Akiko Wakabayashi

Born: 1939-12-13

Akiko Wakabayashi (born December 13, 1939 in Ōta, Tokyo) is a Japanese actress, best known in English-speaking countries for her role as Bond girl, Aki in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Prior to this, she made many movies in her native Japan, especially Toho Studio's monster movies such as Dagora, the Space Monster and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (both of which were also released under various other titles). When production of You Only Live Twice began, Wakabayashi was originally slated to play the role of Kissy Suzuki whilst her co-star Mie Hama played Suki, one of Tiger Tanaka's top agents. When learning English proved to be a major hurdle to Hama, the women switched roles, with Hama now playing the smaller part of Kissy and Wakabayashi playing the larger part of Suki. Wakabayashi, as Aki in the movie You Only Live Twice. At her suggestion, the character of Suki was renamed to Aki. This is probably partly because[citation needed] in 1966, Woody Allen took the Japanese action film International Secret Police: Key of Keys (in which both Mie Hama and Wakabayashi starred), re-edited, re-dubbed, re-plotted, and renamed it What's Up, Tiger Lily?. In the film, Wakabayashi's character was "Suki Yaki" whereas her You Only Live Twice co-star Hama played "Teri Yaki". Wakabayashi made only one more film (and a guest TV appearance) before disappearing from both the big and small screen. In an interview in G-FAN magazine (No. 76), Wakabayashi said she retired from acting due to injuries sustained while making a movie. Description above from the Wikipedia article Akiko Wakabayashi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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You Only Live Twice

as Aki
Released: 1967-06-13

A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two...

Movie page

King Kong vs. Godzilla

as Tamiye
Released: 1962-08-11

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their...

Movie page

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

as Mas Selina Salno
Released: 1964-12-20

After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla...

Movie page

King Kong vs. Godzilla

as Tamiye (uncredited)
Released: 1963-06-26

When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong...

Movie page

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

as Hostess
Released: 1960-01-15

Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow....

Movie page

What's Up, Tiger Lily?

as Suki Yaki
Released: 1966-11-02

In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret...

Movie page
as Gang Moll
Released: 1964-08-11

A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of...

Movie page
See!

The Thin Line

as Sayuri Sugimoto
Released: 1966-02-12

Tashiro coincidentally meets his best friend Sugimoto in a bar very close to the apartment in...

Movie page

Arupusu no wakadaishô

as uncredited
Released: 1966-05-28

Seventh movie of the Wakadaishō series directed by Kengo Furusawa

Movie page

The Crimson Sky

as uncredited
Released: 1962-03-21

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

Key of Keys

as Bai-Lan
Released: 1965-10-22

Intelligence director Suritai asks agent Kitami to steal money from anti-government guerrillas.

Movie page

The Beast Shall Die

as Hostess at the Rollita B
Released: 1959-06-09

A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following...

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Samurai Pirate

as Yaya's maid
Released: 1963-10-26

An adventurous and daring sailor sets sail to the castle of an ailing king to stop an evil...

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The Weed of Crime

as uncredited
Released: 1962-12-08

Toho-produced crime drama involving the drug trade.

Movie page

Adventure in Kigan Castle

as Spuria, Chamberlain's daughter
Released: 1966-04-28

Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the...

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Sararīman Gonza to Sukejū ren'ai kōsa-ten

as uncredited
Released: 1962-11-17

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

The Orientals

as uncredited
Released: 1960-04-08

Episodic, globe-trotting quasi-mondo focused on women of the East.

Movie page

Pig and Goldfish

as uncredited
Released: 1962-06-20

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

Interpol Code 8

as uncredited
Released: 1963-08-31

Agent Jiro Kitami attempts to stop a smuggling ring from shipping arms to Vietcong guerrillas.

Movie page

こんにちは赤ちゃん

as Shizuko Nagata
Released: 1964-03-20

Movie page

Girl from Hong Kong

as Anna Suh
Released: 1961-08-29

Unusual race relations melodrama from West Germany follows a German sailor who meets and weds a...

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Gekkyū dorobō

as uncredited
Released: 1962-12-08

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

Song for a Bride

as uncredited
Released: 1958-02-11

An Ishiro Honda film.

Movie page

Diamonds of the Andes

as uncredited
Released: 1968-04-28

Romantic action film set against the beautiful backdrop of Rio de Janeiro. Jiro Ibuki has...

Movie page

Akiko

as Akiko
Released: 1961-03-23

The quaint life of Ottavia, a widow living in Rome, is turned upside down when a young and...

Movie page

Wakai kisetsu

as uncredited
Released: 1962-10-20

1962 Japanese movie

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Kanpai! Sararīman shokun

as uncredited
Released: 1962-01-14

1962 Japanese movie

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Our Failures

as uncredited
Released: 1962-09-01

Tells the story of Shintaro, a lawyer who quits his job to work at a camera factory, and his...

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Ai no uzu shio

as uncredited
Released: 1962-05-22

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

A Keg of Powder

as Girl Taken at Haneda
Released: 1964-12-09

In the third installment in the "Kokusai himitsu keisatsu" series, agent Jiro Kitami...

Movie page

Acchan no bebi gyangu

as Midori
Released: 1961-09-17

Based on the comic by Fuyuhiko Okabe.

Movie page

Shirley's World

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-04-07

Shirley's World is a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the...

TV Show page