Long Live the King of the Monsters: Haruo Nakajima Passes Away at 88
The creation of an icon!
The Yamagata native was born in 1929 and performed stunts for many films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) where he played a thief. The same year he and Katsumi Tezuka were picked by the legendary special effects master Eiji Tsuburaya to play the title creature in Godzilla. (He played Godzilla in first 12 films of the series.)
In preparation for the role, Nakajima watched the original King Kong (1933) and animal behavior at the Ueno Zoo. However, the suit made it difficult to perform. Despite being able to open and close the mouth from inside, the suit's immense weight and interior heat left Nakajima blistered, exhausted and twenty pounds lighter by the end of the production. (Cups of the actor's sweat was usually drained between takes.)
Much more at:
http://www.godzilla-movies.com/news/long-live-king-the-monsters-haruo-nakajima-passes-away-at-88