80-year-old singer Kazuo Funaki will appear on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi), which will be broadcast at 1:00 p.m. on August 18th.
When he made his debut in 1963 with "Koukou Sannensei," youth films were in full swing. Among the actors he played leading roles in, he often co-starred with the actress Izumi Masako, who passed away in July. He laughs that back then, Izumi was innocent and cheerful, and there were constant NGs during filming. Even as they grew older, they continued to be friends, and whenever they met, they would talk endlessly about "Funaki-kun" and "Mako-chan." He couldn't stop crying when he heard the news of her passing, and expressed his loneliness, saying that Izumi was a part of his youth.
Every time she sings in front of fans, she thinks of her close friend and singer Teruhiko Saigo, who passed away three years ago at the age of 75. Saigo confided in her about his worries about raising children and his frustration at not being able to sing. She says that even now, when she stands on stage, she feels like she can hear Saigo's voice.
