Sudden death of Ryubei Ueshima, Lamented at His Most Recent Event: “Work Troubles”

Ryubei Ueshima of the comedy trio “Ostrich Club” passed away suddenly at the age of 61.

Mr. Ueshima could be said to be the pioneer who popularized the art of reaction. While there were some old-fashioned ironclad stories, such as the oden (oden) trick and the boiling water bath, in recent years he had been creating a succession of stories without being defensive, such as a kiss after a fight, all of which seemed to have been well accepted by the public.

The three members of the Ostrich Club have perfected their craft and are in demand not only on TV variety shows but also in a variety of other places.

They have been consistently pulled into PR events for companies and other organizations at the level of “10 to 20 years. If you invite Mr. Ostrich, the media always comes to cover the event. All the stories are familiar, but they are still funny.

From a TV standpoint, it is easy to put a punchline to the story, and since it can be summarized in a short VTR, it is easy to put on-air. It is very sad to think that we will no longer be able to see the three of them perform.

The last time Ueshima appeared at an event was on April 25. There, Katsuhiro Higo, the leader of the group, said

Katsuhiro Higo, the leader of the club, said, “The art of the Ostrich Club is very dense. They do it apart from each other, don’t they? It’s not funny at all.”

Ueshima also said, “Even if we get into a fight, we can’t kiss.”

When they fought, they couldn’t kiss, and they couldn’t get close enough to each other to say “Don’t push me” in a boiling water bath, so they pushed each other with a straw. It’s bad for business!

He lamented. On the day of the show, he performed a kissing routine with Jimon Terakado over an acrylic board.

He jokingly said, “I can’t do my material as well as I want to,” but the expression on his face at some points made me think that he might be really struggling as a comedian.

He also spoke of his worries about not being able to go out to drink his favorite alcoholic beverage due to the Corona disaster.

He said, “We had a remote drinking party, but gradually my juniors started to hate it because they thought it was too much trouble. For the first time, I thought I was lucky to be married and to have a wife. She listens to my complaints and drinks with me.”

Ken Shimura, whom Mr. Ueshima admired as a mentor, passed away after contracting corona. Their untimely deaths were both major contributors to the world of variety entertainment in Japan. It is too sad, isn’t it?