Comedian and actor Sakagami Jirou passed away on March 10th at 9:40 AM due to a stroke. He was 76 years old. The family will not be holding a public wake or funeral service, and instead will hold a private funeral with just Sakagami�s close relatives. The chief mourner is unknown.

Sakagami was born in Kagoshima prefecture in 1934. At 19, he headed to Tokyo to become a singer, but eventually became a comedian instead. In 1966, he joined together with his co-star, Hagimoto Kinichi, and formed the comedic duo, �Konto 55 Gou�. He was popular for his theatre acts and later appeared on TV variety programs, making him popular in everyone�s household.

In the second half of 1965, he began a career in acting and has since acted in TBS�s �Yoake no Keiji�, NHK�s taiga drama, �Tobu ga Gotoku�, and many other shows. He has also been in the operetta �Koumori�, showing his skills as a singer.

In September 2003, Sakagami collapsed due to having a stroke while playing golf. At that time, they thought he may not live, but in January 2004, while doing rehabilitation, Sakagami returned as a member of Konto 55 Gou and performed at the Meijiza Theatre in Tokyo. He made a complete comeback by March 2006 and performed in the play, �Fugou to, Uso to, Nozomi�.

Source: Sanspo