Ken Shimura
| Ken Shimura 志村けん | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Yasunori Shimura (志村康徳) |
| Born |
February 20, 1950 Higashimurayama, Tokyo |
| Nationality |
 Japanese |
Ken Shimura (志村 けん Shimura Ken) (born Yasunori Shimura (志村 康徳 Shimura Yasunori), February 20, 1950 in Higashimurayama, Tokyo) is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama. The "bakatono-sama" shtick by Shimura is unusual among Japanese comedians, in that he could satirize the deeds of current guardians of the contemporary society (a company president, a politician, a family head, a school principal, the head of a Japanese yakuza gang) under the garb of a foolish king who lived in the country a long time ago. Another popular shtick of Shimura in the same show is "Henna Oji-san" [an obnoxious uncle character] who entertains himself in the company of nubile girls. After being caught for his pranks, the character regularly ends the shtick with a song 'Sou desu. Watashi wa Henna Oji-san desu'.
Shimura is most famous for starring in Hachiji Da Yo! Zen'in Shugo! with the comedy group The Drifters and Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan with Cha Kato, another former member of The Drifters.
Timeline
- From September to October 1996, a rumor circulated that he had died.
- In 2001, he did a duet with Naoko Ken as "Ken♀♂Ken" in "Ginza atari de Gin Gin Gin" (銀座あたりでギンギンギン).
- In April 2002, he recorded a one-off single with Hello! Project's unit "Mini Moni", with the collaboration credited to "Bakatono to Mini Moni Hime" (バカ殿様とミニモニ。姫). They recorded two songs named after a catch phrase of his, "Ai-in".
Anecdotes
- His stage name "Ken" comes from his father's name "Kenji" (憲司). His father worked as a vice-principal in an elementary school, and Shimura was brought up in a strict family. However, his father suffered from dementia since he was involved in a car accident in front of their home when Ken was in junior high.
- In April 2005, during the demonstrations in China against Japan becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a photograph of his face was put on a website for the Chinese anti-Japanese movement for unclear reasons.
- He is well known in Japan and also in Taiwan, Thailand, and India. It is also notable that Takeshi Kaneshiro is a fan of his.
- Shimura severely criticized former co-star Masashi Tashiro after Tashiro's arrest, saying, "I want that fellow to disappear from the entertainment world because he did a pathetic thing."