Yasuo Yamada

was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator.

His most well known and famous role was portraying Arsène Lupin III in the Lupin III series from 1971 to 1995. He was also the official Japanese dubbing voice actor of Clint Eastwood and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Early life Yamada was born in Tokyo, Japan. Coming from a family of government officials, Yamada's father worked for the Bank of Japan, but died when Yamada was three years old. There were times when another person dubbed Eastwood, but most of the work was later redo dubbed by Yamada due to many protests from fans saying "Eastwood's voice is strange."

Yamada has often said in interviews since the 1970s. "In Rawhide, Eastwood was a naïve young man, and I was young and just starting out, so it was a natural fit. But after A Fistful of Dollars, he became more and more of a masculine actor, while I became more of a lightweight comedian kind of actor. To be clear, I don't think my Eastwood dubbing I do now is the best." Also, Yamada's voice and Eastwood's voice are very different, but he said that this is a matter of habituation.

But there are episodes like this. For the dubbed version of White Hunter Black Heart, a new translator created the script. However, when Yamada read it, he told the translator, “He wouldn't talk like that!” and immediately rejected the script.(According to co-star Shuichi Ikeda, there was nothing unnatural about the script, but he remarked, “Since Mr. Yamada said so, it must have been true.”) also, In an interview, Yamada himself said, "Unlike other dubbings, I feel relieved when I see Eastwood on the screen during recording." "There is something different from likes and dislikes and characters."

Yamada and Eastwood met only once by the cast of Rawhide came to Japan in 1962. At this time, Yamada and Eastwood worked together for several days. Yamada talked about this memory in 1987. "He was a very good young man at that time, and he had a shy and naive atmosphere. At that time, I didn't think he would be a manly actor like he is now." In addition, Yamada carefully preserved the autographed colored paper presented by Eastwood at this time as a "lifelong treasure". and said that the two had been Exchange letters for a while after returning to Japan.

After Yamada died at the end of the dubbing of A Perfect World, various people dubbed Eastwood, but none of them became popular and did not take root. But in 2009 that will change. There was a scene where Yamada was not dubbed in For a Few Dollars More, and Yōhei Tadano was dubbed as a substitute for Yamada in the DVD release. Tadano was a junior member of the theater company to which Yamada belonged, and his acting and voice were very similar to those of Yamada. After this, Tadano was dubbed in several works as a replacement for Yamada, and began dubbing Eastwood from The Mule. In an interview, Tadano said, "Eastwood's acting is important, but I acting with 100% respect for Mr. Yamada."

Lupin III Yamada's most famous role was that of Arsène Lupin III in the Lupin III anime franchise, whom he voiced from 1971 until his death in 1995.

He appeared in many TV shows as a TV personality, and his voice, speech, and even his appearance were similar to Lupin's, making him a prominent example of the identification of the actor and the character in Japan.

Casting "I didn't know there was such a wonderful manga in Japan !" I was surprised. It is not a Manga, but a "Japan comics" in contrast to "American comics". I liked the fast tempo, the pleasant rhythm, overflowing gag, the leaps and bounds that would make a serious person angry, and above all, the fact that it was not about a righteous bandit. I was captivated by the work. source=In 1989, Yamada recalled his thoughts when he first read the original story by Monkey Punch. Yamada had come to take pride in his role in Part 2 of the series, thinking, "We are taking a low-quality film and making it interesting with the help of our cast.". In that context, When he saw the high quality of Miyazaki's work, he was so impressed that he gave the biggest compliment: “What they are doing is, as usual, ridiculous, but the images are clear and meticulous in their attention to detail. This film is very stylish. And, I think this film is the essence of the work 'Lupin III'.", and "Hooray for Mr. Miyazaki."

The original author, Monkey Punch, said of Yamada's Lupin: "'Lupin III' is certainly a comic I drew, but it is only the world of the printed book and not yet completed. In this respect, it was Yasuo Yamada who completed the animated version of 'Lupin III' as a work. The character's unique personality, movements, speech, and strong presence could not have been created without Mr. Yamada." He also highly praised him.

Makio Inoue, who played the role of Goemon Ishikawa XIII for many years, said of Yamada's Lupin, "He was the one on whom the director depended. His presence was beyond the realm of a typical voice actor", he said in his assessment. As for the script, everyone began to write the script with the basic premise that Yamada would play Lupin, and gradually the character of Lupin itself began to be written to resemble Yamada. In addition, the dialogue and animation also changed so that they were drawn with Yamada's tempo in mind.

Toshio Furukawa, who has played Lupin only once, said that even though he tried to play his own unique Lupin in the recording, he inadvertently imitated Yamada. He said "Despite being played by a different person, as soon as you see the character, you subconsciously let yourself be imitated. This is as great as a living national treasure as an actor.".

