Yoshio Yoda, ‘McHale’s Navy’ Actor, Dead at 88

Yoshio Yoda, one of the last surviving main cast members of McHale’s Navy, has died. He was 88. Yoda starred as Fuji, a Japanese prisoner of war who became a member of the PT-73 crew led by Ernest Borgnine’s Lt. Comm. Quinton McHale.

Yoda, born James Yoshio Toda in Tokyo, died on Jan. 13 in Fullerton, California, according to his obituary. He was predeceased by his son, Edward Yuji Yoda. No funeral services will be held, per Yoda’s request.

Yoda initially pursued a legal career and studied at Keio University in Japan. After a friend encouraged him to become an actor, he quit law and moved to the U.S. He enrolled in film school at the University of Southern California in 1958 and graduated with a degree in Cinema Arts. In 1961, an MGM producer called the school asking if there were any students who spoke English and Japanese to fill a role in the comedy The Horizontal Lieutenant.

The success of The Horizontal Lieutenant led to Yoda winning the role of Imperial Japanese Navy Seaman 3rd Class Fujiwara “Fuji” Takeo Kobiashi in McHale’s Navy. He appeared in all 138 episodes of the series and was subject to a long-running gag. Whenever Capt. Binghamton (Joe Flynn) appeared, and the other characters told Fuji to “head for the hills” because the captain was never supposed to know about Fuji. Yoda later appeared in both the 1964 McHale’s Navy film and the 1965 sequel McHale’s Navy Jones the Air Force.

With Yoda’s death, John “Bobby” Wright, 80, is the last surviving main cast member from McHale’s Navy. The series earned five Emmy nominations during its run, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1953 and 1964. Although it is not available to stream, the Universal series is available in full on DVD.

After McHale’s Navy ended, Yoda appeared in a 1969 episode of Love, American Style, notes The Hollywood Reporter. He left Hollywood to work at Toyota Hawaii in Honolulu as an assistant vice president. After retiring, Yoda moved to Fullerton.