Happy Birthday, Akira Ifukube!

I was remiss yesterday, in not taking note of what would’ve been composer Akira Ifukube’s 98th birthday. In case you don’t know who he was, Akira Ifukube was a classical composer who has found most of his fame in the West, as the prolific composer of many Japanese special effects films, especially noted as creating the themes for many of Toho’s classics, ranging from Kaiju films, like GOJIRA (1954), to Science-Fiction like THE MYSTERIANS (1957). He also composed soundtracks for Daiei films, most notably the Dai Majin films. His last film score was for 1995’s GODZILLA VS. DESTROYAH, the final film of the Godzilla Heisei Era.

Ifukube passed away on Feb 8, 2006.