A tribute to Mako Iwamatsu of ‘Avatar: the Last Airbender’
The voice behind our favorite character Uncle Iroh of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ was of the talented voice player Mako Iwamatsu. He left all his fans with tearful eyes on july21, 2006. He was diseased with esophageal cancer. He was extremely dedicated artist. One day before his death he completed the recording of his voice for the character, Master Splinter in TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) directed by Kevin Munroe. I am a damn fan of this Academy Award-nominated Japanese-American actor and pay tribute to his exceptional vocal proficiency. He was such a friendly person that many of his colleagues used to call him ‘Mako’, skipping his surname.
His earlier life is quite interesting as he never thought of coming into this profession and joined military in 1950s. He realized his theatrical abilities during his military services. After leaving military he started his training at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He married to actress Shizuko Hoshi. He had two daughters; both of them are actresses.
He gave his voice for 1st and 2nd season of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and was not available anymore. His place was taken by Greg Baldwin for 3rd season. Mako’s theater career started in 1959 movie ‘Never So Few’. In 1965 he formed the East west Players theater company with six artists. It is one of the earliest Asian American theater organizations. It provided a venue for Asian American actors and nurtured many playwrights. He remained artistic director of the company until 1989. He appeared on many TV shows like McHale’s Nvy, M*A*S*H, The Incredible Hulk, F Troop, and Rise: Blood Hunter.
So if you are also interested to pay tribute to Mako then must watch ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ online. Otherwise just download ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and watch it anytime. After downloading, you can also share the video with your friends…
