TheMovieDB.com

Actor

1946-09-09 · Kagaoshima, Japan · Male

5 series in the catalog

Hayato Tani (谷 隼人, Tani Hayato; born September 9, 1946 as Hajime Iwatani) is a Japanese actor, singer and television presenter best known for his career as General Tani in Takeshi's Castle and Commander Sugata in Hikari Sentai Maskman. He is affiliated to the Goodfellows agency and has a business partnership with Anemoi Entertainment, the agency representing singer and actor Gentaro Takahashi.

Biography

He was born in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan and raised in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Due to his father's wish of a military man and eldest of two siblings (one sister), in addition to financial reasons, his father, a military officer, believed that "If you grow up in an all-female household with three older sisters and one younger sister, you'll end up becoming effeminate". Tani's mother and his three older sisters lived in Sasebo (where his mother's family home was located), while Tani lived separately with his father and his younger sister.. During the fifth grade of elementary school, his father, who worked for the Defense Agency, was transferred, and the four of them, including his mother and young sister, moved from Sasebo to Nakano ward, Tokyo. He attended the Nakano Ward Eight Middle School and moved to the newly-established Kita-Nakano Middle School in his second year. Tani himself said to be "born in Kagoshima, Kyushu and grew up in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture".

During a summer school vacation in his third year of middle school, Tani debuted in acting at the age of 15, when he played the role of Younger Taritari in the TV drama Shonen Kenya in 1961, (where he was credited under his real name Hajime Iwatani). In the spring of 1963, after passing the New Face exam at Nikkatsu, where Yujiro Ishihara, who Tani long admired, also worked. He dropped out of St. Paul's High School two years later and starred in a film for the company, but shortly left afterwards. Tani himself dismissed said stories as "nonsense", declaring "I didn't like studying, so I dropped out of high school because I was working in the nightlife industry. I ran a kissaten, worked as a cook apprentice in the Yoyogi Park and as a low-rank staff member at a hostess club in Shinjuku. While I was working in the nightlife business, someone from Nikkatsu approached me and I stayed there for a few months. They called me a new face, but I wasn't. I mostly worked part-time at Nikkatsu, so there was nothing at all." His contemporary was Yoko Yamamoto. Even after joining Toei, Tani was worried about whether he could make a living as an actor, thus he continued working in the nightlife business for a while, Later, with roles in dramas such as Key Hunter, he gained a large number of female fans and became very popular, but he says that he was even more popular during his time in the nightlife industry, when he was young and slept with five women in a night.

While he worked in snack bars in Yoyogi and Shibuya, Tani immediately thought that he could make money if he became an actor., and immediately acepted the offer. In 1966, he joined Toei. Some sources claim he was scouted by a Toei executive, immediately acepting the offer in 1966. However, Tani stated "I was working at a Shibuya kissaten run by the girlfriend of Yoshihiro Kawaguchi from Theatre de Poche, and I was scouted there by Kawaguchi and Shingo Kobayashi from Horipro." When Kawaguchi and Kobayashi asked "what his real name was", he answered "Iwatani". They asked "That sounds serious. Where were you born?", He replied "Near Hayato in Kagoshima.". They responeded "Hmm... I let's see if there is something like Hayato Iwatani... Oh! I don't need the "Iwa", Hayato Tani". He made up his stage name in 3 minutes. Tani himself said to be "born in Kagoshima, Kyushu and grew up in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture". Under the Hayato Tani stage name, he made his debut in 1966 in Yasuo Furuhata's directorial debut film Delinquent Girl Yoko, starring Mako Midori alongside Tani, Reiko Ohara and Renji Ishibashi; Tani played the role of a timid high school student who was high on Hyminal sleeping pills in Shinjuku., and immediately acepted the offer. In 1966., and immediately acepted the offer. In 1966. Due to his physical appearance, he was billed as "the Japanese Alain Delon" and was chosen as spokesman for stylist Ted Lapidus in Japan. He first met his second wife Kikko Matsuoka, when she sent him to voice training with Jun Suzuki and Mieko Arima shortly after joining Toei. Tani became one of Toei's action stars and appeared in the Abashiri Prison series, the Delinquent Boss series and the Yoru no Kayo series, he joined Toei. He appeared in the Delinquent Boss series of films because he liked Steve McQueen and he was good at riding motorcycles as well.

In 1968, Tani starred in the TV drama Key Hunter, alongside Tetsuro Tamba and Sonny Chiba. His charismatic character and acting skills made him a popular star. His popularity with female fans skyrocketed after he appeared as a men's clothing model at a department store in late 1968. He began making appearances in idol magazines like Weekly Myojo, with articles about his work in Delinquent Boss were published as well. He also made regular appearances as one of the main cast members in the series following Key Hunter, Eyeful Daisakusen (1974-1975) and Birdie Daisakusen. For seven years, Tani was a key figure of the TBS's Saturday 9pm TV drama slot alongside Tamba. In between these years, Tani, at the age of 27, played the role of a high school student in the film Cruel High School: Bad Boy, he joined Toei, which spawned two sequels until 1974, he joined Toei. The third film, Cruel High School: Bad Boy - Iron Bound Classmate, released on 30 March 1974, was a failure, he took responsibility and left Toei.

Tani was approached to appear in "G-Men '75," the series that followed "Birdie Daisakusen," but after appearing in "Terauchi Kantaro Ikka 2," he became interested in family dramas and decided to move away from action acting, so he declined the offer. This marked a turning point that led to his transition from acting to being a TV personality. Since then, he has been active mainly in variety shows in addition various TV dramas.

Between 1986 and 1989, Tani appeared regularly in Takeshi's Castle as the attacking team's captain (攻撃隊長, kōgeki taichō), Captain Tani (谷隊長, Tani-taichō)| (known also as General Tani, General Lee in UK and Indian versions of Takeshi's Castle and "Captain Tenneal" in the U.S. version MXC), which became a hot topic. He also reprised his attacking team's captain role in the 2023 version of Takeshi's Castle.

Personal life

In 1971, when Tani's popularity among women increased thanks to his appearances in TV dramas such as Key Hunter, he married fashion model Michiko Oka (in 1967, Tani saw a flyer for Oka's model club "Central" and fell in love with her at first sight, leading Oka to introduce herself to him)., and immediately acepted the offer. In 1966 after a passionate romance. At the time, Tani was 24 years old and was not in a rush to get married. Since his partner was a fashion model and not a famous actress, both of Tani's parents and Toei strongly opposed the marriage, as the latter considered Tani as part of the next generation of stars to succeed Ken Takakura and other actors. Tani was affiliated to talent agency Group '71, not to Toei and the issue became more serious when Fuji Television coordinated his engagement announcement and wedding ceremony with the agency. Tani begged to the chairman of his agency, and the couple went to the home of Toei's managing director Shigeru Okada, who acted as matchmaker, to secure his consent. On 31 May 1971, Tani and Oka finally announced their engagement at the Tokyo Prince Hotel. On June of the same year, they held their wedding ceremony in a Swiss church, a place he had dreamed of since his elementary school days., and immediately acepted the offer. In 1966. However, Tani and Oka divorced in 1974, during the filming of Birdie Daisakusen…