Yoko Tani

Yoko Tani

Born: August 2, 1928
Died: April 19, 1999
in Paris, France
Yoko Tani (谷洋子, Tani Yōko, 2 August 1928 – 19 April 1999) was a French-born Japanese actress and nightclub entertainer.

Tani was born in Paris. Her birth name was Itani Yōko (猪谷洋子). She has occasionally been described as 'Eurasian', 'half French', 'half Japanese' and even, in one source, 'Italian Japanese', all of which are incorrect.

French records (1958) show that her father and mother—both Japanese—were attached to the Japanese embassy in Paris, with Tani herself conceived en route during a shipboard passage from Japan to Europe in 1927 and subsequently born in Paris the following year, hence given the name Yōko (洋子), one reading of which can mean "ocean-child.". Tani would later play a diplomat's daughter in Piccadilly Third Stop.

According to Japanese sources, the family returned to Japan in 1930, when Yoko would still have been a toddler, and she did not return to France until 1950 when her schooling was completed. Given that there were severe restrictions on Japanese travelling outside Japan directly after World War II, this would have been an unusual event; however, it is known that Itani had attended an elite girls' school in Tokyo (Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School, currently Ochanomizu University Senior High School), and then graduated from Tsuda University. She subsequently secured a Catholic scholarship to study aesthetics at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) under Étienne Souriau.

Once back in Paris, Tani found little interest in attending university (although by her own account she persevered for two years despite understanding hardly anything that was being said). Instead, she developed a more compelling attraction to the cabaret, the nightclub, and the variety music-hall, where, setting herself up as an exotic oriental beauty, she quickly established a reputation for her provocative "geisha" dances, which generally ended with her slipping out of her kimono. It was here she was spotted by Marcel Carné, who took her into his circle of director and actor-friends, including Roland Lesaffre, whom she was later to marry. As a result, she began to get bit parts in films—starting as (perhaps predictably) a Japanese dancer, in Gréville's Le port du désir (1953–1954, released 1955)—and on the stage, with a role as Lotus Bleu in la Petite Maison de Thé (French adaptation of The Teahouse of the August Moon) at the Théâtre Montparnasse, 1954–1955 season. ...

Source: Article "Yoko Tani" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Yoko Tani...

