David Ury
Encyclopedia
David Brian Ury is an American
film and television actor, stand-up comedian and Japanese film, anime and manga translation specialist. He is a descendant of German impressionist painter Lesser Ury
.
) (Some of which notable are Rave Master vol.33,34,35
, Basilisk, Genshiken
, Gacha Gacha
and The Wallflower
). Ury moved to Los Angeles in August 2001 where he began performing stand-up comedy. In the spring of 2003, Ury became the "Ugly Guy" in Fox's Mr. Personality
promo commercials. More recently he has appeared as the "Guy who says Yes" or the "Yes Guy" on the Internet viral
Verizon
parody short.
's Crossing Jordan
and in Shoot 'Em Up
. He also appeared in Heroes
, Malcolm in the Middle
, Life, Without a Trace
, Breaking Bad
and Zeke and Luther
.
channels/accounts/personalities or alter-egos some of which are Karaoke Steve (YouloveKaraokeSteve) and Ken Tanaka (so called adopted twin brother of David Ury, a Caucasian
man who was adopted by a Japanese family, Hideo & Mari Tanaka, and been raised in Shimane Prefecture of Japan
, then returned to Los Angeles
to find his birth parents Jonathan & Linda Smith). Ken Tanaka bears a resemblance to Lonelygirl15
with Ken Tanaka's first appearance on YouTube.
Ken Tanaka speaks Japanese and English with a heavy Japanese accent and makes videos about Ken's search for his birth parents, culture and life in Japan and Los Angeles. Many viewers are convinced that Tanaka's story is true, while others believe that he is merely a character played by David Ury.
After some viewers began to comment that Tanaka looked a lot like actor David Ury, Tanaka made a video where Tanaka goes to meet Ury. The video shows David Ury and Ken Tanaka meeting and discovering that they are identical twin brothers.
Ken Tanaka has over 200 YouTube videos in both his two YouTube channels (helpmefindparents and kentanakajapan). Tanaka's videos also document his visual art career and the making of his book "Everybody Dies- A Children's Book for Grown Ups" ISBN 0615464939 . Tanaka's work is sought after by collectors of the work of German impressionist painter Lesser Ury presumably by those who believe that Tanaka is actually David Ury.
David Ury's Ken Tanaka is also famous by YouTube series of "How to speak fluent Japanese (without saying a word #1 - #2; hardly saying a word; with Remi, Takeo, and Ken Tanaka; by Speaking English #1 - #2 - #3)" (with appearances of Remi February (Artist
), David "Takeo" Neptune (Short film Director
) and Masataka "Polo" Yazaki (Musician
of former band Nirf)) and "I AM ROBOT" (which won "YouTube Video Awards Japan 2009" award).
Ken Tanaka has also made appearances in YouTube with MissHannahMinx and Gimmeabreakman (aka Victor from Japan).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film and television actor, stand-up comedian and Japanese film, anime and manga translation specialist. He is a descendant of German impressionist painter Lesser Ury
Lesser Ury
Lesser Ury was a German Impressionist painter and printmaker.He was born Leo Lesser Ury in Birnbaum, the son of a baker whose death in 1872 was followed by the Ury family's move to Berlin. In 1878 Lesser left school to apprentice with a tradesman, and the next year he went to Düsseldorf to study...
.
Career
Ury began his acting career on Japanese television as the "zany Japanese speaking foreigner". Ury learned to speak Japanese fluently while at college in Tokyo and has worked as a translator in film, television, and manga and currently translates and writes English adaptations for Japanese comics (mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
) (Some of which notable are Rave Master vol.33,34,35
Rave Master
, is a manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. The manga was serialized in Shōnen Magazine from July 1999 through July 2005, and published in thirty-five tankōbon by Kodansha. The manga series was licensed for an English release in North America by Tokyopop until Kodansha allowed...
, Basilisk, Genshiken
Genshiken
is a manga series by Shimoku Kio about a college club for otaku and the lifestyle its members pursue. The title is a shortening of the club's official name, , or "The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture". The series has also been adapted into an anime directed by Tsutomu Mizushima...
