Jerry Itô

Jerry Itô was born in New York City to a distinguished show business family. His father was the internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Itô Michio, and his mother was the dancer Hazel Wright. He was also the nephew of actor Senda Koreya and set designer Itô Kisaku.

Itô served in the United States Navy during World War II, taking part in the initial occupation of Japan. After his service, he studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and the Actors Studio in New York, making his Broadway debut in Teahouse of the August Moon in 1953. He was later recalled to active duty during the Korean War.

Moving to Japan to reconnect with his family, Itô found success in the entertainment industry as a bilingual television host and film actor. He signed with Toho's stage division but was frequently loaned to other studios to play Western characters. He is best known to genre fans for his role as the villainous Clark Nelson in Mothra (1961), as well as appearances in The Manster (1959), The Last War (1961), and Message from Space (1978).

From 1995 to 1997, he appeared as "Grandpa Jerry" in the third series of NHK's educational program Let's Play in English. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage before the show completed its run and was replaced by Dennis Falt. Itô subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California, where he lived until his death from pneumonia in 2007.