R.I.P. Godzilla

Word has come that Haruo Nakajima has passed away. Nakajima was the Japanese actor who originated the seminal role of Godzilla (1954). Clad in the trademarked gray rubber suit — the initial films were in black and white — he stormed across the countryside and laid waste to cities in a dozen Godzilla movies.

Nakajima worked hard in his role. To develop Godzilla’s distinctive walk, he studied the movement of animals such as bears and elephants. Just to wear the suit was physically demanding. Some versions weighed over 100 pounds!

Although Godzilla was Nakajima’s best known creation, he also wore a different rubber suit to play the part of King Kong in 1967. His career, which lasted until 1973, included some 50 films, often war movies and samurai dramas. As he later joked, “I was the guy who got killed.”

For all the technical limitations and hokey plots, Godzilla remains one of the world’s most beloved film franchises. Not a bad legacy for a guy whose face was never seen on camera.

A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.