Yoshio Yoda was an actor best known for playing Fuji in the classic sitcom “McHale’s Navy.”
- Died: January 13, 2023 (Who else died on January 13?)
- Details of death: Died in Fullerton, California at the age of 88.
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Acting career
A native of Japan, Yoda came to the U.S. in his 20s to study acting. He had a lucky break while still studying at the University of Southern California when an MGM producer called the school looking for an actor who was fluent in both English and Japanese. Yoda qualified, and he was cast in the 1962 World War II-set romantic comedy “The Horizontal Lieutenant” as a U.S. Army translator. Yoda’s defining role came shortly after in “McHale’s Navy,” as he played the Japanese prisoner of war and deserter Takeo “Fuji” Fujiwara, who became a friend and cook to the men of PT-73. Yoda also played Fuji in the two follow-up feature films, “McHale’s Navy” and “McHale’s Navy Joins the Air Force.” After “McHale’s Navy,” he appeared in an episode of “Love American Style” before leaving acting. In later years, Yoda worked as an assistant vice president of Toyota Hawaii.
Tributes to Yoshio Yoda
Full obituary: Los Angeles Times
