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'{{Short description|American actor, voice actor and director}} {{other people}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{BLP sources|date=October 2018}} {{Infobox person | name =James Hong | image = James Hong 2014.jpg | caption = Hong in 2014 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1929|2|22}} | birth_place = [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | occupation = Actor, voice actor, producer, director | alma_mater = [[University of Southern California]] | children = 1 | years_active = 1954–present | spouse = {{marriage|Pearl Huang<br />|1967|1973|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Susan Hong<br />|1977}} }} '''James Hong''' ({{zh|t=吳漢章|s=吴汉章|first=t|p=Wú Hànzhāng|j=Ng4 Hon3zoeng1}}; born February 22, 1929) is an [[United States|American]] actor, voice actor, producer, and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, playing a variety of East Asian roles. He became known to audiences through starring in the crime series ''[[The New Adventures of Charlie Chan]]'' (1957–1958), and through numerous appearances on the original ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'' (1968–1980). Hong is best known for his roles in various Hollywood films, such as ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]'' (1974), ''[[Airplane!]]'' (1980), Hannibal Chew in ''[[Blade Runner]]'' (1982), David Lo Pan in ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]'' (1986), Jeff Wong in ''[[Wayne's World 2]]'' (1993), Master Hong in ''[[Balls of Fury]]'' (2007), and Jerry Chen in ''[[R.I.P.D.]]'' (2013). Hong also famously guest starred on the sitcom ''[[Seinfeld]]'' as a [[maître d'hôtel]] in the episode "[[The Chinese Restaurant]]". As a voice actor, Hong voiced Chi-Fu in ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'' (1998), Daolon Wong on the animated television series ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' (2002–2004) and Mr. Ping in the ''[[Kung Fu Panda (franchise)|Kung Fu Panda]]'' media franchise, in addition to several video game roles including ''[[Sleeping Dogs (video game)|Sleeping Dogs]]'' and ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops II]]'' (both 2012). Hong also voiced several characters in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. With over 600 film and television credits, he is one of the most prolific English-speaking actors of all time.<ref name="tribute.ca">{{Cite web |url=https://www.tribute.ca/people/james-hong/19111/ |title=James Hong biography and filmography |website=Tribute.ca |language=en |access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/entertainment/james-hong-actor-movie-credits-trnd/index.html |title=He's probably been in more movies than any actor in history |last1=Gopal |first1=Trisha |last2=Turner |first2=Dominique |last3=Yim |first3=David |name-list-style=amp |website=CNN |language=en |date=2020-08-02 |access-date=2020-08-02}}</ref> He also helped establish the [[East West Players]], the longest continuously running theatre of color in the United States, to increase Asian American representation in the industry.<ref name="tribute.ca" /> == Early life == Hong was born in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], to Frank W. Hong and Lee Shui Fa. His father (Chinese name: Ng Fok Hong) emigrated from [[Hong Kong]] to [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], via [[Canada]], where he owned a restaurant. Hong's grandfather was from [[Taishan, Guangdong|Taishan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jameshongfilms.com/ |title=Official website |website=JamesHongFilms.com}}</ref> For his early education, Hong moved to [[Hong Kong]], where he lived in [[Kowloon]], before returning to the United States at the age of ten. He graduated from [[Central High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)|Minneapolis Central High School]]. He studied [[civil engineering]] at the [[University of Southern California]], where he concentrated the majority of his free time on moving plates and fixing templates for the drill squad. Hong later became interested in acting and trained with [[Jeff Corey]]. Hong was a road engineer in [[Los Angeles County]] for seven and a half years, acting during his vacations and sick days. He eventually quit engineering for good to devote himself to acting and voice work full-time.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} Hong served in the [[United States Army]] at [[Fort McClellan]] and [[Fort Rucker|Camp Rucker]] with the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]]. After finishing his training for the day, he would entertain soldiers during the [[Korean War]]; upon witnessing Hong's performing prowess, the camp general asked Hong to stay at Camp Rucker and be in charge of the camp's live shows rather than deploy overseas.<ref name="chinainsight">{{cite web |url=https://www.chinainsight.info/business-2016/93-abc/abc/374-home-from-hollywood-james-hongs-nostalgic-return-to-minnesota-v15-374.html |title=Home from Hollywood: James Hong's nostalgic return to Minnesota |last=Leung |first=Albert |date=November 4, 2009 |website=China Insight |access-date=October 2, 2016}}</ref> Hong reflected on this experience and how it may have saved his life: {{Quote|1=I don't know if I would have liked to go to war in Korea but let's admit it that with a G.I. cap and this face charging at the Korean army, the Koreans would try to kill me. But then if we were to retreat and I turned around and ran back the Americans would try to kill me too because they'd think I'm an enemy in disguise. I definitely think I would have been shot from one side and the other.