, Gacha Gacha
Gacha Gacha
is a shōnen manga by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi. As of November 2008, the first 13 volumes have been published in North America by Del Rey Manga. However, according to the Anime News Network, the series ended in Japan at volume 11 of the second season...
and The Wallflower
The Wallflower (manga)
, a.k.a Perfect Girl Evolution, is a manga series written by Tomoko Hayakawa. The individual chapters have been serialized in Bessatsu Friend since its premiere in 2000, and in 27 tankōbon volumes in Japan by Kodansha...
). Ury moved to Los Angeles in August 2001 where he began performing stand-up comedy. In the spring of 2003, Ury became the "Ugly Guy" in Fox's Mr. Personality
Mr. Personality
Mr. Personality is a reality television show that aired on the Fox Television Network with the premise that a woman must select a husband from twenty bachelors whose faces are covered by masks throughout the show, supposedly basing her decisions on who to eliminate solely based on their...
promo commercials. More recently he has appeared as the "Guy who says Yes" or the "Yes Guy" on the Internet viral
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
Verizon
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
parody short.
TV Series & Movies
David Ury has made several film and television appearances, including an episode of Tim KringTim Kring
Richard Timothy "Tim" Kring is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the television series Strange World, Crossing Jordan, and Heroes.Kring is Jewish...
's Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...
and in Shoot 'Em Up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
. He also appeared in Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Life, Without a Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
, Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
and Zeke and Luther
Zeke and Luther
Zeke and Luther is an American Disney XD sitcom about two best friends setting their sights on becoming the world's greatest skateboarders. The show stars Hutch Dano, Adam Hicks, Daniel Curtis Lee and Ryan Newman ....
.
YouTube
David Ury also have YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channels/accounts/personalities or alter-egos some of which are Karaoke Steve (YouloveKaraokeSteve) and Ken Tanaka (so called adopted twin brother of David Ury, a Caucasian
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
man who was adopted by a Japanese family, Hideo & Mari Tanaka, and been raised in Shimane Prefecture of Japan
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, after its eastern neighbor Tottori. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chūgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to...
, then returned to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to find his birth parents Jonathan & Linda Smith). Ken Tanaka bears a resemblance to Lonelygirl15
Lonelygirl15
lonelygirl15 was an interactive web-based video series which began in June 2006 and ran through to August 1, 2008. Developed under the working title The Children of Anchor Cove, the show gained worldwide media attention when it was outed as fictional in September 2006.-Overview:lonelygirl15...
with Ken Tanaka's first appearance on YouTube.
Ken Tanaka speaks Japanese and English with a heavy Japanese accent and makes videos about Ken's search for his birth parents, culture and life in Japan and Los Angeles. Many viewers are convinced that Tanaka's story is true, while others believe that he is merely a character played by David Ury.
After some viewers began to comment that Tanaka looked a lot like actor David Ury, Tanaka made a video where Tanaka goes to meet Ury. The video shows David Ury and Ken Tanaka meeting and discovering that they are identical twin brothers.
Ken Tanaka has over 200 YouTube videos in both his two YouTube channels (helpmefindparents and kentanakajapan). Tanaka's videos also document his visual art career and the making of his book "Everybody Dies- A Children's Book for Grown Ups" ISBN 0615464939 . Tanaka's work is sought after by collectors of the work of German impressionist painter Lesser Ury presumably by those who believe that Tanaka is actually David Ury.
David Ury's Ken Tanaka is also famous by YouTube series of "How to speak fluent Japanese (without saying a word #1 - #2; hardly saying a word; with Remi, Takeo, and Ken Tanaka; by Speaking English #1 - #2 - #3)" (with appearances of Remi February (Artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
), David "Takeo" Neptune (Short film Director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
) and Masataka "Polo" Yazaki (Musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
of former band Nirf)) and "I AM ROBOT" (which won "YouTube Video Awards Japan 2009" award).
Ken Tanaka has also made appearances in YouTube with MissHannahMinx and Gimmeabreakman (aka Victor from Japan).
