Backgammon Champion and Restaurant Owner Dies at 69

Rocky Aoki, one of the most colorful backgammon champions in history, died last month in New York at the age of 69. The owner of the international chains of Japanese restaurants Benihana, was also an Olympic wrestler, a speedboat racer, a national backgammon champion, a record breaking hot-air balloon pilot, a winning road rallier, a publisher of a porn magazine and even a photographic model for a while. Aoki was survived by his third wife and at least seven children of previous marital and illicit relationships.

Born in Tokyo in 1938 Hiroaki Aoki arrived to New York in 1960 after failing to participate in the 1960 Olympics in Rome as a wrestler due to an overweight. Aoki little money and lots of ambition; his first business initiative was a travelling ice cream stand in Harlem, in which he used pictures of himself as a wrestler as security. In 1964, with no qualification as a chef, he opened the first branch of Benihana on West 56th Street.

Benihana (Safflower)

Benihana (Japanese for Safflower) served a basic Japanese street food, however, the restaurant's main attraction were the theatrical cooks who juggled with their knives to entertain the patrons. The combination of showmanship and restaurant management as well as the restaurant's name were borrowed from his father, an actor, vaudeville dancer and an owner of a coffeehouse named after the flower he found in the World War II ruins.

After six months of moderate prosperity, Benihana gained praises from reviewers and streams of crowds and later became an international chain of restaurants with 100 branches worldwide. Apparently, the restaurant management left Aoki sufficient spare times to be occupied with his various hobbies. Rocky Aoki long list of hobbies included backgammon (he even won a national championship), hot-air balloon aviating (he was the first person to cross the Pacific via this aircraft), powerboat racing (until an accident almost led to his death), and others. He is remembered to one of the most flamboyant Japanese-American celebrities and the importer of the teppanyaki cuisine to America.