Akiko Wakabayashi
Akiko Wakabayashi (born December 13, 1939 in Ōta, Tokyo) is a Japanese actress, best known in English-speaking countries for her role as Bond girl, Aki in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Prior to this, she made many movies in her native Japan, especially Toho Studio's monster movies such as Dagora, the Space Monster and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (both of which were also released under various other titles). When production of You Only Live Twice began, Wakabayashi was originally slated to play the role of Kissy Suzuki whilst her co-star Mie Hama played Suki, one of Tiger Tanaka's top agents. When learning English proved to be a major hurdle to Hama, the women switched roles, with Hama now playing the smaller part of Kissy and Wakabayashi playing the larger part of Suki. Wakabayashi, as Aki in the movie You Only Live Twice. At her suggestion, the character of Suki was renamed to Aki. This is probably partly because[citation needed] in 1966, Woody Allen took the Japanese action film International Secret Police: Key of Keys (in which both Mie Hama and Wakabayashi starred), re-edited, re-dubbed, re-plotted, and renamed it What's Up, Tiger Lily?. In the film, Wakabayashi's character was "Suki Yaki" whereas her You Only Live Twice co-star Hama played "Teri Yaki". Wakabayashi made only one more film (and a guest TV appearance) before disappearing from both the big and small screen. In an interview in G-FAN magazine (No. 76), Wakabayashi said she retired from acting due to injuries sustained while making a movie.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Akiko Wakabayashi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 8.146 |
Birthday | 1939-12-13 |
Place of Birth | Ota, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan |
Also Known As | 若林 映子, Акико Вакабаяси, |
1967
You Only Live Twice
6.565/2147
A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the c...
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You Only Live Twice
1962
King Kong vs. Godzilla
6.828/294
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approa...
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King Kong vs. Godzilla
1966
What's Up, Tiger Lily?
5.338/185
In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to...
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What's Up, Tiger Lily?
1960
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
7.986/106
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful ar...
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When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
1962
Kanpai! Sararīman shokun
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Kanpai! Sararīman shokun
1962
The Crimson Sky
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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The Crimson Sky
1964
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
7.027/241
After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.
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Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1966
Adventure in Kigan Castle
5.7/5
Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the great Buddha. Their journey takes them to a kingdom in...
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Adventure in Kigan Castle
1962
Our Failures
0/0
Tells the story of Shintaro, a lawyer who quits his job to work at a camera factory, and his love adventures.
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Our Failures
1962
The Weed of Crime
0/0
Toho-produced crime drama involving the drug trade.
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The Weed of Crime
1966
The Thin Line
7.3/13
Tashiro coincidentally meets his best friend Sugimoto in a bar very close to the apartment in which Sugimoto’s wayward wife is found dead. Although Ta...
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The Thin Line
1962
Ai no uzu shio
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Ai no uzu shio
1962
Pig and Goldfish
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Pig and Goldfish
1961
Akiko
6.5/1
The quaint life of Ottavia, a widow living in Rome, is turned upside down when a young and pretty Japanese girl knocks at her door, claiming to be the...
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Akiko
1963
Samurai Pirate
5.545/11
An adventurous and daring sailor sets sail to the castle of an ailing king to stop an evil premier, hungry for power and wealth, from succeeding the t...
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Samurai Pirate
1966
Arupusu no wakadaishô
0/0
Seventh movie of the Wakadaishō series directed by Kengo Furusawa
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Arupusu no wakadaishô
1965
Key of Keys
6/4
Intelligence director Suritai asks agent Kitami to steal money from anti-government guerrillas.
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Key of Keys
1962
Wakai kisetsu
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Wakai kisetsu
1962
Sararīman Gonza to Sukejū ren'ai kōsa-ten
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Sararīman Gonza to Sukejū ren'ai kōsa-ten
1962
Gekkyū dorobō
0/0
1962 Japanese movie
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Gekkyū dorobō
2006
The Exotic Locations of 'You Only Live Twice'
6/1
Maud Adams narrates a tour of the locations of You Only Live Twice.
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The Exotic Locations of 'You Only Live Twice'
2002
Best Ever Bond
5/4
Roger Moore presents the ten best sequences ever to have appeared in the James Bond series, and cast members recall their favourite moments.
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Best Ever Bond
1964
Dogora
6.865/37
A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of diamonds.
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Dogora
1964
A Keg of Powder
0/0
In the third installment in the "Kokusai himitsu keisatsu" series, agent Jiro Kitami investigates the mysterious disappearance of a prominent scientis...
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A Keg of Powder
1963
Interpol Code 8
0/0
Agent Jiro Kitami attempts to stop a smuggling ring from shipping arms to Vietcong guerrillas.
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Interpol Code 8
1964
こんにちは赤ちゃん
10/3
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こんにちは赤ちゃん
1959
The Beast Shall Die
5.6/7
A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the suicide of his father and a sleazy affair by his mot...
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The Beast Shall Die
1961
Acchan no bebi gyangu
0/0
Based on the comic by Fuyuhiko Okabe.
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Acchan no bebi gyangu
1958
Song for a Bride
0/0
An Ishiro Honda film.
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Song for a Bride
1960
The Orientals
0/0
Episodic, globe-trotting quasi-mondo focused on women of the East.
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The Orientals
1961
Girl from Hong Kong
10/1
Unusual race relations melodrama from West Germany follows a German sailor who meets and weds a Chinese woman while on leave in Hong Kong, only to mee...
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Girl from Hong Kong
1963
King Kong vs. Godzilla
6.617/239
When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they barga...
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King Kong vs. Godzilla
1968
Diamonds of the Andes
0/0
Romantic action film set against the beautiful backdrop of Rio de Janeiro. Jiro Ibuki has decided to leave the world of the yakuza and live with his f...
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