Ryō Ikebe

Ryō Ikebe (池部 良, Ikebe Ryō; 11 February 1918 – 8 October 2010) was a Japanese actor. He graduated from Rikkyō University and originally wanted to be a director, but ended up debuting as an actor at Tōhō in 1941. He did not achieve popularity until starring in a series of youth films in the late 1940s. He expanded his acting range in the 1950s, while still frequently appearing in genre films, such as Tōhō tokusatsu films and yakuza films at Tōei. One key role of his was in the 1964 film noir Pale Flower. Apparently, he was cast by Masahiro Shinoda despite saying that he was a "ham actor". Shinoda stated that he cast him because of his sleek features present in films such as Early Spring (1956) and wanted to feel the "quality of a man down on his luck." (at the time of production, Ikebe happened to be at home because of a bad experience he had acting in a play where he couldn't remember his lines). He was also known as an essayist. On 8 October 2010, he died of blood poisoning. He was 92 years old.