Haruo Nakajima, the actor who portrayed the fictitious monster known in Japan as Gojira and the world over as Godzilla has died. Nakajima died on August 7 at the age of 88. Nakajima donned the suit in 12 Godzilla movies and was closely associated with Toho, the studio behind the original 1954 movie by Ishiro Honda and its numerous sequels.

Born on January 1, 1929, in Yamgata, Nakajima portrayed most of the monsters involved in the early years of the Godzilla franchise. He retired from his role in 1972 with Godzilla vs Gigan. He spent the rest of his career working at a bowling alley on the studio lot. Other screen credits included Akira Kurosawa films such as Seven Samurai (1954), The Hidden Fortress (1958) and Yojimbo (1961).