Watari Tetsuya was a Japanese actor, enka singer, entertainer, and businessman. He was born in Yasugi, Nogi, Shimane, Japan and raised in Awaji, Hyogo. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University (青山学院大学) with a degree in economics after attending Ishiya Elementary School and Mita Gakuen Junior and Senior High School.

While at university, Watari was a member of the karate club (Shotokan style, Japan Karate Association), later serving as chairman of its alumni association. He held a second-degree black belt in karate and a first-degree black belt in judo.

He moved to Tokyo to attend university, living with his younger brother in a boarding house in Kasumigaseki, Shinjuku. Although he initially aspired to become a maintenance technician for Japan Airlines, he failed the entrance exam due to the English-language questions. He was scouted during a visit to Nikkatsu Studios after his brother and friends secretly submitted his application for a film role. In 1964, he joined Nikkatsu and made his film debut in 1965 with Abare Kishidō (あばれ騎士道).

Watari left Nikkatsu in 1971 when the studio shifted toward the Roman Porno genre. He began working with Shochiku and subsequently joined Ishihara Promotion (石原プロモーション), impressed by the dedication of its staff. He helped rebuild the company, eventually serving as its second president and later as a consulting director.

In 1974, he was cast in NHK's historical drama Shogun (勝海舟), but withdrew after the ninth episode due to illness. Diagnosed with a collagen disease following complications from a severe cold, he was hospitalized for nine months and spent a total of two and a half years recovering. He returned to public view with an appearance on NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen at the end of that year.

In 1989, while filming Gorilla: Metropolitan Police Department Investigation Team 8 (ゴリラ・警視庁捜査第8班), he suffered a calf muscle rupture after continuing to film through what he believed was a sprain. The injury left him with a lasting limp.

Watari publicly disclosed his diagnosis of rectal cancer in 1991 and revealed he was an ostomate. His experience was detailed in Tetsuya Watari: Ore by Kashiwagi Junichi.

He resigned as president of Ishihara Promotion on March 28, 2011. In 2015, he was hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction and underwent surgery, returning to work later that year.

Watari died of pneumonia on August 10, 2020, at the age of 78 (80 by traditional Japanese count). Per his wishes, his death was announced only after a private family funeral. No public memorial services were held.

(Source: kisskh) Edit Biography