# Gojira is Dead!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 8, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085 "2017-08-08T12:39:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/1 "2017-08-08T12:39:15Z")
It must be the long-term effects of the Oxygen Destroyer
> [@](#):
>
> Haruo Nakajima, the original Godzilla actor for the series of classic monster movies, died Monday at age 88, according to news reports.
> Nakajima, the first screen actor to portray Japan’s most famous monster, performed in 12 Godzilla films, from the first in 1954 to “Godzilla vs. Gigan” in 1972.
> He started as a stuntman, appearing in classic Japanese films like “Seven Samurai,” before a producer noticed him on the set of a World War II movie and liked his energy,
Weird factoid, which I find hard to believe:
> [@](#):
>
> Many people assume the Godzilla costume was made from rubber. The first one, however, was fashioned from concrete, because post-war shortages made rubber scarce. That first costume weighed nearly 220 pounds, according to [AVClub.com](http://AVClub.com).
> **[Original Godzilla Actor Haruo Nakajima Dead At 88](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/haruo-nakajima-godzilla-dead_n_5988eb76e4b0d79373899f7b)**
>
> The 1954 version of the monster costume outweighed the actor because of wartime shortages.
[https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+goodbye+godzilla!&qpvt=youtube+goodbye+godzilla!&view=detail&mid=9D9F4C9F140F2C2355E39D9F4C9F140F2C2355E3&FORM=VRDGAR](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+goodbye+godzilla!&qpvt=youtube+goodbye+godzilla!&view=detail&mid=9D9F4C9F140F2C2355E39D9F4C9F140F2C2355E3&FORM=VRDGAR)
---
### Author:  [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/2 "2017-08-08T14:46:31Z")
I attribute his long live to the belief that he never watched _Godzilla, King of the Monsters_, that abomination probably shortened many lives.
Godzilla, Mothra and Kong, nice resume for a kaiju fan. He’ll be back when the world really needs him.
---
### Author:  [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/3 "2017-08-08T14:56:23Z")
[ ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/93ad11b7879f1892681965a4f334e008/tumblr_oubmohQiD71uejrjoo1_500.png)
Greatest suit actor of all time. His last roar will echo forever.
---
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/4 "2017-08-08T15:20:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Weird factoid, which I find hard to believe:
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > Many people assume the Godzilla costume was made from rubber. The first one, however, was fashioned from concrete, because post-war shortages made rubber scarce. That first costume weighed nearly 220 pounds, according to [AVClub.com](http://AVClub.com).
I’m not so sure about that myself. In this trailer for the original 1954 film ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrj1ymJzmo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrj1ymJzmo)) the suit certainly appears to deform and move in very non-concrete ways.
However, the Wikipedia entry, referencing to the book “Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of ‘The Big G’” by Steven Ryfle, reads:
> [@](#):
>
> The Godzilla suit itself was constructed by Kanji Yagi, Koei Yagi, and Eizo Kaimai, who used thin bamboo sticks and wire to build a frame for the interior of the suit and added metal mesh and cushioning over it to bolster its structure and finally applied coats of latex. Coats of molten rubber were additionally applied, followed by carved indentations and strips of latex glued onto the surface of the suit to create Godzilla’s scaly hide. This first version of the suit weighed 100 kilograms (220 pounds). For close-ups, Toshimitsu created a smaller scale, mechanical, hand-operated puppet that sprayed streams of mist from its mouth to act as Godzilla’s atomic breath.
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/5 "2017-08-08T16:17:07Z")
Another light has gone out in Hollywood\*, another start has appeared in the night sky. It’s time to designate a Gojira constellation in his honor.
\*Or whatever the Japanese equivalent of Hollywood is. As I understand it there really isn’t a physical location like that.
---
### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/6 "2017-08-08T16:52:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Another light has gone out in Hollywood\*, another start has appeared in the night sky. It’s time to designate a Gojira constellation in his honor.
>
> \*Or whatever the Japanese equivalent of Hollywood is. As I understand it there really isn’t a physical location like that.
Jollywood? 🙂
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/7 "2017-08-08T17:29:04Z")
If Godzilla was a Toho Production, was WWII a Tojo Production? :dubious: 😕
---
### Author:  [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/8 "2017-08-08T18:31:27Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> Jollywood? 🙂
Fujira
---
### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/9 "2017-08-10T21:51:57Z")
Oh, No! There goes Tokyo. Go! Go! Gojira!
---
### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/10 "2017-08-10T22:17:32Z")
I had Mr. Nakajima on one of my Death Pool lists a few years ago. The whole list was people who have performed in Japanese monster movies. I’d need to adjust it now, with his death, and the death of the surviving partner of the twin fairies. Ms. Ito.
---
### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/11 "2017-08-10T22:43:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#):
>
> Oh, No! There goes Tokyo. Go! Go! Gojira!
“I’m familiar with BOC.”
---
### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gojira-is-dead/793085/12 "2017-08-10T23:28:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> Jollywood?
Horrywood-u. 😃