AGVA remembers Michiko

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Michiko Iseri Terajima died peacefully on June 6, 2024, at her residence in Mission Viejo, CA.

Michiko was born the sixth of seven children, to Japanese immigrants Torahei and Shizu (Yamashita) Iseri on February 18, 1923, in Phoenix, AZ, where her parents leased a farm. After a brief stay in Japan from late 1924 to 1925, they settled in Gardena, CA in 1927. She grew up on Western Avenue, in an apartment behind her family’s general store. After December 7, 1941, when she and her family were forcibly removed from their homes; they were sent first to the Pomona Assembly Center, then to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Cody, WY for the duration of the war.

Michiko, initially trained from early childhood in classical Japanese dance (odori), had branched out into multiple Asian dance forms by her teens. A tour of South America that she was scheduled to take with Teiko Ono’s dance troupe had to be cancelled when war broke out. Undaunted, Michiko continued to teach and organize odori performances during her years at camp.

Upon her release from Heart Mountain in 1944, Michiko left for New York City, where she performed with other “ethnic dancers,” at arts and cultural venues and museums. Eventually, choreographer Jerome Robbins, impressed by some of her students who had auditioned for him, requested a meeting with her. He offered her a post as his consultant on Asian dance — and a few numbers to perform in a new Broadway musical, “The King and I.” The show opened at the St. James Theatre in March, 1951, and Michiko remained with it for the entirety of its three-year run there. After the show ended its Broadway run in 1954, she toured with it around the country. She received credit as a dance consultant and also performed in the 1956 movie, where she may be seen in the “Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet as the Angel, and is most prominently featured in the “Getting to Know You” number with Deborah Kerr.   

“Getting to Know You” didn’t exist in the initial out-of-town tryouts. Michiko, possibly in Boston, had decided that she didn’t have enough to do in the production, and handed in her resignation. Richard Rodgers, she said, asked if she would see him the following day. He played a tune for her and proposed it as a solo for her. She was amazed, she said, that he was able to concoct a fresh number out of thin air for her. What she didn’t know was that the tune had been written for an earlier show, “South Pacific,” but had been jettisoned. It was originally entitled “Suddenly Lucky,” but was resurrected as “Getting to Know You,” and has become a favorite among fans of the show.

She traveled extensively following the release of the movie, and for a short time was the personal guest of Prince Bhanubandhu Yugala of Thailand while studying native dance.

In 1958, she married Kabuki actor Kiyoaki Terajima, stage name Kuroemon Onoe, and moved to Tokyo. The marriage ended in divorce.

Back in New York City, Michiko landed a job with the Gilbert Marketing Group through her friendship with a young Joan Rivers. Michiko and another “King and I” alumna, soprano Jeanne Beauvais, ran surveys for Gilbert that were used in popular magazines of the day. Jeanne and Michiko remained close friends until the latter’s death in 2007.

Michiko continued to teach dance, and to act as a liaison to the Japanese entertainment organization Shochiku, which arranged for Kabuki performances to be held in the United States. She translated Kabuki scripts into English with author Faubion Bowers so that simultaneous audio translation could be offered to American audiences during these performances.  

For many years, she aided performers in need, as the administrator of the Margie Coate Sick & Relief Fund of the American Guild of Variety Artists. She retired in 2017. After living in Greenwich Village for over 50 years, she relocated to California in late 2018.

Michiko was predeceased by her six siblings, and by several nieces and one nephew. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews. She will be remembered for her grace, keen intelligence, sense of justice, her artistic expressiveness, and her mischievous sense of humor.

Lovingly remembered by 

Jina Accardo

Michiko will be Memorialized on July 3, 2024, 11 AM at:

Koyasan Buddhist Temple

342 E. 1st Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Donations in her name can be made to:  Entertainment Community Fund (http://entertainmentcommunity.org).