Sessue Hayakawa (Spotlight #5)

[kitty]

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Sessue Hayakawa
Spotlight #5

During Hollywood's silent screen era Japanese screen star Sessue Hayakawa rivaled Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and John Barrymore in popularity with film audiences.

Hayakawa was one of the highest paid Hollywood stars of his time, making over $5,000 a week in 1915, then $2 million a year through his own production company in 1920s. He was handsome and flamboyant and gave some of Hollywood's legendary parties. Hayakawa was also Paramount's first choice for the role of The Sheik that launched Rudolph Valentino's career in 1918.

Not bad for a student from Japan who stumbled into acting during a vacation. in Los Angeles.

Hayakawa was a remarkable man who lived a remarkable life. He was an actor, producer, author, martial artist and an ordained Zen monk. He starred in over 80 movies and achieved stardom on three continents. In one night during the peak of his success, he gambled away $1 million at Monte Carlo, shrugging off the loss while another Japanese gambler who lost a fortune committed suicide. From the gaudy heights of Hollywood in the early 20s, to occupied France in the 30s and 40s, to his academy-award nomination in 1957, Hayakawa's movie-like life brimmed with extraordinary adventures and accomplishments.

Filmography

1966 The Daydreamer - Character played: The Mole
1961 The Big Wave
1960 The Swiss Family Robinson - Character played: Pirate Chief
1960 Walt Disney Presents: Escape to Paradise and Water Birds
1960 Hell to Eternity - Character played: Gen. Matsui
1959 Green Mansions - Character played: Runi
1958 The Geisha Boy - Character played: Mr. Sikita
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai - Character played: Col. Saito
1955 House of Bamboo - Character played: Inspector Kito
1953 Tomoyuki Yamashita
1950 Three Came Home - Character played: Col. Suga
1950 Mask of Korea - Character played: Ying Tchai
1949 Tokyo Joe - Character played: Baron Kimura
1946 Quartier Chinois
1942 Malaria
1941 Patrouille Blanche
1939 Macao, L'enfer du Jeu - Character played: Lin Tse
1937 Yoshiwara - Character played: Ysamo
1937 The New Earth
1937 Forfaiture
1931 Daughter of the Dragon - Character played: Ah Kee
1924 Sen Yan's Devotion
1924 J'ai Tué! - Character played: Hideo
1924 Great Prince Shan
1923 La Bataille
1922 Five Days to Live - Character played: Tal Leung
1922 The Vermillion Pencil - Character played: Tse Chan (later the unknown)
1921 The Swamp - Character played: Wang
1921 Black Roses - Character played: Yoda
1921 Where Lights Are Low - Character played: T'Su Wong Shih
1920 An Arabian Knight - Character played: Ahmed
1918 The Bravest Way
1917 Each to His Kind - Character played: Rhandah
1917 The Secret Game - Character played: Nara-Nara
1916 Honorable Friend
1916 Alien Souls - Character played: Sakata
1916 Victoria Cross
1915 The Cheat - Character played: Tori
1915 After Five - Character played: Oki, His Valet
1915 Temptation - Character played: Opera Admirer
1914 Wrath of the Gods, the Or, the Destruction of Sakura Jima
1914 The Typhoon
1913 The Hateful God

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[amietron]

I think your introduction is a bit misleading. It leads one to believe that Hayakawa committed suicide at age 18, when actually it was an attempt and he didn't die.

<!--QuoteBegin-goldsea.com+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (goldsea.com)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The future matinee idol was born Hayakawa Kintaro on June 10, 1890 in Chiba, Japan, the second eldest son of the provincial governor. From early on he was groomed for a career as a naval officer. But in 1907, at 17, he took a schoolmate's dare to swim to the bottom of a lagoon and ruptured an eardrum. He was studying at the Naval Academy in Etajima but his perfect health was now shattered and he failed the navy's rigorous physical. His proud father became depressed, humiliated and shamed. Consequently, the father-son relationship suffered.
The strained relationship between the Kintaro's drove the 18-year-old to decide to commit harakiri. One quiet night after dinner Hayakawa entered a garden shed on his parents' property, locked his favorite dog outside and spread a white sheet on the ground. To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times. But death wasn't ready for him. The dog's barking alerted Hayakawa's family and his father smashed through the shed door with an axe in time to save his son.[/b][/quote]

[yoMAMA]

The Asian Russel Crowe?

