Yasunori Shimura (February 20, 1950 – March 29, 2020) known professionally as Ken Shimura (志村 けん, Shimura Ken), was a Japanese comedian. He was born in Higashimurayama, Tokyo.
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 His death changed Japanese comedy forever...
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He started his career as an assistant to the comedy band The Drifters, led by Chōsuke Ikariya. In 1974, He joined the group, replacing Chū Arai. He appeared as members of the group on popular comedy shows that gained massive popularity from the 1970s to the 1980s. Hachiji-dayo! Zen'in-shūgō achieved the highest viewership rating of 50.5%, and The Drifters Daibakushō (ドリフ大爆笑) reached 40.4% viewership. These shows made us nationally popular. After the end of Hachiji-dayo! in 1985, he began to work independently as well. He appeared on shows like Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV (加トちゃんケンちゃんごきげんテレビ), with Cha Katō, a fellow member of the group, Shimura Ken no Daijōbu-dā (志村けんのだいじょうぶだぁ)," and Shimura Ken no Baka Tono-sama (志村けんのバカ殿様), portraying characters like Baka Tono-sama (バカ殿様, Stupid Lord) and Hen na Oji-san (変なおじさん, Strange Older Man). These characters became highly popular.
Shimura's comedic work was inspired in part by that of Jerry Lewis.
Illness and death
Shimura was hospitalized for severe pneumonia on 20 March 2020; he lost consciousness after being anesthetized and hooked up to a ventilator on the following day. Then, on 23 March it was confirmed that he had COVID-19. He was the first Japanese tarento to have his COVID-19 diagnosis made public during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
On 24 March, Shimura was transferred to a hospital where ECMO was available. He had been scheduled to star in the film It's a Flickering Life (Kinema No Kamisama), but his participation was cancelled on 26 March. He was also slated to carry the Olympic torch through part of Tokyo prior to the 2020 Tokyo games.
Shimura died on 29 March 2020 at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He was 70 years old.