渥美清

Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美 清 Atsumi Kiyoshi), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所 康雄 Tadokoro Yasuo), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show theater in Asakusa. After two years of fighting pulmonary tuberculosis, he made his debut on TV in 1956 and on film in 1957. His vivid performance of a lovable, innocent man in the film “Dear Mr. Emperor” (Haikei Tenno-Heika-Sama) in 1963 established his reputation as an actor. Later he became the star of the highly popular Tora-san series of films. His portrayal of the main characters lasted from the original Otoko wa Tsurai yo (translated in English as 'It's Tough being a Man') in 1969 to the 48th film released in 1995, the year before his death. The enduring success of the series made him synonymous with the Tora-san character, and when he died in Tokyo, many Japanese regarded his death as the death of the character Tora-san, not the death of the actor Yasuo Tadokoro or Kiyoshi Atsumi.