Harold Sakata

 Harold Sakata (July 1, 1920 – July 29, 1982)

He was a Japanese-American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor. Sakata served in the United States Army during World War II. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting. He was also an actor, best remembered for his role as the villain Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). As Oddjob, he was a bodyguard to Bond villain Auric Goldfinger, and his sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series. While filming Oddjob's death scene, Sakata's hand was badly burnt, but he held on until he heard director Guy Hamilton call "Cut". He co-starred opposite William Shatner in the movie Impulse (1974), in which he played the character Karate Pete. He also guest starred on episodes of Gilligan's Island and The Rockford Files. In 1971, Sakata was a regular on the short-lived TV series, Sarge, starring George Kennedy. He appeared as Oddjob in a series of TV commercials for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup in the 1970's. Sakata died of liver cancer four weeks after his 62nd birthday, on July 29, 1982, in St Francis Hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii. He is interred at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.