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Gorō Naya
納谷悟朗
Born	(1929-11-17)17 November 1929 Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan
Died	5 March 2013(2013-03-05) (aged 83) Chiba, Chiba, Japan
Occupation(s)	Actor, voice actor, narrator, theatre director
Years active	1951–2012
Known for	Voice of Inspector Koichi Zenigata in the Lupin III franchise Voicing Captain Jūzō Okita in the Space Battleship Yamato franchise
Spouse	Kachiko Hino
Relatives	Rokurō Naya (brother)

Gorō Naya (納谷悟朗, Naya Gorō, 17 November 1929 – 5 March 2013) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Hakodate, Hokkaidō. He was part of Theatre Echo all his career, and was the older brother of actor and voice actor Rokurō Naya.

Biography

Gorō Naya was born on 17 November 1929 in Hokkaidō. At the age of 15, he joined the Kamikaze, believing "My life is to die for His Majesty the Emperor." Afterwards he thought he lost "things that take youth", and then attended Ritsumeikan University, becoming a dialect coach, specialising in that of Kyoto and finding himself interested in acting: "Eventually, I started thinking, "Hey, maybe you should do this." That's what started it. Until then, I had never thought about acting at all."

Before joining Theater Echo in 1959, he acted at the children’s stage company Todo and at Ina no Kai, and performed in radio drama, gaining an affinity for narration. He also developed a love of the stage, saying "Even if the content is the same, the atmosphere, including the play, will differ depending on the reaction of the audience. It’s only for one day." When he joined, new actors were selected for dubbing foreign-language films for TV. "There weren’t many actors who could dub the voices, so I was really busy." The transition was easy for him, as "I felt the same as if I had been given a role on stage. The only difference was that there was no audience in front of me."

Naya became the official Japanese dubbing voice of actors Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Lee Van Cleef and John Wayne after Akiji Kobayashi dropped out. On whether his voice would be better than Kobayashi’s he said "I just did it because I was told to do it, and whether my performance was good or not is a matter for later.The evaluation was made by the audience, so there was no 'good' or bad." Despite his prolific voice work, he did not like being referred to as a voice actor (or ateshi), claiming "I'm not proud of using it, but it wasn't a word I didn't like that much." Naya got his younger brother Rokurō into voice acting while he was dubbing Conrad Philips in The Adventures of William Tell, requesting he, with a similar voice to his own, dubbed Tell’s impostor.

In 1969 Naya began his association with Lupin the Third with the Pilot Film, voicing Goemon Ishikawa, a role subsequently taken by Makio Inoue. In 1971 he began voicing Koichi Zenigata, gaining a passion for his character. "I like the single-minded devotion to chasing after Lupin. This innocence (?) makes me very envious of someone like me, who has a lot of troubles in life." He was best friends with Yasuo Yamada, voice of Arsène Lupin III until his death in 1995, having lived in a rented beach house with him. Naya suggested to him "Let's keep chasing Lupin and Zenigata even if we both get old and wrinkled."

Also in 1971 he became the voice of the Great Leader in Kamen Rider. He would reprise the role many times over his career, saying "There are more jobs that are said to be, and I am doing it because I am grateful." In 1974 he became the voice of Juzo Okita in Space Battleship Yamato He was initially angry about being involved. "Why do I have to play such an old man?". Later he regretted the voice he chose for the character, believing "If you're an active captain, you're in your 50s, so I should have done it younger."

Naya was a fan of the Hanshin Tigers, once commentating on a game as "Hanshin Crazy Goro Naya", and supported the Japanese Communist Party. In 1985 he underwent surgery for a stomach ulcer, which hindered his physical and vocal ability. He lamented "I've been out of breath since the late 90s, and my physical condition has gotten worse. I was frustrated because people around me said, "I don't have a smooth tongue" behind my back." At Yamada’s funeral he said "Hey, Lupin, who should I chase from now on? If you're dead, who will I chase now?"

He criticised the modern voice acting industry, claiming "There are too many voice actors who think that they should just give their voices. They don't think they have a customer in front of them." In 2010 he stepped down from voicing Zenigata, the reason being "Zenigata never gets old, but I get older year by year, so it's a little bit difficult to match." He died on 5 March 2013, at age 83, due to chronic respiratory failure.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ Tori, Miki. "Space Battleship Yamato interview with Goro Naya: Part 2". Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
2. ^ "Super! Drama TV Voice Actor Dictionary: Goro Naya". Retrieved 24 July 2024.
3. ^ Tori, Miki. "Space Battleship Yamato interview with Goro Naya: Part 1". Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
4. "Goro Naya at Theater Echo". Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
5. "Kenichi Murakami - Interview with Goro Naya, Emperor of Dubbing". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
6. "Interview Kingdom - In Remembrance of Mr. Rokuro Naya". Retrieved 24 July 2024.
7. "Farewell to Nostradamus flyer" (Press release). Japan. 1995. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
8. "58 Famous People from all walks of life expressed "I look forward to the breakthrough of the Japanese Communist Party."". Retrieved 24 July 2024.
9. ^ "The Will left by Zenigata's Pops". Archived from the original on 2013-03-16. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
10. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007). Monster Zero Audio Commentary (DVD). Classic Media.

External links

• Gorō Naya at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Goro Naya at Theater Echo

• 1929 births
• 2013 deaths
• 20th-century Japanese male actors
• 21st-century Japanese male actors
• Japanese male voice actors
• Voice actors from Hakodate
• Deaths from respiratory failure
• Lupin the Third