Harold Sakata

Harold Sakata
Ring name(s)	Tosh Togo
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Billed weight	230 lb (100 kg; 16 st) [1]
Born	July 1, 1920(1920-07-01) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Died	July 29, 1982 (aged 62) Honolulu, Hawaii
Debut	c. 1949 [1]
Retired	c. 1975

Olympic medal record
Men's Weightlifting
Competitor for the  United States
Silver	1948 London	Light-heavyweight

Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata (July 1, 1920 – July 29, 1982) was a Japanese American professional wrestler and film actor most famous for his role as the villain "Oddjob" in the James Bond film Goldfinger.

Career

Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920 in Holualoa, Hawaii, of Japanese descent; when he moved to mainland America he began to go by the more Western name "Harold." At the age of eighteen, he only weighed 113 lb (8st. 1lb.) (51 kg) at a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m). Wanting to "look as good as the other guys", he started lifting weights. He spent his early life training as a weightlifter and won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, lifting a total of 410 kg in the Heavyweight division. He also did a stint as a professional wrestler under the name Tosh Togo from the early 1950s until the early 1960s, becoming Canadian Tag Team Champion^[2].

Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli took notice of Sakata because of his heavy build--he stood 5 ft 9 in and weighed 284 lb (129 kg)--which, when coupled with his intimidating gaze, made him the perfect choice for the part of Oddjob. He had no acting background at all besides pro wrestling, but the film character was mute and required little theatrical skill. Before Sakata had secured the role of Oddjob, another former wrestler, British actor Milton Reid, had auditioned for the role.[1] In 1964 Reid challenged Sakata to a wrestling contest and whoever was the winner would be the deciding factor for who would get the role. But since Reid had been in Dr. No and his character killed off, the producers decided to go with Sakata and the wrestling match didn't take place. ^[3]

As Oddjob, he was bodyguard to Bond villain Auric Goldfinger and his sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat ^[3] became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series. He appeared in several other movies in similar roles and took on "Oddjob" as an informal middle name (he was seen in the film The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington credited as Harold "Oddjob" Sakata).

While filming Oddjob's death scene, Harold's hand was badly burnt, but he held on until he heard director Guy Hamilton say "Cut"^{[citation needed]}.

With time, Sakata's acting skills improved. He co-starred opposite William Shatner in the movie Impulse, in which he played the character Karate Pete. He also guest starred on a Gilligan's Island episode as Rory Calhoun's henchman.

He also appeared in a series of TV commercials for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup in the 1970s. The ad showed Sakata demolishing his house and frightening his family as his cough spasms grow worse and worse. The ad premise was that a spoonful of Formula 44 would quiet the worst coughs. At the end of the commercial the house is in a shambles but everyone is politely (and quietly) bowing to each other. He made an appearance on the Tonight Show on which he parodied the commercial by destroying Johnny Carson's set.^[4]

Sakata died on July 29, 1982 in Honolulu, Hawaii, of cancer.

Championships and accomplishments

• Maple Leaf Wrestling

• NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Great Togo

• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

• NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Ike Eakins

• NWA Big Time Wrestling

• NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA Hollywood Wrestling

• NWA International Television Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Wild Red Berry ^[5]
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) - with “Wild” Red Berry

• NWA Mid-America

• NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) - with John Smith

• Mid-Pacific Promotions

• NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with King Curtis Iaukea

• Pacific Northwest Wrestling

• NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Toi Yamamoto

References

External links

Professional wrestling portal

• Profile at History of Olympic Weightlifting
• Profile at Online World of Wrestling
• Championship Wrestling from Florida: Tosh Togo
• Harold Sakata at the Internet Movie Database
• the above mentioned TV commercial for cough syrup
• Harold Sakata at Find a Grave