Entertainer Ken Shimura didn’t belong to any single generation. Following news that the 70-year-old comedian had died on Sunday from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, TV broadcasters on Monday featured both Shimura’s contemporaries and much younger personalities visibly upset over his passing.
On social media, fans shared clips from across his 40-year-plus career, a reminder of how far-reaching his presence had been.
Shimura was among the most renowned comedians in modern Japanese history. Since the 1970s, the Tokyo-born performer had been a TV staple thanks to comedy skits and recurring characters such as Baka Tonosama (Stupid Lord) and Henna Ojisan (Strange Uncle). Many of his performances in the first two decades of his professional career capture Showa Era (1926-89) entertainment in all its raunchy ridiculousness.
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