artist
148Yamada, Yasuo
Personal Information
Yamada Yasuo, born in Tokyo on September 10, 1932, was a prominent Japanese voice actor who passed away on March 19, 1995. After leaving the Faculty of Literature at Waseda University, he established a career spanning stage, radio, and television productions. He is best known for portraying Arsène Lupin III in the Lupin III series, a role he held from 1971 until his death in 1995. Additionally, Yamada provided the Japanese dubbing voices for actors Clint Eastwood and Jean-Paul Belmondo. At the age of 62, Yamada died of a brain hemorrhage at the Ota-ku Jinbara metropolitan hospital. Following his passing, the film Farewell to Nostradamus, the first Lupin feature produced without him, included a tribute in its closing credits reading: "To Yasuo Yamada, Eternal Lupin the Third: Thank you!" Although this message appeared in the original release, it was omitted from the first angle of the English language DVD version distributed by Funimation. Upon Yamada's death, the role of Lupin the Third was assumed by Kurita Kan'ichi. This succession fulfilled Yamada's last will, in which he had requested that Kurita take over the character should he pass away. Early in his career, Yamada was a member of Gekidan Mingei before later working as a freelance voice actor.
