Shoichi Hirose

, occasionally miscredited as Masakazu Hirose and nicknamed for his survival in the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons, was a Japanese actor. Hirose portrayed Godzilla's archenemy King Ghidorah and King Kong in King Kong vs. Godzilla, along with several "tough guy" roles.

Career In 1950, he started working at the Toho, where he played minor roles in films. Due to the popularity of the kaijū-eiga genre, he was interested in playing the monster in one of these films. This opportunity arose in 1962, when Eiji Tsuburaya offered him the role of King Kong in the emerging King Kong vs. Godzilla. Tsuburaya ordered Hirose to go to the zoo and study gorilla behavior in order to better play the role of a monster. In later years, Hirose confessed that he never went to the zoo and then lied to Tsuburaya, saying that he had gained a lot of experience during the alleged visit. Despite his enthusiasm for working with the special effects team, he had difficulty playing King Kong, because the zipper sewn into the costume (in order to hide it) forced him to stay in it for a long time: “Sweat was pouring out of me and even getting into my eyes. After I left [the costume] I was pale."

The next role in a kaijū-type movie was King Ghidorah in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster in 1964, which he received after Haruya Sakamoto, who played him, quit due to his overweight suit. A year later he repeated the role in the Invasion of Astro-Monster. Equally, the film's special effects directors Koichi Kawakita and Teruyoshi Nakano, then assistants to the special effects operator, believed that King Ghidorah in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster was played by Kōji Uruki, who also played Rodan. Kawakita was of the opinion that Hirose could not play Ghidorah due to his short stature.

Hirose was Eiji Tsuburaya's first choice for the role of Sanda in The War of the Gargantuas in 1966, however, he declined, preferring a role he was offered in another film where he could show his face.

In 1971, during the financial crisis that hit Japan, all actors contracted with Toho were restructured, and Hirose remained in the studio as a stage worker, where he worked until the 1990s. However, at the same time, he suffered from a herniated disc and was admitted to the Tokyo Labor Disaster Hospital in Tokyo. He died shortly after living in a nursing home.

Filmography Film

1952: Minato e kita otoko 1953: Hana no naka no musumetachi 1954: Zoku Take-chan shacho 1954: Seven Samurai - Bandit #2 1954: Tomei Ningen - Policeman 1955: Godzilla Raids Again - Convict 1955: Oen-san 1955: Half Human - Mountain Searcher 1955: Meoto zenzai 1955: Kaettekita wakadan'na 1956: Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island 1956: Ankokugai 1956: Onibi 1956: Hadashi no seishun 1956: Okashi-na yatsu - Daisuke's Friend 1956: Rodan - F-86F pilot (uncredited) 1957: Zoku Goyôkiki monogatari - Travelling salesman 1957: Ôban - The Man On The Train 1957: Salaryman shusse taikôki - Thief 1957: Ikiteiru Koheiji 1957: Tôhoku no zunmu-tachi 1957: Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen - Tahei 1957: The Mysterians - Detective in Etsuko's house 1958: Yagyû bugeichô: Sôryû hiken 1958: Futari dake no hashi 1958: Yajikata dôchû sugoroku 1958: The H-Man - Fire department officer 1958: Varan the Unbelievable - Fisherman 1958: The Hidden Fortress - Yamana soldier 1959: Ankokugai no kaoyaku 1959: Monkey Sun 1959: Kitsune to tanuki 1959: Gigantis, the Fire Monster - Convict 1959: The Three Treasures 1959: Yari hitosuji nihon bare 1959: Bakushô Mito Kômon man'yûki - Gejimasa 1960: Boku wa dokushin shain 1960: Ginza taikutsu musume 1960: The Secret of the Telegian - Onishi's Henchman 1960: Man Against Man - Genpachi 1960: The Human Vapor - Doomed Burly Guard 1961: Nasake muyo no wana 1961: Yojimbo - Ushitora Follower 1961: Nakito gozansu 1961: Mothra - Dam Worker 1961: Arigataya sandogasa 1961: Witness Killed 1962: Sanjuro - Samurai on watch duty 1962: King Kong vs. Godzilla - King Kong 1962: Ankokugai no kiba 1963: Attack Squadron! 1963: Onna ni tsuyoku naru kufû no kazukazu - Detective 1963: Nippon jitsuwa jidai 1963: Chintao yôsai bakugeki meirei 1963: Kureji sakusen: Kudabare! Musekinin 1963: Atragon - Mu Henchman 1963: Honolulu, Tokio, Hong Kong - Shoe maker 1964: Kyô mo ware ôzora ni ari 1964: Nippon ichi no horafuki otoko 1964: Hadaka no jûyaku 1964: Dogora, the Space Monster - Diamond Truck Driver 1964: Horafuki taikôki 1964: Danchi: Nanatsu no taizai 1964: Hana no oedo no musekinin 1964: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - King Ghidorah 1965: Ankokugai gekitotsu sakusen - Man from Kyushu 1965: Red Beard - Thug 1965: Nippon ichi no goma suri otoko 1965: Taiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka - Yamashita 1965: Umi no wakadaishô 1965: Frankenstein vs. Baragon - Tunnel Worker 1965: Crazy Adventure - Police officer 1965: Invasion of the Astro-Monster - King Ghidorah 1966: Bangkok no yoru 1966: The War of the Gargantuas - Soldier 1966: Kureji daisakusen 1966: Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster - Escaped Slave 1967: Kureji ogon sakusen 1967: King Kong Escapes - Henchman #7 1967: Bâkushoyarô daijiken - Kurokawa 1968: Nippon ichi no uragiri-otoko 1969: Nippon ichi no danzetsu otoko 1969: Mito Kômon man'yûki 1970: Nagurikomi Shimizu Minato 1970: Gekido no showashi 'Gunbatsu''' - Hama (uncredited) 1975: Terror of Mechagodzilla1977: House - Ramen Trucker 1981: Kôfuku - (final film role)

Television 1966: Kaiju Booska''