Godzilla Actor Kenpachiro Satsuma Dies at 76

TOKYO — Actor and stunt performer Kenpachiro Satsuma, who played Godzilla in several movies, died suddenly on Dec. 16, Toho announced via X (formerly Twitter). He was 76.

News reports said the cause of death was interstitial pneumonia.

Born Yasuaki Maeda in 1947 in Kagoshima Prefecture, he had small roles in samurai films in the 1960s. Under the stage name Kengo Nakayama, he played the smog monster in “Godzilla vs. Hedorah” (1971) opposite Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, then played Gigan in “Godzilla vs. Gigan” (1972) and “Godzilla vs. Megalon” (1973).

Following Nakajima’s retirement from the role, Satsuma took over as Godzilla in “The Return of Godzilla” (1984), “Godzilla 1985” (1985), “Godzilla vs. Biollante” (1989), “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” (1991), “Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth” (1992), “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II” (1993), “Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla” (1994), and “Godzilla vs. Destoroyah” (1995).

Satsuma would regularly pass out on set due to lack of oxygen while wearing the poorly ventilated Godzilla suits. This was especially a problem during filming of “Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.”

After appearing in North Korean films, including the monster movie “Pulgasari” (1985), Satsuma joined an organization addressing starvation and environmental disasters in that country.

Satsuma was against CGI interpretations of Godzilla and walked out on a screening of the 1998 American version, saying, “It’s not Godzilla. It doesn’t have the spirit.”

Toho credited Satsuma with breathing life into Godzilla, winning the hearts of many fans. Many websites dedicated to kaiju movies mourned his passing.