Iconic actor of martial arts films of the 70’s to whom Quentin Tarantino had paid tribute by entrusting him with the unforgettable role of Hattori Hanzo in “Kill Bill”, Sonny Chiba died at the age of 82 as a result of the Covid.
Sad news for the cinema world. The iconic Sonny Chiba, legendary Japanese actor in 1970s martial arts films, revered by Quentin Tarantino who had entrusted him with the unforgettable role of Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill, has died at the age of 82, of following a pulmonary infection linked to Covid. According to the latest information, the actor contracted the virus at the end of July, without being hospitalized for treatment, before the symptoms worsened and required hospitalization on August 8.
Born in 1939 in Fukuoka, Sonny Chiba studied many martial arts in his youth; but karate remained his favorite martial art. Beginning his career in 1960 with Toei, he became very popular thanks to the series Key hunter and its 250 episodes.
We owe him for having introduced martial arts with bare hands, in the Chinese way, in Japanese cinema. He was one of the first actors to become famous for his martial skills, first in Japan and then internationally, especially in the United States, thanks in particular to the ultra-violent series of films The Street Fighter from 1974, which will also have some issues with censorship.
Nicknamed Sunny chiba Due to his popularity in Japan, regularly headlining with Kinji Fukasaku since 1961, notably in the sequel to the violent Fight without a Code of Honor, Sonny Chiba was credited in more than 200 fictions, including the famous TV series broadcast by Fuji TV, Shadow Warriors, in 1980, where he played the famous samurai Hattori Hanzo.
Below, a beautiful video tribute to the character with the same name in Kill Bill, in which he agrees to make a new katana for Uma Thurman, in search of revenge …