[kitty]

whoops... I didn't write the bio, just linked to it...

[sunyang]

<!--QuoteBegin-Morientes+Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Morientes @ Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think your introduction is a bit misleading. It leads one to believe that Hayakawa committed suicide at age 18, when actually it was an attempt and he didn't die.

To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times. But death wasn't ready for him. [/b][/quote]

Maybe his time was'nt up; however, if he really wanted to kill himself why did'nt he just slit his wrists or throat? [/b][/quote]
He was attempting what is known as "Hara-kiri" (suicide) in Japanese. In Japanese, the word hara means belly or stomach, and kiri means cut or split. It was mainly practiced by Samurai in ancient Japan, and was regarded as an act of great honor, usually when a battle was lost.

[amietron]

<!--QuoteBegin-sunyang+Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sunyang @ Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Morientes+Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Morientes @ Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think your introduction is a bit misleading. It leads one to believe that Hayakawa committed suicide at age 18, when actually it was an attempt and he didn't die.

To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times. But death wasn't ready for him. [/b][/quote]

Maybe his time was'nt up; however, if he really wanted to kill himself why did'nt he just slit his wrists or throat? [/b][/quote]
He was attempting what is known as "Hara-kiri" (suicide) in Japanese. In Japanese, the word hara means belly or stomach, and kiri means cut or split. It was mainly practiced by Samurai in ancient Japan, and was regarded as an act of great honor, usually when a battle was lost. [/b][/quote]
I know what harakiri means. What I was referring to was the general Hayakawa intro. Those are chunks from the other pages-- I know you didn't write them. The placement from each of the different pages seems so random, though. That's all.

During Hollywood's silent screen era Japanese screen star Sessue Hayakawa rivaled Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and John Barrymore in popularity with film audiences. To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times.

The second sentence is too sudden.

Whatever. Sorry, I don't mean to come off as a dick or anything.

[kitty]

<!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 17 2003, 10:59 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 17 2003, 10:59 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-sunyang+Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sunyang @ Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Morientes+Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Morientes @ Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think your introduction is a bit misleading. It leads one to believe that Hayakawa committed suicide at age 18, when actually it was an attempt and he didn't die.

To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times. But death wasn't ready for him. [/b][/quote]

Maybe his time was'nt up; however, if he really wanted to kill himself why did'nt he just slit his wrists or throat? [/b][/quote]
He was attempting what is known as "Hara-kiri" (suicide) in Japanese. In Japanese, the word hara means belly or stomach, and kiri means cut or split. It was mainly practiced by Samurai in ancient Japan, and was regarded as an act of great honor, usually when a battle was lost. [/b][/quote]
I know what harakiri means. What I was referring to was the general Hayakawa intro. Those are chunks from the other pages-- I know you didn't write them. The placement from each of the different pages seems so random, though. That's all.



The second sentence is too sudden.

Whatever. Sorry, I don't mean to come off as a dick or anything. [/b][/quote]
Nope, I agree. That's my bad... I took out the part about the suicide attempt since it's superfluous anyways.

[sunyang]

<!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 17 2003, 02:59 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 17 2003, 02:59 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-sunyang+Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (sunyang @ Aug 15 2003, 04:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Morientes+Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Morientes @ Aug 15 2003, 03:13 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-amietron+Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (amietron @ Aug 5 2003, 03:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think your introduction is a bit misleading. It leads one to believe that Hayakawa committed suicide at age 18, when actually it was an attempt and he didn't die.

To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times. But death wasn't ready for him. [/b][/quote]

Maybe his time was'nt up; however, if he really wanted to kill himself why did'nt he just slit his wrists or throat? [/b][/quote]
He was attempting what is known as "Hara-kiri" (suicide) in Japanese. In Japanese, the word hara means belly or stomach, and kiri means cut or split. It was mainly practiced by Samurai in ancient Japan, and was regarded as an act of great honor, usually when a battle was lost. [/b][/quote]
I know what harakiri means. [/b][/quote]
Amietron, I wasn't talking to you. I was answering Morientes' question about why didn't he just slit his wrists or throat. But I'm happy for you that you know what harakiri means - would you like a cookie?