A Three-Day Broadcast Homage to a Comedy Legend

Toshio Sakata's memorial show broadcasted for three successive nights on BS Yoshimoto, featuring top comedy acts.

TOKYO, Jan 19 (News On Japan) - A three-night consecutive tribute program for Sakata Toshio, who passed away last December. The program will be broadcast on BS Yoshimoto from January 19 (Friday) to January 21 (Sunday).

The first night's program, "Yoshimoto's Chaplin, Sakata Toshio," will feature a history of Sakata's work, including his classic gags that captivated audiences with comedy, his comedic exchanges with Kanpei Hazama, and performances from his time as part of the manzai duo Comedy No.1.

The second night will air the November 23, 2014, performance of Sakata Toshio's 50th-anniversary celebration held at Namba Grand Kagetsu in Osaka, titled "Thank You for Being Silly - Thank You~san!!"

The third night will feature the second part of "Gratitude Messages to Master Sakata Toshio - Thank You~san," which was originally broadcasted on January 5. Nineteen pairs of entertainers who admired Sakata will deliver their messages of thanks. Sakata Toshio, who debuted in 1964, formed the manzai duo Comedy No.1 with the late Goro Maeda in 1967 and won numerous awards. He was known for his signature gags, such as "Thank You~san" and "You're silly, ohoho~," and was affectionately called "Silly Sakata" by TV audiences. His 1972 record "Silly Sakata" was a huge hit. After disbanding Comedy No.1 in 2009, he continued to perform in "Sakata Toshio's Special Skits" on stages such as Namba Grand Kagetsu in Osaka and Yoshimoto Gion Kagetsu in Kyoto.

The tribute program "Three Nights of Special Broadcasts in Memory of Sakata Toshio" on BS Yoshimoto will feature many prominent figures in the comedy world, including Sakata Toshio himself, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Helen Nishikawa, Midori Wakai, Katsura Kobunshi, Kazuo Shimada, The Bonchi, Akashiya Sanma, All Hanshin Giants, Medaka Ikeno, Hibiki Oki, Tommy's Ken, Yasushi Ishida, Kenichi Nakajo, Think Tank, Maki Maeda, Ai Sakai, Tadashi Nishikawa, and Kanpei Hazama.

by Andrew Yang

Source: Natalie

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