Tokuko Sugiyama
Tokuko Sugiyama (杉山 とく子), also known by her birth name and former stage name Tokuko Sugiyama (杉山 徳子), was a Japanese actress born on August 16, 1926, in Tokyo. She is renowned for her notable roles in the film "The Town with a View of the Capsule" (キューポラのある街) and the TV dramas "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" (男はつらいよ) and "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Series" (渡る世間は鬼ばかりシリーズ). After completing her education at Jissen Women's Academy Second High School, Sugiyama initially worked as a nursery school teacher and in Chiba Newspaper's advertising department. Her journey into the entertainment industry began when she applied to Toho's New Face audition and later joined the Bungakuza theater company in 1946. Following two years of training, she became a part of the Haiyūza theater company in 1948 and marked her stage debut with "Tooku e no Hitsuji Goya" (遠くへの羊飼い) the same year. Sugiyama's film debut occurred in 1949 with "Shiratori wa Kanashikarazu ya" (白鳥は悲しからずや). She played significant supporting roles throughout her career. Notably, in the TV drama "Otoko wa Tsurai yo," she portrayed Tora-san's sister, Tsune, and featured in various roles in the film series. From 1990 onward, she portrayed Hanako Noda, the mother-in-law of the main character, in the TV drama "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari." Even at the age of 66 in 1992, she continued her acting career from a nursing home in Saitama Prefecture. Sugiyama retired from the entertainment industry in 2005, with her final appearance in the 7th series of "Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari." She passed away on August 28, 2014, at the age of 88 due to liver cancer. Throughout her career, Sugiyama often collaborated with Kunio Yamazaki, Aiko Nagayama, and Akiko Matsuda. She was a recurring cast member in films directed by Yoji Yamada. (Translated from Wikipedia Japan "杉山とく子")
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TV Show page