---
name: "James Shigeta"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-shigeta"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "17 June 1929"
died: "28 July 2014"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:19:58.575530+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James Shigeta

Actor. Born 17 June 1929 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. Died 28 July 2014.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 17 June 1929, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
- **Died:** 28 July 2014
- **Also known as:** James Saburo Shigeta, 繁田三郎

## Biography

James Shigeta (also credited as James Saburo Shigeta) was an American actor and singer of Japanese descent. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he studied drama at New York University and served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War. Before entering Hollywood he achieved success as a singer in Japan and Australia.

Shigeta made his screen debut in *The Crimson Kimono* (1959) and went on to play romantic leads in *Walk Like a Dragon* (1960), *Bridge to the Sun* (1961) and *Flower Drum Song* (1961). In 1960 he shared the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male. Later credits include the role of Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi in *Die Hard* (1988) and the voice of General Li in *Mulan* (1998). He also appeared in numerous television series such as *Little House on the Prairie*, *Murder, She Wrote* and *Magnum, P.I.*. Shigeta died in 2014.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, bbc.com, latimes.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Die Hard* (1988), Fi1m 89, as Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi — [page](https://film.one/film/die-hard.md)

## Also known for

- *Mulan* (1998), General Li (voice)
- *Avatar: The Last Airbender* (2005), Old Wanderer (voice)
- *Little House on the Prairie* (1974), Sam Wing
- *Beverly Hills, 90210* (1990), Ben Sosna
- *Brother* (2000), Sugimoto
- *Airwolf* (1984), Colonel Tranh Van Zung
- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), John Sukahara, Luc Li
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), Richard Enoka, Mr. Obotu

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-shigeta