Eccentric actor Amamoto Hideyo died of pneumonia in a hospital in his home town of Kitakyushu today. He was 77. Unusual in Japan, he is to have a catholic rather than buddhist funeral. Tall and thin, he was perennially cast as the bad guy, particularly in most of the films by director Okamoto Kihachi. A dropout from Tokyo University law school, he is most famous for the role of Mr. Death in the popular Kamen Rider superhero TV series. He had a passionate interest in Spain and would often talk for hours about the country and its poetry.