Details
Title: ザ・ヒットパレード
Title (English): The Hit Parade
Tagline: ~芸能界を変えた男・渡辺晋物語~
Tagline (romaji): Geinokai wo Kaeta Otoko: Watanabe Susumu Monogatari
Format: Two-part tanpatsu
Broadcast network: Fuji TV
Broadcast period: 2006-May-26 and 2006-May-27
Air time: Friday 21:00-22:54 and Saturday 21:00-22:52
Synopsis
A drama about the rise of Watanabe Productions and its influence, especially on television. The model for the modern Japanese talent agency or "production company," which dominates all aspects of show business in Japan, was created by the late Shin Watanabe and his wife, Misa, in 1955.
In 1948, Watanabe (Yanagiba Toshiro) was attending university and dreaming of becoming a musician. He and his friend Takashi Shimizu (Yoshida Eisaku) formed a jazz sextet and hired Misa (Tokiwa Takako), the daughter of a powerful talent agent, as their manager. However, after the Korean War, the popularity of jazz was eclipsed by rockabilly, and Shin and Misa decided to go with the flow, not as performers but as promoters.
The couple ended up representing some of the biggest music stars of the 1960s. However, it wasn't until Watanabe made a deal with Fuji TV to produce a weekly music show called "The Hit Parade" that his fortunes skyrocketed.
Cast
Yanagiba Toshiro as Watanabe Susumu
Tokiwa Takako as Watanabe Misa
Yoshida Eisaku as Shimizu Takashi
Jinnai Takanori
Shirota Yu
Anan Kenji
Wada Masato
Tokito Saburo
Kaji Masaki
Seki Keisuke
Araki Hirofumi
Suzuki Hiroki
Abe Natsumi and Abe Asami as Ito Emi and Fumi of The Peanuts
Matsumoto Akiko
Production Credits
Director: Suzuki Masayuki
