Two different collectors emailed me to ask about a current Emovieposter auction, each wanting my opinion on the same autograph - namely that of "Ryosaku Takasugi" (supposedly the man inside the Godzilla costume).
I had to laugh, because just like the myth that there are two endings to King Kong vs. Godzilla, there is no such thing as a Ryosaku Takasugi. Godzilla in the first film was played by Haruo Nakajima for the majority of the film (and who would go on to play the monster a dozen times total in sequels) and in a few scenes by Katsumi Tezuka.
I believe this myth started in the first volume of Bill Warren's
Keep Watching the Skies! but he corrected it in later editions.
Of course this isn't the first time Emovie has gotten it wrong as regards to Godzilla items, I've corrected many of their auctions for them before. You just have to wonder, if their customers are smart enough to email me and ask questions to verify things, why aren't they?
http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=4590700And for the record, that is an autograph of Haruo Nakajima, the man who
was in the Godzilla costume.
But I sincerely doubt their consignor told them Ryosaku Takasugi, and they didn't bother to try and verify anything.