Japan's Favorite Mon-star (The Unauthorized Biography of Godzilla)

377 Pages·1998·38.4 MB·English

by  Steve Ryfle

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JAPAN'S FAVORITE
MON-STAR
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STEVE RYFLE
ECW PRESS
Copyright © Steve Ryfle, 1998
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior
written permission of the copyright owners and ECW PRESS.
CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Ryfle, Steve
japan's favorite mon-star: the unauthorized biography of "The Big G"
ISBN 1-55022-348-8
i. Godzilla (Fictitious character). 2. Godzilla
films - History and criticism. I. Title.
PN1995.9.G63R93 1998 791.43'651 C98-93O251-2
Research associate and translator: Addie Kohzu.
Front-cover: Alex Wald
Back-cover photo: Koji Sasahara, AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS
Imaging by ECW Type & Art, Oakville, Ontario.
Printed by Webcom, Toronto, Ontario.
Distributed in Canada by General Distribution Services,
30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Ontario MSB 2T6.
Distributed in the United States by LPC Group,
1436 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 60607
Toll-free: 1-800-243-0138.
Published by ECW PRESS,
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E 1E2.
http://www.ecw.ca/press
PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
Ac1t>n0u7le((qment$
This book would hardly be what it is without the support and assistance of several friends
and family. Thanks to author and film scholar Stuart Galbraith iv, a mentor, durable
traveling partner and trusted friend; Japanese Giants publisher Ed Godziszewski, whose
knowledge and generosity are equally boundless; David G. Milner, a pioneer in the field
of Godzilla journalism. Mark A. Schultz, an avid video collector who was generous with
his time and tapes; Joal Ryan, who tolerated the eternal roars of warring monsters; and
to my mother, Patricia, who started this obsession when she took me to see Godzilla vs.
The Smog Monster in 1973.
I am also grateful to the translators who provided invaluable assistance in researching
this book. My good friend Addie Kohzu, chief translator and research associate, worked
many, many hours translating Japanese texts; Yukari Fujii helped arrange several inter-
views in Tokyo and also provided key translation assistance; Atsushi Sakahara, Osamu
"Sammy" Kobayashi and Emiko lijima acted as interpreters during interviews; and Sumiko
Urquhart and Yasmin Sferella provided translation help. Thanks to all.
Quotations attributed to the following people without citing outside sources are derived
from interviews conducted by the author between 1994 and 1997: Allyson Adams, Joseph
Barbera, Bob Burns, Ricardo Delgado, Robert Dunham, Fred Dekker, Ted Elliott, Peter
Fernandez, Saiko Genso, KentGilbert, Don Glut, Edmund Goldman, James Hong, Maestro
Akira Ifukube, Richard Kay, Robert "R.J." Kizer, Ib Melchior, Steve Miner, Terry Morse Jr.,
Haruo Nakajima, Teruyoshi Nakano, Dana Olsen, Duane Poole, Tony Randel, William Ross,
Terry Rossio, Steve Sandoz, Paul Schreibman, William Stout, Harry B. Swerdlow, Yoshio
Tsuchiya, Peter Zinner. Many thanks to all the interviewees for their time and assistance.
Additional thanks to: Forrest J. Ackerman, Mark Altman, the American Film Institute,
Andrew Asch, James Bailey, Dennis Bent, Herbert Byrd, Steve Biodrowski and Fred Clarke at
Cinefantastique, John "Ryuusei" Cassidy, Brian Culver, Max Delia Mora, Norman England,
Robert Scott Field, Jim Figurski, Peter H. Gilmore, Ed Gross of Retrovision, R.M. Hayes, Brian
Henderson, The Margaret Herrick Library, Japan Travel Bureau, Randy Joheson (for the
cool custom-made shirt), David Kalat, Osamu Kishikawa, J.D. Lees, Sean Linkenback,
Marmoset Man, Chad Neuping, Chon Noriega, John Rocco Roberto, Bruce A. Robertson,
John T. Ryan, Judy Ryan, Ryan O. Ryan, Paul Sammon, Jeff Schnaufer, Ron Silverman at
the Chicago Tribune, Aaron J. Smith, Alice Ryan Spark-Dogg, Alex Wald, The Warner Bros.
Archives.
For photographs and illustrations, thanks to Acme Features Syndicate, Thomas Fitch, Bill
Griffith, Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette, Matt Groening, Holly Jones (AP/Wide World
Photos), Jim Mallon (Best Brains), Lisette Nabut (Miami Herald), Mike Seeling (Arlington
Heights Daily Herald), Sandy Spikes (Chicago Tribune), Universal Press Syndicate, Jim
Walsh, Brad Warner (Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd.), Tim Wright (People).
Photos on pages 189-191 are copyright Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd., japan. Used by
permission.
Finally, thanks to Lori Perkins, my agent, for her tenacity, dedication and direction, to
Jack David and everyone at ECW Press for fighting to keep this project alive, and to Stuart
Ross and Scott Mitchell for a great job of editing the manuscript. Thanks, everybody, we
made it.
DISCLAIM ER: This book is a work of journalism that documents the history of the Godzilla
movie series and its significance in film history. The name and image of Godzilla are
trademark and copyright of Toho Co. Ltd. This book is not authorized or licensed by Toho,
and ECW Press Ltd. is not affiliated with Toho.
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Dedicated to the memory of
Tomoyuki Tanaka,
Ishiro Honda,
and Eiji Tsuburaya
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