Godzilla Suit Actor Haruo Nakajima Passes Away

Actor Haruo Nakajima, best known for playing the title monster in early Godzillafilms, passed away due to pneumonia on Monday. He was 88. His family will hold a funeral service.

Nakajima began his career as an actor and stuntman for war movies and samurai films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. He wore the suit to play Godzilla in the original 1954 Godzilla film, and went on to reprise the role in eleven more films: Godzilla Rides Again, King Kong vs Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of the Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs Hedorah, and Godzilla vs. Gigan. He also played other giant monsters, including Rodan and King Kong.

1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan was Nakajima's final film as Godzilla. He went on to tour fan conventions, and published an autobiography in Japanese in 2010.