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2011 | Zeke and Luther Zeke and Luther Zeke and Luther is an American Disney XD sitcom about two best friends setting their sights on becoming the world's greatest skateboarders. The show stars Hutch Dano, Adam Hicks, Daniel Curtis Lee and Ryan Newman .... |
Donut "Don" Donaldson | Recurring Role |
| 2011 | Bones Bones (TV series) Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent... |
Larry Wolfram | Episode: "The Feet on the Beach" |
| The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin... |
Burt | Episode: "Daniel Finally Regains Consciousness" | |
| 2010 | Lie to Me Lie to Me Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer... |
Witness | Episode: "Headlock" |
| Rizzoli & Isles Rizzoli & Isles Rizzoli & Isles is a TNT television series starring Angie Harmon as police detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The one-hour drama is based on the Rizzoli & Isles series of novels by Tess Gerritsen... |
Sandy Grotty | Episodes: "Boston Strangler Redux" | |
| The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It is an American spoof of several of Judd Apatow's films: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The main plot follows Andy , a 40-year old who desperately wants to lose his virginity... |
Yes Man | ||
| 2009 | Breaking Bad Breaking Bad Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series... |
Spooge | Episode: "Peekaboo" "Breakage" |
| The Revenant The Revenant The Revenant is a horror/dark comedy film from Putrefactory Limited scheduled to be released fall 2011. The film was directed by D. Kerry Prior and stars David Anders as the title character... |
ATM robber | ||
| 2006–2009 | Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
Landlord | Episodes: "Chapter Nine 'Turn and Face the Strange'" "Chapter One 'Genesis'" "Unaired Premiere Episode" |
| 2008–2009 | Life | Hard Case #1 | Episodes: "Re-Entry" "Trapdoor" |
| 2008 | Without a Trace Without a Trace Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:... |
Gil | Episode: "Better Angels" |
| Parasomnia Parasomnia (film) Parasomnia is an independent horror film directed by William Malone and stars Jeffrey Combs, Timothy Bottoms and Dylan Purcell. The filming was funded by Malone himself, and its release was delayed due to difficulties securing distribution.- Plot :... |
Record Store Owner | ||
| Black Widow Black Widow (2007 film) Black Widow is a 2007 made-for-television movie produced by RHI Entertainment and starring Elizabeth Berkley, Alicia Coppola and Randall Batinkoff... |
Bixler | ||
| 2007 | National Treasure: Book of Secrets | Barkeep | |
| Shoot 'Em Up Shoot 'em up Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what... |
Diner Holdup Leader | ||
| Close to Home | Rooster | Episode: "Internet Bride" | |
| 2006 | Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office... |
Arthur Hay | Episode: "Blame Game" |
| Dark Ride Dark Ride (film) Dark Ride is a 2006 American horror-thriller film directed by Craig Singer and written by Singer and Robert Dean Klein. It was selected to play at the 8 Films To Die For film festival, being one of the first 8 films to be in the 8 Films To Die For films series... |
Attendant #1 | ||
| 2005 | Blue Collar TV Blue Collar TV Blue Collar TV was a television program that aired on The WB Television Network with lead actors Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy. The show's humor dealt principally with contemporary American society, and especially hillbilly, redneck, and Southern stereotypes. The show was... |
Sketch performer | Episode: "Fashion" |
| 2004 | Charmed | Shapeshifter | Episode: "Witchness Protection" |
| Paparazzi Paparazzi (film) Paparazzi is a 2004 action film directed by Paul Abascal, produced by actor Mel Gibson, and starring Cole Hauser and Tom Sizemore.The film chronicles the life of a popular Hollywood movie star in the aftermath of a tragic car accident caused by four paparazzo tabloid photographers.-Plot:Bo Laramie ... |
Fan | ||
| Able Edwards Able Edwards Able Edwards is a 2004 film directed by Graham Robertson. Able Edwards follows the clone of a Walt Disneyesque entertainment mogul created to revive the glory days of his deceased predecessor's corporation... |
Franklin Wallace | ||
| 2002 | Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes... |
Mechanic | Episode: "Zoo" |
External links
- David Ury at the ISBN Database
- Ken Tanaka at the ISBN Database