Haruo Nakajima donned the guise of Godzilla - a costume partially made of concrete in the early years of the movie franchise because rubber was in short supply in post-war Japan - in the original Godzilla (1954). The costume was extremely heavy and he won the role because he was able to stand and walk farther in the Godzilla body than anyone else who tried.

"Shortly after I was offered the part, I realized that although it would be possible to replace all of the members of the staff and all of the other actors, it would not be possible to replace me. I also realized that if I didn't go into work because I was sick, none of the members of the special effects staff would be able to do their work. All of this gave me a tremendous sense of pride." – Mr. Nakajima.

Inside the monster costume, Mr. Nakajima continued to stomp cars and buildings and clobber other monsters until his last turn as the mutant creature in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). From all accounts, he enjoyed every lumbering, city destroying minute of his work and, in his later years, meeting up with Godzilla fans.

You can sing the praises of the modern high-tech versions of Godzilla. But, for some of us, the unintentionally campy, kind of goofy, Godzilla we first discovered as little kids watching black and white monster movies on Saturday TV was forever the REAL Godzilla. (I have a copy of that Godzilla in my office, in fact... I never said I was normal, darlings..)

Mr. Nakajima went to that great sound stage in the sky on August 7, 2017. He was 88.