Genzō Wakayama

Genzō Wakayama (若山 弦蔵, Wakayama Genzō, September 27, 1932 — May 18, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and DJ. He moved to Sapporo, Hokkaido as a youth and graduated from Sapporo South High School.

Genzō Wakayama
若山 弦蔵
Born	(1932-09-27)September 27, 1932 Ōdomari, Karafuto Prefecture, Empire of Japan (now Korsakov, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia)
Died	May 18, 2021(2021-05-18) (aged 88)
Occupations	Actor voice actor DJ radio personality

Due to his low bass voice, Wakayama often voiced villainous or calm characters. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist of actors Sean Connery, Gene Barry, Peter Graves, Raymond Burr, Hugh O'Brian and John Bromfield. Also, He was the first dub-over artist of Lee Marvin in his early days. As a disc jockey, Wakayama hosted a program on TBS Radio from 1973 to 1995 that ran for 5,700 installments. Wakayama also narrated over 800 episodes of the television jidaigeki Abarenbo Shogun from 1978 to 2003.

He died due to heart failure on May 18, 2021. A private service was held by his family.^[1]

Roles

Television animation

• Astro Boy (1963) (Detective Boon)
• Shin Takarajima (1965) (Ship Captain (Bear))^[2]
• Harris no Kaze (1966) (Principal)^[2]
• Treasure Island (1978-1979) (Long John Silver)^[2]

Theatrical animation

• Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld (1984) (Demaon)^[2]
• Hoshi o Katta Hi (2006) (Scoppello)

Theatrical Tokusatsu

• Gamera vs. Viras (1968) (Viras)

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Console	Source
2005	Kingdom Hearts II	Ansem the Wise / DiZ	PlayStation 2	[2][3]
2007	Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories		Game Boy Advance	[2][3]
2009	Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days		Nintendo DS	[2]
2010	Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep	Ansem the Wise	PlayStation Portable	[2][3]
2012	Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance		Nintendo 3DS	[2][3]
2019	Kingdom Hearts III	Ansem the Wise, Zeus	PlayStation 4, Xbox One	[3]
2020	Final Fantasy VII Remake	President Shinra	PlayStation 4	[4]
2020	Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory	Ansem the Wise	PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One	[5]

Dubbing roles

Live-action

• Sean Connery
  • Dr. No (1976 TBS and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)^[6]
  • From Russia with Love (1976 TBS and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)^[7]
  • Goldfinger (1974 NTV and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)^[8]
  • Marnie (1969 TV Asahi edition) (Mark Rutland)
  • Thunderball (1977 TBS and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)
  • You Only Live Twice (1978 TBS and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)
  • The Red Tent (Roald Amundsen)
  • The Anderson Tapes (John "Duke" Anderson)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1980 TBS and 2006 DVD editions) (James Bond)
  • The Man Who Would Be King (Daniel Dravot)
  • The First Great Train Robbery (Edward Pierce)
  • Meteor (1981 Fuji TV edition) (Paul Bradley)
  • Never Say Never Again (1985 Fuji TV and WOWOW editions) (James Bond)
  • The Untouchables (1990 Fuji TV and 2003 TV Tokyo editions) (Jim Malone)
  • The Presidio (1991 Fuji TV edition) (Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell)
  • Family Business (Jessie McMullen)^[9]
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1993 Fuji TV and 1994 NTV editions) (Professor Henry Jones)
  • The Hunt for Red October (1993 TBS edition) (Captain Marko Ramius)^[10]
  • The Russia House (Barley Blair)
  • Highlander II: The Quickening (Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez)
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1993 Fuji TV and 2004 TV Tokyo editions) (King Richard)
  • Medicine Man (Dr. Robert Campbell)
  • Just Cause (1997 TV Tokyo edition) (Paul Armstrong)
  • Dragonheart (Software and NTV editions) (Draco)^[11]
  • The Rock (Software and 1999 NTV editions) (John Patrick Mason)^[12]
  • Playing by Heart (Paul)^[13]
  • Entrapment (2007 TV Tokyo edition) (Robert "Mac" MacDougal)^[14]
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Allan Quatermain)^[15]
• Gene Barry
  • Burke's Law (Amos Burke)
  • Columbo: Prescription: Murder (Dr. Ray Fleming)
  • Istanbul Express (Michael London)
  • The Name of the Game (Glenn Howard)
• Lee Marvin
  • M Squad (Detective Lt. Frank Ballinger)
  • The Twilight Zone (Conny Miller)
  • Sergeant Ryker (Sgt. Paul Ryker)
  • The Klansman (Sheriff Track Bascomb)
• The Eiger Sanction (1978 Fuji TV edition) (Ben Bowman (George Kennedy))^[16]
• Ironside (Detectives Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr))
• The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (Wyatt Earp (Hugh O'Brian))
• The Outer Limits (Opening narration)
• Perry Mason (Perry Mason (Raymond Burr))
• The Prisoner (Number Two (Guy Doleman))
• The Sheriff of Cochise (Sheriff Frank Morgan (John Bromfield))
• The Sound of Music (1978 Fuji TV edition) (Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer))
• Thomas and Friends season 13 (Henry the Green Engine)

Animation

• Hercules (Zeus)^[17]
• Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har (Lippy the Lion)^[2]
• Treasure Planet (2003) (John Silver)^[2]

References

1. Loo, Egan (May 31, 2021). "Voice Actor/Radio Personality Genzo Wakayama Passes Away". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
2. "声優さん出演リスト 個別表示：若山 弦蔵 (Genzo Wakayama)" [Voice actor's appearance list individual display: Genzou Wakayama]. Voice Artist Database (in Japanese). GamePlaza-HARUKA-. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
3. "Genzo Wakayama - 13 Character Images | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
4. "『FF7 リメイク』セフィロスの美麗CGや召喚獣シヴァの情報が公開。エアリスのバトルや新要素、新規エピソードも明らかに！". famitsu.com (in Japanese). December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
5. "Genzo Wakayama (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
6. "【ファンが選んだ第７位】００７／ドクター・ノオ". Star Channel. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
7. "【ファンが選んだ第２位】００７／ロシアより愛をこめて". Star Channel. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
8. "００７ ゴールドフィンガー（若山弦蔵版）". Fukikaeru. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
9. "ファミリービジネス[吹]". Star Channel. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
10. "レッド・オクトーバーを追え!". The Cinema. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
11. "ドラゴンハート［吹］". Star Channel. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
12. "ザ・ロック". Star Channel. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
13. "マイ・ハート,マイ・ラブ【日本語吹替版】 [VHS]". Amazon. 24 November 2000. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
14. "午後エンタ 午後ロード「エントラップメント」S・コネリー×C・ゼタ＝ジョーンズ". TV Tokyo. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
15. "リーグ・オブ・レジェンド／時空を超えた戦い". Star Channel. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
16. "新品未開封/アイガー・サンクション ユニバーサル思い出の復刻版/クリント・イーストウッド(山田康雄)ジョージ・ケネディ(若山弦蔵)". Yahoo! Auctions. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
17. "ヘラクレス". The Cinema. Retrieved February 1, 2023.

External links

• Wakayama Genzo "Kamen Rider" site (in Japanese)
• Genzō Wakayama at Anime News Network's encyclopedia