The Golden Lotus
Title: The Golden Lotus
Released: January 1, 1991
Type: Movie
Ximen Qing, a rich mandarin, deserts his wives to play with the courtesans. One of his young spouses, tired of languishing, consoles herself with a lackey.
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Title: Série rose
Character: Dame Lune
Released: November 8, 1986
Type: TV
An anthology of erotic stories by famous writers like Guy de Maupassant, Nicolas Edme Restif de La Bretonne, Marquis de Sade, Giovanni Boccaccio, Marquis de Foudras, Daniel Defoe, Anton Tchekov, Jin Ping Mei, and Aristophanes.
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Title: Shirley's World
Released: April 7, 1972
Type: TV
Shirley's World is a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ITC Entertainment and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her editor. Immediately after the ABC broadcasts ended, the seventeen-episode series was aired in its entirety on ITV in the United Kingdom.
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Koroshi
Title: Koroshi
Character: Ako Nakamura / Miho
Released: November 28, 1968
Type: Movie
Secret agent John Drake (aka Danger Man) goes to Japan to infiltrate a secret society that specializes in murder. - This film was originally conceived as part of the fourth season of the "Secret Agent" TV series. However, this was the first episode of the season and Patrick McGoohan quit shortly after filming it. Thus it was decided to package a double-episode from a TV show as a full-length movie. Patrick McGoohan quit "Secret Agent" to create "The Prisoner" TV series. - The original individual episodes of "Danger Man" that made up this movie were released for the first time on video in the 1990s. - The original two one-hour episodes that made up this film were broadcast in limited fashion in the UK in 1968.
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Title: Les Dossiers de l'Agence O
Character: Kikou, la stip-teaseuse
Released: March 11, 1968
Type: TV
L’Agence O is a famous Parisian private detective firm. Its premises are located in the Passage Choiseul. In front, Torrence leads the shop. In fact, the agency's team is complemented by Émilie le Roux, Mademoiselle Berthe and Barbet, who scrutinize clients through a one-way mirror located behind the desk. Getting hold of a man disguised as an old lady, solving the mystery of the Prisoner of Lagny or discovering who is blackmailing the painter Tigrane Alban does not worry the experts at the O Agency. Les Dossiers de l’Agence O is a French-Canadian television series in thirteen episodes of approximately 55 minutes created by Marc Simenon and broadcast first in Quebec from December 14, 1967 to March 13, 1968 on Télévision de Radio-Canada, then in France from March 11 to June 3, 1968 on the first channel of the ORTF.
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Seven Golden Chinese
Title: Seven Golden Chinese
Released: December 12, 1967
Type: Movie
Knockoff of the 7 Golden Men with Yoko Tani.
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Title: Man in a Suitcase
Released: September 27, 1967
Type: TV
Accused of treason, a former U.S. intelligence officer based in London tries to clear his name, taking on freelance jobs around Europe as he searches for answers.
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To Chase A Million
Title: To Chase A Million
Character: Taiko
Released: January 1, 1967
Type: Movie
When former Russian spy Max Stein is murdered, private investigator McGill inherits a key to a safe deposit box in a Lisbon bank – a box that contains secret intelligence documents and a cool million dollars! With both the CIA and rogue elements within the Russian intelligence community in hot pursuit, McGill puts his life on the line in a race to the fortune! Featuring a powerful performance from Richard Bradford as McGill, a discredited ex-CIA agent reduced to working as a private investigator, To Chase a Million is the exceptionally rare, feature-length version of the Man in a Suitcase two-parter Variation on a Million Bucks.
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The Spy Who Loved Flowers
Title: The Spy Who Loved Flowers
Character: Mei Lang
Released: August 12, 1966
Type: Movie
Three enemy agents lead a government security man on a perilous trail as the hunter becomes the hunted.
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Suicide Mission to Singapore
Title: Suicide Mission to Singapore
Character: Annie Wong
Released: June 2, 1966
Type: Movie
A secret agent travels to Singapore in search of a secret formula. Just about everyone he trusts ends up betraying him.
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Desperate Mission
Title: Desperate Mission
Character: Su Ling
Released: November 13, 1965
Type: Movie
A nuclear scientist is kidnapped by Chinese communists in Hong Kong. A Japanese group of judo experts kidnaps him from the kidnappers, but before they can contact the American agent who has been assigned with overseeing the scientist's transfer back to the USA, the agent is killed. The American secret service send their top man to Hong Kong as his replacement, with the mission of locating the scientist. But there are TWO rival gangs of baddies who are also looking for the same target, so our hero has to assume a different identity to infiltrate them.
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Invasion
Title: Invasion
Character: Leader of the Lystrians
Released: October 1, 1965
Type: Movie
Routine tests on a traffic accident victim lead to shocking discoveries when the man's blood is found to be unidentifiable and x-rays reveal a disc embedded in his brain. His fabulous tale of being an escaped prisoner from an alien spaceship takes a turn for the sinister when the hospital staff realise that they're under a state of siege...
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OSS 77 - Operazione fior di loto
