Ken Shimura

Ken Shimura (志村 けん, Shimura Ken) (born Yasunori Shimura (志村 康徳, Shimura Yasunori), February 20, 1950 – March 29, 2020) was a Japanese comedian. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show Shimura Ken no Bakatono-sama. The "bakatono-sama" shtick by Shimura is unusual among Japanese comedians, in that he could satirize the deeds of powerful figures (a company president, a politician, a family head, a school principal, the head of a Japanese yakuza gang) under the garb of a foolish king who lived in the country a long time ago. Another popular shtick of Shimura in the same show was "Henna Oji-san" [weirdo] who entertained himself in the company of nubile girls. After being caught for his pranks, the character regularly ended the shtick with a song 'Sou desu. Watashi wa Henna Oji-san desu'.

Shimura was most famous for starring in Hachiji Da Yo! Zei'in Shugo! with the comedy group The Drifters and Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan with Cha Kato, another former member of The Drifters.

Hachiji Dayo! Zen'inshugo! ("It's eight o'clock! Everybody Come on Out!")

Ken Shimura became known in 1974, replacing Chu Arai in the famous comedy group The Drifters. With the help of the other members of the group, he learned to act and make the audience laugh. Over time, he showed a knack for comedy. Some memorable pictures of that time are the mustache dance, in which he starred with Cha Katō and the song Higashimurayama, referring to his homeland.

With this group,he participated in the weekly program Hachiji Dayo! Zen'inshugo! from 1974 to 1985, reaching 40% to 50% of viewers at their best. From 1977, he also participated in the television program Dorifu Daibakusho ("Dorifu, big burst of laughter"), which were special paintings totaling one and a half hours. It is currently possible to see members together only on television specials.

Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen Terebi ("Kato-chan Ken-chan, nice TV")

The rapport Ken Shimura had with Cha Katō, also a member of Higashimurayama, kept them together on television. In 1986, they created theKato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen Terebi, which aired until 1992. In The Detective Story, they are two detective friends who get into a lot of trouble. The high ratings allowed for high-cost scenes with exploding cars, helicopters and crowds. A famous painting of this time is Shimura as a monk, who asked people to repeat the words "Daijoubuda, ... ueh, ueh, ueh", whereas "daijoubuda" literally means "I'm all right."

Ken Shimura at Baka Tonosama ("Ken Shimura and the Dim-Witted Lord")

This program ran about three times a year since 1986. In it, Shimura is a feudal lord ("tono") who does not want to rule and only thinks about having fun. The character was created at the time of Hachiji Dayo! Zen'inshugo! and is characterized by an all-white face, extremely thick eyebrows and hair tied at the top of the head. The program always features celebrity stakes.

Shimura Ken no Daijoubuda ("Ken Shimura Daijoubuda")

This program aired from 1987 to 1993 and was the beginning of Shimura's career as the sole leader. His new companions were also his "disciples" in the sense that they learned from Shimura. Among others, Masashi Tashiro, his first favorite "disciple", Yoko Ishino, favorite "disciple" and former bride Nobuyoshi Kuwano, who played the trumpet, and Noriko Matsumoto. At that time, Shimura created the famous character "henna ojisan", which means "strange uncle".

Post-Daijoubuda

After the previous big hits, Shimura has been leading several shows, mostly on the Fuji TV network with the renewal of his "disciples". The most famous of them was Masashi Tashiro. However, after Tashiro's involvement with voyeurism, drugs, and subsequent arrests, Shimura, disappointed, cut him from their act. From 1996, he began working with newbie Yuuka, who eventually became his favorite "disciple". Shimura's participation in the career of humorists (such as Katsuhiro Higo and Ryuuhei Ueshima, and Haruna Kondou and Haruka Minowa) and other celebrities is notorious.

• 1993–1995: Shimura Ken wa Ikagadeshou ("How about a Ken Shimura") – with Masashi Tashiro, Yoko Ishino, Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Minayo Watanabe, etc.
• 1995–1996: Shimura Ken no Ore ga Nani Shitano yo ("Ken Shimura's What the Hell Did I do?") – with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Minayo Watanabe, etc.
• 1996–1997: Shimura X – with Maiko Kawakami, Yukiko Someya, Kazumi Murata, Yuuka, Housei Yamasaki and Ryuuhei Ueshima.
• 1997–1998: Shimura XYZ – with Maiko Kawakami, Yukiko Someya, Kazumi Murata, Yuuka, Housei Yamasaki and Ryuuhei Ueshima.
• 1998–2000: Shimura X-Tengoku ("Shimura Paradise X") – with Maiko Kawakami, Yukiko Someya, Kazumi Murata, Yuuka, Housei Yamasaki and Ryuuhei Ueshima.
• 2000–2002: Henna Ojisan TV ("Strange Uncle's TV") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Masanori Ishii and Yoshiyuki Ishizuka.
• 2002–2004: Shimura Ryuu ("Shimura's Style") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Masanori Ishii, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka, Chizuru Yamada and Ayumi Kato.
• 2004: Shimura Juku ("Shimura's Class") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Masanori Ishii, Yoshiyuki Ishizuka, Chizuru Yamada, Ayumi Kato, etc.
• 2004–2005: Shimura Tsuu ("Shimura, a tasteful person") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Jun Natsukawa, Chizuru Yamada, etc.
• 2005–2008: Shimura Ken no Daijoubuda II ("Ken Shimura's I'm All Right II") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Wakako Shimazaki, Jun Natsukawa and Chen Qu.
• 2007–present: Tensai! Shimura Dōbutsuen ("Genius! Shimura Zoo") – with chimpanzee Pankun and his son.
• 2008–present: Shimura Ya Desu ("It's Shimura's Store") – with Yuuka, Katsuhiro Higo, Ryuuhei Ueshima, Haruna Kondou, Haruka Minowa, Emi Kobayashi and Erika Yazawa.

In 2001, Shimura formed a duet with Naoko Ken as "Ken♀♂Ken" in "Ginza atari de Gin Gin Gin" (銀座あたりでギンギンギン).

Illness and death

Shimura was hospitalized for severe pneumonia on March 20, 2020, and on March 23 it was confirmed that he had COVID-19. He was the first Japanese tarento to make public a diagnosis with COVID-19 during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Japan.

On March 24, Shimura was transferred to a hospital where ECMO was available. He had been scheduled to star in the film Kinema no kamisama [ja], but his participation was cancelled on March 26. Shimura died on March 29, 2020 at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine [ja] in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

As featured artist