Yamada had a very strong attachment to Lupin, stating that "there is almost no difference in the way he lives and thinks." and "The character Lupin in the original comic was created by Mr.Monkey Punch and is his alone, but the Lupin in the anime is mine because he was created by the other staff and myself. You can think of him in the anime as being identical to me.", and inserting an illustration of Lupin on his business card. He also said, "An actor is happy if he meets a role that fits him perfectly even once before he dies, but I was able to meet such a great character and it became a popular work. I have nothing more to say.". After Lupin's popularity took hold, Yamada decided that the only anime he would appear in from now on would be Lupin, and he began to decline requests to appear in other anime.

The Eternal Lupin III

In the late 1980s, Yamada began interacting with Kanichi Kurita. Kurita appeared on TV shows as Impressionist, and "impersonating Lupin" was one of his repertoire of impersonation. Yamada once said, "I'm not going to say that," as Kurita performed his impersonation of Lupin on the show, and then made a surprise appearance as the "real Lupin" to enliven the audience.

In 1993, during the postrecording of the "Lupin III: Voyage to Danger" Yamada looked very tired during a break and volunteered to sit in a chair during the recording. This was extremely unusual, as he had never recorded while sitting down before, out of pride as a former stage actor. At that time, Yamada apologized to his co-stars and left the studio, feeling extremely depressed. For a Few Dollars More (Manco) Coogan's Bluff (Deputy Sheriff Walt Coogan) Hang 'Em High (Deputy US Marshal Jed Cooper) Where Eagles Dare (Lt. Morris Schaffer) Paint Your Wagon (Pardner) Kelly's Heroes (Private Kelly) Two Mules for Sister Sara (Hogan) The Beguiled (Corporal John 'McBee' McBurney) Dirty Harry (Harry Callahan) Play Misty for Me (Dave Garver) Joe Kidd (Joe Kidd) High Plains Drifter (The Stranger) Magnum Force (Harry Callahan) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Thunderbolt) The Eiger Sanction (1978 Fuji TV edition) (Dr. Jonathan Hemlock) The Enforcer (Harry Callahan) The Outlaw Josey Wales (Josey Wales) The Gauntlet (Detective Ben Shockley) Every Which Way but Loose (Philo Beddoe) Escape from Alcatraz (Frank Morris) Any Which Way You Can (Philo Beddoe) Bronco Billy (Bronco Billy) Firefox (Mitchell Gant) Sudden Impact (Harry Callahan) City Heat (Lieutenant Speer) Tightrope (Wes Block) Pale Rider ("Preacher") Heartbreak Ridge (Thomas Highway) The Dead Pool (Harry Callahan) Pink Cadillac (Tommy Nowak) The Rookie (Nick Pulovski) White Hunter Black Heart (John Wilson) Unforgiven (William "Will" Munny) In the Line of Fire (Agent Frank Horrigan) A Perfect World (Chief Red Garnett) Jean-Paul Belmondo Two Women (Michele Di Libero) A Man Named Rocca (Roberto La Rocca) Cartouche (Louis-Dominique Bourguignon alias Cartouche) That Man from Rio (Adrien Dufourquet) Is Paris Burning? (Morandat/Pierrelot) Casino Royale (French Legionnaire) Love Is a Funny Thing (Henri) Mississippi Mermaid (Louis Mahé) Borsalino (François Capella) The Married Couple of the Year (Two Nicolas Philibert) Dr. Popaul (Dr. Paul Simay) Le Magnifique (François Merlin / Bob Saint-Clar) Stavisky (Serge Alexandre Stavisky) Roddy McDowall Planet of the Apes (Cornelius) Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Cornelius) Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Cornelius) Easy Rider (Wyatt (Peter Fonda)) Monty Python (Graham Chapman) Muppets (Kermit the Frog) Combat! (PFC Paul "Caje" LeMay (Pierre Jalbert)) Force 10 from Navarone (1982 Fuji TV edition) (Staff Sergeant John Miller (Edward Fox)) The French Connection (Salvatore 'Sal' Boca (Tony Lo Bianco)) Race with the Devil (Roger Marsh (Peter Fonda)) Return of the Seven (Vin (Robert Fuller)) Strangers on a Train (Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker))

Animated An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (Cat R. Waul) The Fox and the Hound (Dinky the Sparrow) Alice in Wonderland (Cheshire Cat) (1973 dub) Pinocchio (J. Worthington Foulfellow) (1983 dub) One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Horace Badun) (1981 dub) Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Winnie the Pooh) The Rescuers (Bernard) (1981 dub) The Rescuers Down Under (Bernard) Once Upon a Studio (Bernard) (Archived audio)

Voice-Over Pinocchio's Daring Journey (J. Worthington Foulfellow) Star Tours (Grand Moff Tarkin)