Shimura has been active in the Japanese entertainment industry since the 1970s. Later, he became the national king of laughter with the TV series "Shimura's Big Comedy". His influence expanded overseas to Taiwan, China and other places. Shimura Ken's stage name became the "hilari

Ken Shimura Passed away from the epidemic: The 70-year life of a generation of Japanese comedy kings hastily ended

Japan's senior comedian Ken Shimura - After being diagnosed with new severe COVID-19 and being hospitalized last week, he was confirmed to have died in Tokyo late at night on the 29th. , lived to the age of 70. Picture/Shimura Ken’s Facebook page

“Ken-san! I really want to hear you call me ‘man’ again...” Japan’s senior comedian Ken Shimura was diagnosed with severe COVID-19 and was hospitalized late at night on the 29th last week. He died of illness in Tokyo at the age of 70. Shimura has been active in the Japanese entertainment industry since the 1970s. Later, he became the national king of laughter with the TV series " Shimura's Big Comedy ". His influence expanded overseas to Taiwan, China and other places. Shimura Ken's stage name became "hilarious" synonym for ". He is still working hard in the entertainment industry and performing in various types of programs. Unexpectedly, he was admitted to the hospital after being diagnosed with the infection on the 23rd, and passed away in just a week. Japan was shocked. Not only did the whole country mourn in unison, but the junior star of the comedy industry, Haruna Kondo, also expressed her condolences in the morning. I couldn't help crying during the live news broadcast. Ken Shimura is also the first artist in Japan to pass away due to the virus epidemic. What makes everyone sigh is that the life of a generation of hilarious kings ended so hastily; perhaps just like his classic representative character "Your Majesty the Idiot", the end of his life It actually made the audience "angry and funny" at all times.

Ken Shimura, whose real name is Shimura Kantoku, was born in 1950 in Higashimurayamacho, Kitama-gun, Tokyo (today's Higashimurayama City). The Shimura family is actually a traditional family. His father, Kenji Shimura, is an elementary school teacher, and Ken Shimura’s two older brothers both went on to become civil servants after graduating from college. Only Ken Shimura is the “alien” in the family; although Shimura’s father and Xu Like many traditional Dosan, he is a strict and unsmiling type, but Shimura recalled that "such a serious father would laugh while watching TV cartoons", which influenced Shimura to embark on a career in comedy. The vision of the road. The origin of Shimura Ken's stage name ("Shimura ん" in Japanese) was given by his father.

When Shimura was in high school, he became a program follower of the comedy short drama band "Drifter" (ザ·ドリフターズ). In 1974, at the age of 24, Shimura Ken officially joined the "Drifter" as a member, and later became a veteran partner. Kato Cha and others, hosted and produced the live comedy program "8 o'clock!" "Everyone Gathers", Shimura Ken gradually emerged and suddenly became a popular comedy star. At that time, Shimura's song "Higashimurayama Onto" with the theme of his birthplace received a lot of response from the audience and even received a certificate of commendation from Higashimurayama. It was a popular masterpiece that cannot be ignored in Shimura's early years.

"It's 8 o'clock!" starring Shimura Ken and Kato Cha. "All Members Gather", although it later ended in 1985, but with his hilarious skits and strange song and dance performances, Shimura Ken was still the darling of Japanese television in the 1980s. In 1986, Shimura had his first show with his stage name, "Shimura Ken" Sorry! 》, and the 1987 Fuji TV 's "Shimura's Big Fun" (the original Japanese title is "Shimura's けんのだいじょうぶだぁ", which means "big man", "no problem"), in which Shimura plays the classic "weird uncle". " and "Mother Hitomi" characters are the representative characters of the series.

At the same time, Ken Shimura's performance from 1986 to 2020 is the "Shimura Ken's Idiot Highness" series, which is a funny farce with the face painted white and performed in the appearance of an ancient family. This idiot His Highness character is still a symbol of Shimura Ken to this day, and His Highness can still be seen in major advertisements and TV programs.

The character of His Highness the Idiot is still a symbolic figure of Shimura Ken to this day, and His Highness can still be seen in major advertisements and TV programs. Picture/Shimura Ken Facebook

Shimura has been in the entertainment industry for 46 years. In his early heyday, he also attracted criticism for being "vulgar" because of his performance content with pornographic and dirty jokes. Even in TV shows in the 1980s, explicit female erotic performances could occasionally be seen in Shimura Ken's short dramas.However, Ken Shimura's acting career was not determined by his status as a comedian, and he successively participated in various TV dramas and even movie roles (such as playing a miner in the famous "The Railway Man"); Shimura, who is famous for his love of animals, He also started hosting "Genius!" in 2004. Shimura Zoo" program discusses various animal life topics.

Ken Shimura's performance and style have had a profound impact on Taiwan. After "Shimura's Big Comedy" swept Japan, it also crossed the sea to Taiwan and became a high-rated program on Taiwanese TV in the 1990s. Imitation and appropriation became a trend, such as the "Yang Granny" role played by artist Yangfan, and Shimura The healthy "Mother-in-Law" appears The same, almost copied; Xie Zuwu and Tao Jingying's "Amuro Aimi" short play series is also a direct imitation of Shimura Ken and Ishino Yoko's "5 O'clock Couple" (for the "Shimura Big Funny" series unit).

