Kazuo Kumakura was a prominent Japanese actor, voice actor, and theatre director, born on January 30, 1927, in Tokyo. He began his career on stage and joined the Theatre Echo theater group in 1956, an organization he would eventually lead until his death. His voice acting career was launched in 1957 when he became the regular Japanese dubbing voice for director Alfred Hitchcock in the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, a role that established him in the industry. He was also widely recognized as the long-standing Japanese voice of Hercule Poirot, portrayed by David Suchet in the series Agatha Christie's Poirot, a role he performed from 1989 until his final years.

Kumakura's extensive filmography includes a vast number of roles in both anime and dubbed foreign productions. In anime, he played Saruta in Phoenix 2772 - Space Firebird and the Red Oni in Taro the Dragon Boy. He voiced Papa Panda in both Panda! Go, Panda! and its sequel, Panda! Go, Panda!: Rainy Day Circus. Other anime roles included Detective Unmei in The Three-eyed One: Prince in the Devile Island, Little Bear in Jack and the Witch, Torahige in the puppet show Hyokkori Hyōtan-jima, Diogenes in Reign: The Conqueror, and Sima Hui in the Sangokushi series. He also performed the theme songs for the 1968 GeGeGe no Kitaro anime, for which he won a King Records Hit Award.

In addition to his work in anime, Kumakura was a prolific voice actor for dubbed foreign films and series, particularly for Disney. He was the regular Japanese voice for numerous Disney characters across many films, including Geppetto in Pinocchio, Mister Smee in Peter Pan, Doc in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Friend Owl in Bambi, and Tony in Lady and the Tramp. He also voiced characters in live-action dubs, such as Professor Marvel and the Wizard of Oz in The Wizard of Oz and Max in Hart to Hart.

Throughout his career, Kumakura balanced voice acting with stage work as a performer and director. His contributions to theater were recognized with the Kinokuniya theater award in 1998 and a special award from the Yomiuri Theatrical Grand Awards selection committee in 2011. Kazuo Kumakura passed away on October 12, 2015, at the age of 88.