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Godzilla actor Hiroshi Koizumi dies at 88

Actor Hiroshi Koizumi, known for his role in the early movies of hit Japanese film series Godzilla, has died from pneumonia. He was 88.

Koizumi passed away last Sunday, said The Hollywood Reporter.

Making his film debut in 1951, the actor appeared in a string of monster films, including three in 1964 alone, Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah, Three-Headed Monster and <g data-gr-id="24">Dogara</g>, the Space Monster.

In 1955’s Godzilla Raids Again, Koizumi appeared as a pilot, who discovers Godzilla battling another monster on a remote island. The film was put into production by the film company, Toho, to cash in on the box office success of the first Godzilla film the year before. 

Born into an old-money family in 1926, Koizumi graduated from Tokyo’s Keio University, Japan’s oldest, and joined public broadcaster NHK as an announcer. Shortly after, he signed for Toho: in those days actors were usually contracted to work for a single studio.

Koizumi also acted in numerous non-monster productions, including the 47  Samurai in 1962, alongside the legendary Toshiro Mifune. 
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