What once amazed the outside world was that Ken Shimura was also a good player of the traditional musical instrument Tsugaru Shamisen. He made a guest appearance in a TV commercial playing the shamisen, and performed with his old comrade in the art world Kitano Takeshi - Shimura Shamisen. Line and Takeshi Kitano's tap dancing - two people of similar age and debut era, they are the embodiment of the so-called versatile talents of Japanese "entertainers" back then.

Ken Shimura's performance and style have had a profound impact on Taiwan. The picture shows Taiwanese hosts Hu Gua and Ken Shimura sharing the stage for the first time in 1997, making faces. Picture/United Daily News Information Gallery

However, for a long time, Ken Shimura’s physical condition has always caused health warnings. One is his habit of smoking and drinking, which has made his physical fitness worse than before; in 2016, Shimura died of pneumonia. He was hospitalized for recuperation, and after being discharged from a serious illness, he even gave up his smoking habit. However, his long-term habit of running to hotels still puts a lot of load on his liver and stomach. At the beginning of 2020, Ken Shimura had his stomach polyps removed and announced to his friends at his 70th birthday party in February that " Good news about rebirth from a serious illness.

But no one expected that Ken Shimura, who has always been strong and stubborn, would be diagnosed with the new coronavirus (COVID-19, commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia) on the 23rd.

Ken Shimura began to experience obvious burnout and fatigue on March 17, so he recuperated at his home in Tokyo. However, he developed fever and difficulty breathing on the 19th, and went to a hospital in Tokyo the next day on the 20th. At that time, he was diagnosed with "severe pneumonia" and was admitted to a hospital in Tokyo for treatment. At the same time, he was screened for the new coronavirus. As a result, on the 23rd, Ken Shimura's test result was positive and the infection was confirmed. After the news of the diagnosis and hospitalization was made public by the agency, the entertainment industry and the public were extremely worried, especially Shimura, who was worried that Shimura, who had been physically ill in the past, might not be able to withstand the impact of the virus. His old friend Takeshi Kitano was asked about Shimura's condition on a TV show, and he said with a rare serious expression:

"Shimura still loves drinking as usual. But... this is really like Russian roulette. Shimura's His luck is really unlucky.”

At the beginning of 2020, Shimura Ken had a gastric polyp removed and announced to his friends the good news of “recovering from a serious illness” at his 70th birthday party in February. No one expected that Ken Shimura, who has always been strong and stubborn, would be diagnosed with the new coronavirus (COVID-19, commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia) on the 23rd. Picture/Shimura Ken Instagram

As Shimura was still participating in the recording work normally until March, he went to the "NHK" studio in Shibuya on March 5 to record the morning TV novel drama "Support" (エール); 6 Japan also recorded "Genius!" one after another. "Shimura Zoo", although there were no symptoms during the two days of filming, the relevant crew members have been conducting health tracking and self-quarantine. Shimura was originally going to star in director Yoji Yamada's new film "Theatre God" (キネマの神様), which was a film commemorating the 100th anniversary of Shochiku Pictures, but he had to resign due to recuperation. And Shimura's sudden death from illness meant that this commemorative work had no chance.

Originally, some media in the entertainment industry reported the news of "Shimura's continued recuperation" late at night on the 29th. However, it was confirmed on the morning of the 30th that Ken Shimura had passed away at 11:10 pm on the 29th at the age of 70.

The shocking news completely captured the attention of major Japanese media. More than 1 million keywords "Shimura けん" immediately appeared on Twitter. Public opinion was stunned, "I didn't expect Shimura to leave so soon after getting sick." According to Japanese media According to my observation, when many live news programs broadcast this news, the anchors were "speechless for a moment." Comedian Haruna Kondo, who was doing a live TV show this morning, burst into tears and couldn't help herself, and the atmosphere was extremely sad. In addition, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who is struggling with epidemic prevention work, also expressed regret and respect for Shimura through the media. Koike also emphasized that she is committed to making medical preparations for all infected people.

"Ken-san! I really want to hear you say 'man' again!" Sad fans were deeply sorry to hear the obituary of Ken Shimura's death. Unexpectedly, the new crown pneumonia epidemic that came so hastily and unexpectedly took away the entertainment giant in the hearts of the people. Perhaps just like His Highness the fool, he bid farewell to the stage of life in a confused, irritating and funny way.

Shimura Ken's hometown, Higashimurayama City, planted a tree in front of Higashimurayama Station in 1976. In recognition of Shimura Ken's contribution to promoting his hometown, the tree was named "Shimura Ken's tree".

"Ken-san! I really want to hear you say 'manly' again!" Sad fans were deeply sorry to hear the obituary of Ken Shimura's death. Picture/Shimura Ken Facebook