Kinshirō Iwao was a Japanese actor and voice actor born on September 24, 1911, in Tokyo. He passed away on December 30, 1994, at the age of 83. His career in the entertainment industry began after he joined the inaugural class of the NHK Broadcasting Theatre Troupe in 1941. This foundational experience in radio drama helped establish him as a performer, with one of his most notable early roles being Kamezo Bando in the long-running radio series "Muko Sanzen Ryodonari," which aired from 1947 to 1953.

In the world of anime, Iwao is known for several key roles in feature films and television series from the 1960s through the late 1970s. One of his earliest and most prominent film roles was providing the voice for Gyūmaō, the Bull Demon King, who serves as the primary antagonist in the 1960 feature film "Alakazam the Great," an adaptation of the classic Chinese tale "Journey to the West". He also voiced the God of Fire in the 1963 fantasy film "The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon".

On television, Iwao is best recognized for his role in the 1978 World Masterpiece Theater series "The Perrine Story." In this adaptation of Hector Malot's novel "En Famille," he played Vulfran Paindavoine, the stern grandfather of the young protagonist, Perrine. The same year, he also voiced the character of Kaneto Honma in the series "King Fang". A later voice role included the character Peggin in the 1983 series "Alps Story: My Annette".

Beyond his voice work in animation, Kinshirō Iwao had a substantial career as a live-action actor, appearing in numerous television dramas and tokusatsu series. His live-action credits include roles in the long-running historical dramas known as taiga dramas, such as "Ryoma ga Yuku," and appearances in popular series like "Return of Ultraman".

Throughout his career, Iwao belonged to several talent agencies, including K Production, Banship Production, and Production Tank, and also worked as a freelancer. For his contributions to the performing arts, he received several awards. He was a recipient of the Wada Prize for excellence in narration and storytelling in 1959. Later in life, he was honored by the Japanese government with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1980 and the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette in 1986.