<ref name=chinainsight />}} == Career == Hong has played over 600 television and film roles.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=James Hong |date=21 June 2019 |title=The Actor With 500 Credits and Counting |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5rzwead6lY |access-date=10 July 2019 |location=YouTube |publisher=Great Big Story}}<br />{{cite magazine |last=Wood |first=Drew |date=24 April 2014 |title=A Comic Con Q&A With James Hong |url=http://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/james-hong/ |magazine=Mpls St Paul |location=Minneapolis |publisher=MSP Communications, Inc. |access-date=10 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Voisin2014">{{cite book |first=Scott |last=Voisin |title=Character Kings 2: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=23JLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT79 |date=May 2014 |publisher=BearManor Media |pages=79–}}</ref> His career in show business began in the 1950s when he [[dubbing (filmmaking)|redubbed]] soundtracks of several [[List of Asian films|Asian films]]. He dubbed the voices of characters Ogata ([[Akira Takarada]]) and Dr. Serizawa ([[Akihiko Hirata]]) in the 1956 film ''[[Godzilla, King of the Monsters!]]'', as well as the title character in ''[[The Human Vapor]]''. In February 1954, Hong appeared on the radio and television game show [[You Bet Your Life]] with [[Groucho Marx]]. In this appearance, he did a number of impersonations including one of Groucho himself. Hong and his partner won $140 in the quiz. They contested the major prize of $2000 but did not win. In 1956, Hong was cast as Jimmy Ling in the episode "Red Tentacles" of the [[Western (genre)|Western]] aviation adventure series ''[[Sky King]]'', starring [[Kirby Grant]]. He also guest-starred in the [[NBC]] Western series ''[[The Californians (TV series)|The Californians]]''. In 1957–1958, he was cast as the "Number One Son", Barry Chan, in the British-American series ''[[The New Adventures of Charlie Chan]]'' starring [[J. Carrol Naish]] as Charlie Chan. The role of the Number One Son was played by [[Keye Luke]] in the predecessor films. However, Keye Luke's character was known as Lee Chan. In 1959, he appeared as a prince on an episode of [[Walt Disney]]'s [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series, ''[[Zorro (1957 TV series)|Zorro]]''. He was thereafter cast as Chung Lind in the 1960 episode "East of Danger" in the [[David Janssen]] NBC [[crime drama]] series ''[[Richard Diamond, Private Detective]]''. From 1960 to 1962, he appeared four times on the ABC/[[Warner Brothers]] crime drama ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'', twice each on the ABC series ''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'' and ''[[Adventures in Paradise (TV series)|Adventures in Paradise]]'', and once on ABC's related series, ''[[The Islanders (TV series)|The Islanders]]''. In 1962, he appeared on [[CBS]]'s ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' as Dean Chang in "The Case of the Weary Watchdog". On September 23, 1963, Hong hit the prime time slot playing spy Wen Lee in, "[[The Hundred Days of the Dragon]]", the second episode of ABC's "[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]" first season. That year Hong also played Louis Kew in "The Case of the Floating Stones". He also appeared three times on the [[NBC]] military [[sitcom]], ''[[Ensign O'Toole]]''. In 1964, he appeared in an episode of ''[[Kentucky Jones]]''. In 1965, Hong was one of the original founding members of the [[East West Players]], an early [[Asian American]] theatre organization. Also in 1966, he played the bar owner Mr. Shu in ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]''. Hong also appeared in several episodes of the original ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]''. Hong had a small part on a 1972 episode of CBS's ''[[The Bob Newhart Show]]''. He was a frequent guest star on the [[1970s in television|1972–1975 ABC television series]] ''[[Kung Fu (TV series)|Kung Fu]]'', joined the cast on the [[Switch (American TV series)#Season 3 (1977–1978)|final season]] of CBS's ''[[Switch (American TV series)|Switch]]'', as Wang, and also played a flight attendant in the original [[1979 in film|1979 film]] [[The In-Laws (1979 film)|''The In-Laws'']]. He appeared as a doctor accused of performing an illegal abortion in the [[Blake Edwards]] movie ''[[The Carey Treatment]]'' in 1972. He starred as a uniformed man in the [[List of comedy films of the 1980s|1980 comedy]] [[cult film]] ''[[Airplane!]]'' He has also directed such films as ''[[Teen Lust (1979 film)|Teen Lust]]''. [[File:JamesHongDanFoglerJuly07.jpg|thumb|right|Hong and [[Dan Fogler]] at the 2007 [[Comic-Con International]]]] Hong is perhaps most widely known as the immortal ghost sorcerer Lo Pan in [[John Carpenter]]'s cult classic ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]'' (1986), as the eye manufacturer Chew in ''[[Blade Runner]]'', as Evelyn Mulwray's loyal and vigilant butler in ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]'' and ''[[The Two Jakes]]'', and as the low-rent private eye in ''[[Black Widow (1987 film)|Black Widow]]''. He would then appear in the film ''[[The Vineyard (film)|The Vineyard]]'' (1989). Hong's first appearance as a host in a Chinese restaurant was in