-
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Comedian Ken Shimnura des
after coromavirus imfectlOm
KKen Shimura、 a veteran slapstick
comedian and member of rock m*
roli band and comedy group The
JDrrfters. a household name in Ja-
pan in the 1970s and 1980s, died of
pneunonia caused by the new
coronavirus IMarch 29, his agency
said March 30. He was 70.
.。 Shnmura was hospitalized on
March 20 after developing a fever
and being diagnosed with severe
pneurmonia. He fested positive for
(he virus on March 23, becoming
the frst Japanese entertainment
fgure to announce an infection.
人A native of Tokyo's Higashimu-
rayama, Shimura, whose real name
Was Yasunori Shimura, replaced
Chu Arai in The Drifters in 1974
after graduating from high school.
Formed by the late actor Cho-
Suke Ikariya and four other men in
1964, the group, which opened for
the Beatles in Japan in 1966, be-
came one Of the biggest successes
in Japanese comedy history.
Shimura rose to promminence aE
ter starring in the group*s prime-
tme television slapstick comedy
Show 刀2c/が2Zyo ZZezzzzs/zzgo/
.半
(Z7s 8 o c/ocん gsse77の/ら ev@のの767)
]launched in 1969.
He was later known for perforrmm-
ing Popular characters such as Baka
Tonosama (stupid lord) and Henna
Ojisan (weird man) on TV. He also
had led his theater troupe Shimmura-
kon (Shimura spiri《) since 2006.
At the time of his death, he Was
starring in 7e7zso7/ S7z72z7の のoの7
がze7 (ezz4s/ S7が277の Zoo) and
other TV shows, and was sched-
uled to start Working in April on a
movie based on the book 77,e 7ze
4のove 娘e 7777e. (Kyodo) wA六
