Kei Tani
Kei Tani (born Yasuo Watanabe (渡部 泰雄, Watanabe Yasuo); 22 February 1932 – 11 September 2010) was a Japanese comedian, actor and musician. He quit university and joined the City Slickers with Frankie Sakai in 1953. In 1956, he joined the comic-jazz band The Crazy Cats with Hajime Hana and Hitoshi Ueki.
Kei Tani
国際情報社 · 『 映画情報 』1964年1月号。発行所： 国際情報社 。 "Movie Pictorial (Eiga Joho)", January 1964 issue. · Public domain
- Name
- Kei Tani
- Birth Name
- Yasuo Watanabe
- Born
- February 22, 1932
- Died
- 11 September 2010
- Full name
- 渡部泰雄.
- Nationality
- Japan and Empire of Japan.
- Occupation
- actor, seiyū, singer and comedian.
- Fields
- jazz.
- Education
- Chuo University.
- Languages
- Japanese.
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Kei Tani (born Yasuo Watanabe (渡部 泰雄, Watanabe Yasuo); 22 February 1932 – 11 September 2010) was a Japanese comedian, actor and musician. He quit university and joined the City Slickers with Frankie Sakai in 1953. In 1956, he joined the comic-jazz band The Crazy Cats with Hajime Hana and Hitoshi Ueki.
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Kei Tani (1932–2010) was an actor, comedian and seiyū, among other activities, of Japanese and Japanese nationality. The actor was born 渡部泰雄 in Tokyo.
Kei Tani was educated at Chuo University. The actor was a member of Crazy Cats.
The work spans jazz. Languages used include Japanese.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q3276468 · wikipedia · Kei Tani
In this article
Biography
Biography
He came to fame when the Crazy Cats started appearing on television, especially through their variety show "Shabondama Holiday," and in movies, through comedy series such as the "Irresponsible" (Musekinin) series at Toho. Some of his nonsense one-word gags, such as "gachon" became buzzwords imitated throughout the nation. He also appeared alone in dramatic roles on film and television, was a regular in the "Tsuribaka Nisshi" film series, and continued to be a popular figure on variety TV. His real name was Yasuo Watanabe, but his stage name, especially with the Japanese name order "Tani Kei," was based on a pun on the name Danny Kaye. He died of a brain contusion on 11 September 2010 after falling down the stairs in his Mitaka home.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kei Tani • Birth Name — Yasuo Watanabe • Born — February 22, 1932 • Died — 11 September 2010
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• Nippon musekinin jidai (ニッポン無責任時代) (1962) • Young Season (若い季節) (1962) • Zūzūshii yatsu (図々しい奴) (1965) • Fancy Paradise (1968) • Kofuku (1981) • Tokyo Heaven (1990) • Samurai Fiction (1998) • After Life (1998) • Waterboys (2001) • Swing Girls (2004) • Blooming Again (2004) • Chameleon (2008)
Selected television roles
Selected television roles
• Monkey (1979) as Daode Tianzun • Dokuganryū Masamune (1987) as Imai Sōkun
Notes from the source article
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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