Eizo Kaimai
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Eizo Kaimai (開米 栄三, nicknamed Cho-san Kaimai Eizō) (チョウさん for his tall stature, was a Chō-san)Japanese businessman and modelmaker. Originally working at amusement parks and haunted houses, he was discovered by Toho in 1954 and brought on to aid in the production of the first Godzilla suit. He worked closely with fellow modelers Teizo Toshimitsu and Kanju and Yasuei Yagi during his tenure at Toho, and continued to work for the company until 1966 when he departed to form his own company, Kaimai Productions (開米プロダクション. Kaimai would go on to work on a number of films and television series from Kaimai Purodakushon)Daiei, Tsuburaya Productions, and more until the early 80s. Kaimai passed away on April 24, 2020 at age 90 due to leukemia.[1]
Selected filmography
Modeler
- Godzilla (1954) - Godzilla
- Godzilla Raids Again (1955) - Godzilla
- Half Human (1955) - Snowman
- Rodan (1956)
- The Volcano Monsters (1957) - Godzilla [unproduced]
- The Mysterians (1957)
- Varan (1958)
- The Three Treasures (1959)
- Battle in Outer Space (1959)
- The Secret of the Telegian (1960)
- Mothra (1961)
- The Last War (1961)
- Gorath (1962)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - King Kong, Giant Octopus
- Matango (1963)
- Atragon (1963)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) - Baragon
- Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
- Ultra Q (TV 1966-1967) - Juran, Gameron, more
- The War of the Gargantuas (1966) - Sanda, Gaira
- The X from Outer Space (1967) - Guilala
- Gappa (1967) - Gappa
- Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) - Guiron
- Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) - Jiger
- Return of Ultraman (TV 1971-1972)
- Mirrorman (TV 1971-1972)
- Ultraman Ace (TV 1972-1973)
- Warrior of Love Rainbowman (TV 1972-1973)
- Jumborg Ace (TV 1973)
- Ultraman Taro (TV 1973-1974)
- Ultraman Leo (TV 1974-1975)
- Star of Pro-Wrestling Azteckaiser (TV 1976-1977)
- Flying Saucer War Bankid (TV 1976)
- Dinosaur Great War Izenborg (TV 1977-1978)
- Dinosaur Squadron Koseidon (TV 1978-1979)
- Megaloman (TV 1979)
- Ultraman 80 (TV 1980-1981)
Actor
- Godzilla (1954) as Godzilla [promotional stills]
Gallery
Eizo Kaimai (right) with the ShodaiGoji suit on the set of Godzilla
From right: Eizo Kaimai, Yasuei Yagi, Kanju Yagi, Teizo Toshimitsu, Katsumi Tezuka, and unidentified with the Godzilla and Anguirus suits during production of Godzilla Raids Again
From left: unidentified, Eizo Kaimai, Teizo Toshimitsu, and Yasuei Yagi with the Tyrannosaurus rex and Ankylosaurus suits for The Volcano Monsters
Eizo Kaimai (back) and Yasuei Yagi work on the Baragon suit for Frankenstein vs. Baragon
References
This is a list of references for Eizo Kaimai. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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