Kobayashi Keiju

His father died while he was in high school, and he later dropped out of university to work for his uncle.

When he turned to acting he signed on with Nikkatsu, in particular because they did not have any stringent requirements for education when recruiting actors, a fact which suited the college dropout just fine.

His career was interrupted in 1934 when he was drafted into the Imperial Army and sent to China.

Returned to acting after the war and was marketed as a charismatic, handsome leading man for film.

Appeared often in salaryman comedies for Toho, starting in 1956, until 1971.