The original voice actor for the ever popular anime series 'Doraemon' sadly passed away at the age of 84. Tomita, who was born on February 4 1936, led an extraordinary life as an actor who voiced characters in over 50 anime series and films. Aside from his work in classic animations such as 'Doraemon', Tomita also worked as a voice actor for Japanese dubbed versions of Western films including the 1963 parody film 'Casino Royale' and 'Bourne Identity' (2003).
The actor began his career when he was hired to voice several characters for the first anime production of 'Astro Boy' in 1963, directed by Osamu Tezuka. Ten years later, he took on the role of the much-loved cat-robot in the original anime adaption of Fujiko Fujio's 'Doraemon'.
Even in the last few years of his life, Tomita continued to lend his voice to anime characters, most recently for the anime series 'Detective Conan' as the role of Jirokichi Suzuki, whom he had played since 2014. On October 3, Nippon TV broadcast a special episode of 'Detective Conan' in memory of Tomita.
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