Title: OSS 77 - Operazione fior di loto
Character: Lady of Formosa
Released: August 26, 1965
Type: Movie
A Chinese scientist takes a plane to the United States of America to warn that China has the atomic bomb. On the way, however, the plane is intercepted by the Secret Service and shot down, falling over Italy. The scientist, who was saved, is later taken to his destination by a secret agent, but with much difficulty.
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Bianco, rosso, giallo, rosa
Title: Bianco, rosso, giallo, rosa
Character: Yoko
Released: December 29, 1964
Type: Movie
A whimsical commedia all'italiana divided into four episodes.
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The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse
Title: The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse
Character: Mercedes
Released: September 17, 1964
Type: Movie
The evil Dr. Mabuse develops a death ray with which he threatens the world.
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F.B.I. Operation Baalbeck
Title: F.B.I. Operation Baalbeck
Character: Asia
Released: June 29, 1964
Type: Movie
An Interpol agent is tasked with investigating the deaths of several other agents.
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Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
Title: Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?
Character: Isami Hiroti
Released: December 25, 1963
Type: Movie
TV star Jason Steel reluctantly becomes the sounding board for his best friends' bored wives, and must fend off their advances while managing his own fragile relationship.
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Marco Polo
Title: Marco Polo
Character: Princess Amurroy
Released: April 13, 1962
Type: Movie
Italian explorer rescues the daughter of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, meets a hermit who has invented gunpowder and builds a cannon.
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My Geisha
Title: My Geisha
Character: Kazumi Ito
Released: March 9, 1962
Type: Movie
Famed movie director Paul Robaix breaks with tradition by not casting his actress-comedienne wife, Lucy Dell, in his latest film production, a version of Madame Butterfly. Undaunted, the resourceful Lucy wings her way to Tokyo and, masquerading as a Japanese geisha, lands the coveted role from her unsuspecting husband! But in front of the cameras (and behind the pancake makeup), Lucy faces greater challenges: her lecherous leading man - and a husband who is beginning to realize that his talented new "discovery" seems vaguely familiar...
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Ursus and the Tartar Princess
Title: Ursus and the Tartar Princess
Character: Princess Ila
Released: December 30, 1961
Type: Movie
Peplum movie from 1961
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Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World
Title: Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World
Character: Princess Lei-ling
Released: October 31, 1961
Type: Movie
Samson must rescue a beautiful Chinese princess from a marauding horde of warriors.
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Title: Ben Casey
Released: October 2, 1961
Type: TV
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff was a medical consultant for the show and may have influenced the personality of the title character.
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Piccadilly Third Stop
Title: Piccadilly Third Stop
Character: Fina (Seraphina) Yokami (as Yoko Tani)
Released: September 5, 1960
Type: Movie
A playboy tries to recruit a gang, who include an American who needs cash to satisfy his wife's expensive tastes, and an old time expert cracksman, to rob a foreign embassy's safe, but trouble starts when the plan begins to go wrong.
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The Savage Innocents
Title: The Savage Innocents
Character: Asiak
Released: March 20, 1960
Type: Movie
An Eskimo who has had little contact with white men goes to a trading post where he accidentally kills a missionary and finds himself being pursued by the police.
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First Spaceship on Venus
Title: First Spaceship on Venus
Character: Sumiko Ogimura, japanische Ärztin
Released: February 26, 1960
Type: Movie
A mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to Venus is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the race that created it.
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Yoko Tani in London
Title: Yoko Tani in London
Character: Herself
Released: April 2, 1959
Type: Movie
A fun tour of 1950s West End with international film star Yoko Tani.
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The Wind Cannot Read
Title: The Wind Cannot Read
Character: Sabbi
Released: June 10, 1958
Type: Movie
A British officer falls in love with his Japanese instructor at a military language school. They start a romance, but she is regarded as the enemy and is not accepted by his countrymen.
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The Quiet American
Title: The Quiet American
Character: Rendezvous Hostess
Released: February 8, 1958
Type: Movie
Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.
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Fire in the Flesh
Title: Fire in the Flesh
Character: Zélie
Released: January 17, 1958
Type: Movie
Physicist Theodore Heldt, his young daughter Fern and his assistant Larry Gordon, on board a ship for a scientific expedition, are shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean after a terrible storm. They find themselves safe and sound on an exotic desert island paradise. Several years pass, the professor dies and Fern and Larry, long in love and alone in the world, are united. One day, the ship they'd been waiting for appears, but the sailors are three smugglers who, instead of representing salvation, pose a threat to the young couple.
