[2] After going to primary school in Yokohama he entered junior high in Manchuria, where his father was working, but returned to Tokyo to live with relatives when he was expelled.
[2] He entered the military for pilot training in December 1943 and in June 1945 volunteered for a suicide frogman unit, though the war ended before he saw action.
[5] According to Ando, acting came easily to him as a result of his underworld life: "In Japanese, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana character," he has been quoted as saying.
"[1] He starred in three films by Tai Kato; By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him, Opium Heights: Hell Squad Attack (both 1966), and 1967's Eighteen Years in Prison.
[2] This violated the Five-Company Agreement and an automatic extension in his contract with Shochiku, but was ultimately allowed given Ando's unfamiliarity with the workings of the film industry.
[6] Through the years he starred in several more films detailing his and his yakuza family's history, including Ando Noboru no Waga Tobou to Sex no Kiroku (1976), which depicted his sexual escapades while on the run from police.
It was attended by an estimated 700 people, including Nakajima, Junya Sato, Yasuo Furuhata, Tatsuo Umemiya, and Yoshiko Mita.