Hidehiko Ishizuka and Hideyuki Nakayama are actually classmates! The two men who met more than 40 years ago and shared many hardships together talk about “Our Youth
New Year's Big Talk [Part 1
Encounter on “BIG THURSDAY
Hidehiko Ishizuka (63) of “Honjamaka” has established a firm position as a comedian and gourmet reporter, and Hideyuki Nakayama (58) has served as MC for many programs including “Shuichi” (NTV). At first glance, these two men may not seem to have much in common, but they are in fact comrades-in-arms who have shared many hardships and joys together.
The two men, who have worked their way up through the entertainment world from the Showa era to the Reiwa era, talked about their memories of their early days in the entertainment business.
Nakayama: I have known Ishi-chan for more than 40 years now. We first met in 1984 when I joined the young comedian talent group “BIG THURSDAY” launched by NABEPRO (Watanabe Productions) as a member of the first term of the group.
Ishizuka: That was a long time ago. At that time, I was 20 years old and Shu-chan was only 16.
Nakayama: I passed an audition titled “The Second Koji Kikkawa Wanted” and joined NABEPRO. But after a while, the people at the office told me that singing was not for me (laughs). After that, I was transferred to the drama group, but my acting was not good either.
At that time, my manager at the time said to me, “This is the era of comedy. If you make a name for yourself in variety, you can do the singing and acting you want to do. So do comedy,” and I joined “BIG THURSDAY. I didn’t go through a formal audition, so it was a backdoor entrance (laughs).
Ishizuka: At that time, everyone was sharp and tense. Even when we were showing our material, there was an atmosphere of “don’t laugh at other people’s material. Still, I was happy that Shu-chan would laugh at my material.
Nakayama：I was still a child, so I simply could not read the atmosphere. If it was funny, it was fine to laugh, but I guess everyone felt that if someone else’s material was funny, their own reputation would suffer.
Ishizuka: It was a strange time, with the youngsters giving the younger ones bad advice on their material (laughs).
I thought, “I’ll follow this girl for the rest of my life.”
Nakayama: I liked Ishi-chan’s stories. He was mainly making puns. He would say, “You have a sweet face. What’s your name?” Like, “It’s Sato.” (laughs)
Ishizuka: Whenever I came up with a new pun at the steakhouse where I worked part-time, I would write it down on the back of a coaster. Come to think of it, when I was busy with my part-time job and showing stories, Shu-chan gave me a chocolate ball. That made me really happy and I thought, “I’m going to follow this girl for the rest of my life” (laughs).
Nakayama：I guess Ishi-chan was working hard, so he wanted me to cheer him up by eating some chocolate (laugh). When I think about it, maybe I didn’t have the tense feeling that is characteristic of younger members.
Ishizuka: When “BIG THURSDAY” held its first live concert in Harajuku, we sold tickets by hand on Takeshita-dori. It didn’t sell at all, so we ended up giving them away for free (laughs).
Nakayama: One of the first “BIG THURSDAY” students was scriptwriter Koki Mitani (64), who wrote some of the material for the live comedy we would perform.
Ishizuka: That was right. At the time, I was a bit of a scary character, but Mitani said to me, “You want to make people laugh, don’t you? I started smiling on stage. That one comment was a turning point for me. But the material was subtle. The script said something like, “Ippon, you’ll be a bottle for the rest of your life.
Nakayama：When I went out to dinner with Mr. Mitani, it was very dark. When I met Mr. Mitani again later, I told him that I wondered if such a dark person could write something interesting, and he said, “On the contrary, I thought such a bright guy would never sell” (laughs).
Hidehiko Ishizuka was born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1962. He is active as an actor and voice actor in addition to variety shows. Currently, he appears on “Yoji Goji Days” (TV TOKYO) as a Friday night MC, and is also active on YouTube and Instagram.
HIDEYUKI NAKAYAMA / Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1967. In 1985, he formed the duo “AB Brothers” and became popular as an idol. He is also known for his work on “Quiz! Doremifadon” (Fuji) and “Shuichi” (Nippon TV).
From the January 30/February 6, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY
PHOTO： Kazuhiko Nakamura