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The Ostrich Has Two Eggs
Title: The Ostrich Has Two Eggs
Character: Yoko
Released: August 29, 1957
Type: Movie
A father discovers one day that one of his sons is a homosexual and the other, is the "gigolo" of a Japanese countess. He is first horrified, but finally accepts the situation because it brings him economical advantages.
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Mannequins of Paris
Title: Mannequins of Paris
Character: Lotus
Released: September 19, 1956
Type: Movie
Véronique Lanier runs one of the most highly rated haute couture houses in Paris. Her first partner is her husband Pierre, who has left aside a promising artist career to design the styles which make their firm a success. The trouble is that Véronique lives only for her job and does not allow herself -and her husband for that matter - a moment's respite. In Cannes, Pierre meets Wanda, a young singer with strange, fascinating eyes. The frustrated husband falls for her but gradually realizes that the light mercurial creature cannot possibly fulfill him. Véronique, feeling miserable, understands she is on the wrong track. She promises Pierre that she will make efforts to reconcile work and married life. Véronique and Pierre will live and work together again, each one forgiving the other for their faults.
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Women in Prison
Title: Women in Prison
Character: Mary, prisoner
Released: September 11, 1956
Type: Movie
The woman prison has a cast all with a story of their own and with no dull or routine day. There is an employee who is divorced after her husband had an affair. She loves the jailed criminals and almost sees them as family. One day at a workshop someone faints while working hard to make money because she has a poor boyfriend. Another inmate is knocked up Another is a mother and has her child with her.
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In the Manner of Sherlock Holmes
Title: In the Manner of Sherlock Holmes
Released: June 5, 1956
Type: Movie
A horrific and, on the face of it, incomprehensible murder has just been committed on the unsympathetic person of a loan shark. The victim's body is found lifeless, but the circumstances of his death are far from clear. For want of anything better to go on, the police immediately suspect a penniless gentleman who had the bad idea and misfortune to be present at the time of the crime. The police don't take the time to look for other possible suspects, and are not at the end of their surprises. A dark story seems to lie behind this imbroglio of incoherent facts.
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Title: Cinépanorama
Character: Self
Released: February 4, 1956
Type: TV
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Maid in Paris
Title: Maid in Paris
Character: Une élève
Released: January 20, 1956
Type: Movie
Penelope Benson, known as Penny, is both romantic and determined. Put in a select boarding school by her mother, she takes advantage of a trip to Paris to get away from it all and live her own life. That's how she meets Antoine du Merlet, whom she takes for a young hoodlum when in fact he's a police superintendent. She spends the night at his place, which leads to a number of setbacks for poor Antoine, who is stigmatized by the headmistress, abandoned by his mistress and has to face a strip-tease session starring the unconscious Penny... But Penny's a spicy one and Antoine's a nice guy, so... !
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Pleasures and Vices
Title: Pleasures and Vices
Released: September 2, 1955
Type: Movie
He was nicknamed Gueule d'ange (Angel's Face) because of his good looks, which enabled him to make a certain amount of money from wealthy ladies. Having given up on touching little Marie, he fell into the clutches of fashionable decorator Loina. Both love money, both go for it. Their characters bind them together. So much so that when Loina falls on hard times, Gueule d'ange would fly to help her. A loyal friend stops him. Loina leaves. Distraught, the handsome boy looks inward. It's time for him to settle down.
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House on the Waterfront
Title: House on the Waterfront
Character: Une entraîneuse
Released: April 15, 1955
Type: Movie
Martine is searching for her sister that disappeared mysteriously. Lequévic agrees to help her.
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The Babes Make the Law
Title: The Babes Make the Law
Character: La fleuriste du "Lotus"
Released: March 29, 1955
Type: Movie
When Nathalie, a shoe seller, is abducted, her mother Flora wastes no time taking matters into her own hands. Reluctant to call in the police, she galvanizes her three other daughters into action.
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Vice Dolls
Title: Vice Dolls
Character: The Chinese
Released: October 18, 1954
Type: Movie
In this French crime drama, a young man gets revenge upon the criminals who caused his grandfather to kill himself. Unfortunately, the fellow doesn't realize how bad the criminals are. Fortunately, a kindly hooker, who does know the crooks, saves him from the same fate.
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Nights of Shame
Title: Nights of Shame
Released: August 4, 1954
Type: Movie
Marie-Thérèse is firmly involved in a charity dedicated to the rehabilitation of prostitutes. She approaches Marcelle who, for the love of Pierre, an honest painter, hides her dishonorable profession, and she befriends Maria, in love with the gentle René. Marcelle's aunt is murdered, and her daughter arrested. Marie-Thérèse sets out to prove her innocence, but the two boys learn all about the two unfortunate women. Pierre is unforgiving. Happier, Maria will start a new life with René.