Japanese character actor equally adept at comic or seriously unsavory roles. Chiaki graduated from the University of Chuo with degrees in economics and commerce, but almost immediately found that his interest lay more with the theatre. In 1937, he began to study with the Shin-Tsukiji Gekidan . The last survivor of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai title players, Chiaki died of coronary and pulmonary failure in 1999.
Chiaki had three sons.
Father of actor Katsuhiko Sasaki.
He was the last surviving star of Shichinin no samurai . Ironically, his character (Heihachi Hayashida) was the first of the seven samurai killed in the film.
He was one of Akira Kurosawa s favorite actors, having appeared in 10 films made by the legendary director.
