Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Sorry we haven’t run this weekend’s sad obituaries until now. I think all of us feel the same way... we hate having to do this because it’s always sad to see these artists go. The one good thing is the way it suddenly reminds you of all the great work they’ve done. In the case of the great Mako, my first thought is of his work as The Wizard in CONAN THE BARBARIAN. The reason that film sticks with me the way it does is because I saw it that summer, 1982, when it felt like every single film had been made specifically for me. The Wizard was a great narrator, a great Yoda figure in the film, and I loved the way this actor played him scary in some scenes, hilarious in others, and always real. It wasn’t until later that I got familiar with the rest of his amazing body of work.
I’ll share one of the many letters that came in in the last few days:
Hi Harry,
Not sure if you heard, but Mako passed away last evening. I know we're all huge fans of his work and if memory serves, it was recently announced that he was voicing the Splinter character from the upcoming TMNT film- rather, that he'd voiced him already. Not sure which. In any event, I thought you should know. It'd really mean a lot to me if you could post an obit on the site.
I never knew Mako, but having been an actor in a former life and also being Asian, it was impossible not to run into his two daughters Mimosa and Sala on occasion (had the fortune of working with Mimosa back in the day etc.) and I can tell you first hand that his influence and presence is everywhere. Absolutely permeated the Asian American actor sub-culture. And for good reason.
Anyway, that said, I've taken the "send condolences to" stuff out of this forward, as I do not think the forward was intended for anyone who didn't directly know him or his family, but I suppose it's fair to say that Mako had been battling throat cancer and recently made the decision to stop treatement.
He was a great great man and (as I am fortunate enough to attest) a great father as well.
Thanks
Tim
Attached was the initial e-mail that had tipped this guy off, which was sent by Asian-American playwright Frank Chin, and I thought it was a really great quick nod to what Mako meant to his community and the community of film at large:
Friday July 21, 2006
Mako died today at his home in Somis, in Ventura County. He was known by his first name only, and used his mother's surname Iwamatsu. His sister Momo Yashima was with him when he breathed his last. Neither he nor his wife Susie wants a funeral or a memorial, or any kind service. He was the son of activist anti-militarist painters Taro Yashima and Mitsu Iwamatsu, who fled Japan before WWII. Mako was sickly child and left with his grandparents in Japan. The story of Taro reunitijng with Mako after the war is told in Taro Yashima's "picture book" HORIZON IS CALLING.
Actors who worked with him and those who were trained by him or worked under his direction who feel him in their work may want to get together and get roaring drunk. I don't know. He spoke at Steve McQueen's passing, the star of THE SAND PEBBLES, Mako's first movie that won him an Oscar nomination. I had mixed feelings about THE RISING SUN with Sean Connery, and Wesley Snipes, but saw this as one of Mako's best most textured performances. He wasn't a bad guy or the butt of a joke. He played an executive of a corporation who loved golf. Perhaps because of his love of golf, he was very good.
If anyone out there wants a Mako film fest and drunk, be sure to let me know. Asian-American art and culture has lost an inspiration to writers and actors and art may have lost the only Asian with guts enough to put his talent where his vision is . He was an Asian American who could rough and tumble instead crawl and bat their eyes. This bottle is for you, Mako.
Frank Chin
I’ll raise one myself, and I’ll honor a truly special life both on and off the screen.
"Moriarty" out.
