Forever Ken Shimura
Japanese comedy master, Ken Shimura, died of COVID-19 at the age of 70 on March 29 in Tokyo. Shimura has been active in the Japanese entertainment world since the 1970s. In the 1980s, he swept the TV programs with various hilarious short plays, and his influence also expanded to overseas including Taiwan. He was called "the king of Japanese comedy" by many young Japanese artists. In the 1980s, after his program "志村大爆笑" was released, he was soon deeply rooted in the hearts of Taiwanese audiences as his funny images of "Strange uncle" and "Old lady Hitomi". Shimura is the first entertainer who passed away due to new coronavirus. The way how the comedy master passed away made everyone felt so sorry for him. However, it might be just like his classic character "Prince Dumb", Shimura just made his audience "upset and funny" while ending his life-long show.
Ken Shimura, as known as Yasunori Shimura, was born in 1950 in Higashimurayama, Tokyo. Shimura came from a traditional family, whose father is a primary school teacher, and both his brothers became public servants after graduating from college. As the youngest child in his family, he started his career on entertainment. His stage name "Ken" is derived from his father's name. Shimura ’s father was very strict when he was young. However, his father would sincerely laugh when he saw a funny program on TV. This affected and inspired Shimura ’s ambition as a comedy artist. During his high school years, Shimura became a follow-up to the comedy program of "ザ ‧ ド リ フ タ ー ズ", then he became a formal member of the show in 1974.
While he was participating in the show, Shimura gradually became a new comedy star at the time. After the show was cancelled in 1985, Shimura remained as everyone's favorite star relying on his hilarious short plays and weird singing and dancing performances. In 1978, Fuji Television set aside his own show "志村けんのだいじょうぶだぁ" has gained high ratings and got quite famous in Taiwan. Also, Shimura would paint his face white and play as an ancient prince in his show. This character "Prince Dumb" is still a classic representative of Shimura.
Shimura and Takeshi Kaneshiro filmed the Japan Asia Airways (JAA) travel advertising series in 2002. The simple and warm style and strong Taiwanese style have driven the Japanese "Taiwan fever" and successfully promoted Taiwan tourism. In the JAA Taiwan travel advertising campaign, Shimura Ken and Takeshi Kaneshiro visited many scenic spots in Taiwan to taste various local Taiwanese delicacies. Takeshi Kaneshiro praised Shimura as "Taiwanese guide". And Shimura has a deep relationship with Taiwan. He has visited Taiwan many times in private. He once praised the profound cultural heritage of Taiwan, and he would not be tired of coming to Taiwan.
However, for a long time, Shimura's physical health was getting worse. One of his bad habits is smoking and drinking. In 2016, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and then quit smoking for this reason. However, his long-term alcoholism still put a lot of burden on his liver and stomach. After removing the polyps in his stomach, he declared "rebirth from a serious illness" at his 70th birthday party. But no one expected that Shimura, who had always been tenacious, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 23rd and died in the middle of the night on March 29th. The shocking news captured the major Japanese social media, and the upset fans shouted "Shimura! I really want to hear you say" big husband "again!". A generation of comedy kings passed away so hurriedly. The sudden coronavirus took away their familiar "strange uncle" from the audience.
Photo from Ken Shimura’s Facebook
