Eiko Ando

Eiko Ando
Born(1934-05-08)May 8, 1934
Harbin, Manchukuo (today China)
DiedAugust 28, 2018(2018-08-28) (aged 84)
New York, U.S.
NationalityJapanese
OccupationActress
Years active1958

Eiko Ando[1] (安藤 永子, Andō Eiko, May 8, 1934 – August 28, 2018) was a Japanese-American actress best known for her role as Okichi opposite John Wayne in The Barbarian and the Geisha in 1958.

Ando was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang, in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (today Northeast China), to a Japanese industrialist. When the Communists took over the family fled back to Japan. After her father died in 1953, she went to work as a singer and then as a burlesque dancer. When director John Huston was looking for an actress for the part of Okichi, a friend of Ando's who worked in the Tokyo office of 20th Century-Fox recommended Ando to Huston. Once Huston saw her, after auditioning 33 other actresses, he and producer Eugene Frenke were done looking, mainly because of her height over the other women.[2][3] At the time of filming for The Barbarian and the Geisha she was 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) [citation needed].

Ando died in New York on August 28, 2018, at the age of 84.[4]

  1. ^ 映画年鑑 [Film Industry Yearbook]. Jiji Press. 1960.
  2. ^ Thomas, Bob (March 18, 1958), "Try In First Hollywood Role", The Portsmouth Times, United Press International, p. 15
  3. ^ Durgin, Cyrus (October 2, 1958), "Asiatic Beauty Won First Role In Films With No Experience", Daily Boston Globe, p. 24
  4. ^ "Eiko Ando". Forever Missed. Retrieved 10 May 2023.