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Yoshio Yoda

Yoshio Yoda

Actor

Born March 31, 1934 in Tokyo, Japan

Died January 13, 2023

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Biography

While best remembered as Ernest Borgnine's Japanese prisoner-of-war Fuji Kobiashi in the wartime sitcom McHale's Navy (1962), Yoshio Yoda came to acting reluctantly and purely by accident. Born in Tokyo, the only son of Honshu middle-class manufacturers, he initially studied law at the prestigious Keio University. However, he quickly realized that neither law nor industry suited his aspirations. A chance meeting with motion picture executive Edward Ugast (1900-1964), general manager in Asia for 20th Century Fox and Vice-President of Four Star Films, persuaded Yoda to study cinema technique in the United States with the prospect of becoming a producer. In 1958, Yoda arrived in California and enrolled at USC.

Three years into his studies, Yoda's faculty was contacted by producer Joe Pasternak at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who was casting for an Asian actor required to be fluent in both English and Japanese. Yoda naturally fitted the bill. Despite his initial misgivings, a mere ten minute interview led to the youngster being signed for the role of Sgt. Roy Tada in The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962), a comedy starring Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss. On the strength of his performance he was subsequently able to secure the gig on McHale's Navy. When that series had run its course, so did Yoda's acting career. After one more brief TV appearance in 1969, he returned to his roots to forge a career in the car manufacture business at Toyota. He lived in Hawaii for fifteen years, became a United States citizen under the name of James Yoda, and, by 1987, had risen to the position of assistant vice president of inventory and senior division manager. He later resided in Fullerton, California.

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Filmography

Actor

5

Type

Year

Love, American Style Poster

Love, American Style TV Series1969Mr. Tenaka

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force Poster

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force Feature Film1965Takeo 'Fuji' Fugiwara

McHale's Navy Poster

McHale's Navy Feature Film1964Fuji Kobiaji

McHale's Navy Poster

McHale's Navy TV Series1962Fuji Kobiaji

The Horizontal Lieutenant Poster

The Horizontal Lieutenant Feature Film1962Sgt. Roy Tada

Thanks

1

The 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Poster

The 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards TV Special2023

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