Hana-ogi	Screen debut, co-star with Marlon Brando
1958	Panda and the Magic Serpent	Fish Spirit	Voice: English version
1960	Hell to Eternity	Ester	Stars Jeffrey Hunter
1961	Cry for Happy	Chiyoko	Reunites with Sayonara co-star Miyoshi Umeki
1961	Operation Bottleneck	Ari	Shares top billing with Ron Foster and Norman Alden
1963	A Global Affair	Fumiko	Stars Bob Hope
1965	The Art of Love	Chou Chou	Reunites with Sayonara co-star James Garner
1966	Walk Don't Run	Aiko Kurawa	Final film of Cary Grant's career
1966	Sexy sa Labanan
1968	The Power	Mrs. Van Zandt
1973	Lost Horizon	Nurse
1975	Paper Tiger	Madame Kagoyama	first movie working with Toshirō Mifune
1976	Mister Yoso
1976	Midway		TV version only, Uncredited
1978	The Big Fix	Saleswoman	Stars Richard Dreyfuss
1982	The Challenge	Yoshida's wife	Last film to date

[13] [14] [15] [16]

See also

• History of the Japanese in Los Angeles

References

External links

• Miiko Taka at IMDb
• Video of Miiko Taka as a presenter at an awards show on YouTube
• Trailer of Sayonara introduced by Miika Taka

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