the movie ''[[Flower Drum Song]]''. Hong then appeared as a host in a Chinese restaurant in the 1975 ''[[All In the Family]]'' episode "Edith Breaks Out" as well as on the well-known ''[[Seinfeld]]'' episode "[[The Chinese Restaurant]]". Hong also played a similar role in [[The Big Bang Theory (season 1)#Episodes|several episodes]] of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' during its [[The Big Bang Theory (season 1)|first season]], as well as in the [[List of Alias episodes#Season 1: 2001–2002|"Color Blind" episode]] during the [[Alias (season 1)|first season]] of ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''. Hong portrayed Chow Ting, a dry cleaner with the power to wash sins and guilt from a person's conscience in the 1985 ''[[Tales from the Darkside]]'' episode "It All Comes Out in the Wash". Hong appeared as a villain in a season three episode of ''[[The X-Files]]''. He appeared in two episodes of ''[[The West Wing]]'' (Ep. 1.11; 3.15) as the [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] Ambassador to the United States. He also played Mr. Soo on ''[[The King of Queens]]'', an [[Asian cuisine|Asian restaurant]] owner again who rents [[Doug Heffernan]] and his friends a [[loft]] apartment above his store, in the episode "Apartment Complex" (2006). Additionally, Hong had guest-starred on ''[[Friends]]'', playing Hoshi, the former paid assassin and boxing coach for [[Monica Geller|Monica's]] boyfriend Pete (played by [[Jon Favreau]]) in the episode "[[The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion]]". Hong played Jeff Wong, Cassandra Wong's [[martial arts]] expert father in the comedy sequel ''[[Wayne's World 2]]'', and was featured as the head of the Scarred Foot society in the pilot for ''[[The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.]]'' (1993). In 1994, he, his wife Susan and daughter April appeared as a family riding mountain bikes beneath the Hollywood sign in the mountain-bike travel-adventure documentary, ''[[Full Cycle: A World Odyssey]]''. He had a small role in the [[independent film]] ''[[Broken Vessels]]'' (1998). He played the role of Mr. Takato in the movie ''[[Zoey 101: Chasing Zoey|Chasing Zoey]]'', the final episode of ''[[Zoey 101]]''. His character taught [[Michael Barret]] how to operate a manual transmission, and it was revealed at the end of the episode that he did not exist. Hong also [[voice acting|voiced]] the character [[Daolon Wong]], an evil wizard in the ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'' television series, and was the voice of [[List of Mulan characters#Chi-Fu|Chi Fu]] in [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'', ''[[A.N.T. Farm]]'', [[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!#Mandarin|Mandarin]] in ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]'', and [[Professor Chang (Teen Titans)#Enemies|Professor Chang]] in ''[[Teen Titans (animated series)|Teen Titans]]''. He made a [[cameo appearance]] on the television series ''[[Las Vegas (TV series)|Las Vegas]]'' as a presumed cheating [[monk]]. Hong also lent his voice to the [[Cartoon Network]] animation ''[[Chowder (TV series)|Chowder]]'' as [[Chowder (TV series)#Main characters|Mung Daal]]'s mentor in the "[[List of Chowder episodes#Season 2: 2008–2009|Won-Ton Bombs]]" episode. In 2006, Hong voiced the character Mayor Tong in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' in the second season's episode titled "Avatar Day" in addition to his previous role as Monk Tashi in the first-season episode "The Storm" in 2005. In 2006, he also voiced the character of the High Lama in the film ''[[Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!]]'' Hong's voice also appeared as Colonel Zhou Peng in the video game ''[[Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction]]'', Dr. Chang in ''[[Def Jam Icon]]'' (2007), Ancient Wu in ''[[True Crime: Streets of LA]]'', and reprising his role as Chew in the ''[[Blade Runner (1997 video game)|Blade Runner]]'' video game. His most recent appearances were in the films ''[[Balls of Fury]]'' and ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''. In 2008, he voiced [[List of Kung Fu Panda characters#Mr. Ping|Mr. Ping]] in ''[[Kung Fu Panda (film)|Kung Fu Panda]]'', the adoptive father of [[Po (Kung Fu Panda)|Po]] and was nominated for an [[Annie Award]] for his performance; he later reprised the role on ''[[Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special]]'' and won an [[Annie Award]] for Voice Acting in a Television Production. Furthermore, he and [[Lucy Liu]] have been collaborated in the feature film series and in the television series adaptation, ''[[Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness]]''. After the release of the third film he stated that he hoped to continue in the role, though due to his advanced age he wanted the filmmakers to start work on it quickly. In 2015, Hong voiced Azmorigan on ''[[Star Wars Rebels]]'' as well as the Sugi arms dealer Endente in an unfinished four-part story arc of ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)|Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]''; the rough animatics for the entire arc have been published on the official Star Wars website. He appeared in the film ''[[Safe (2012 film)|Safe]]'' (2012). He also provides the voices for the jeweler [[Non-player character|NPC]] Covetous Shen in ''[[Diablo III]]'', Master Bruised Paw in ''[[World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria]]'', Bucky (for two episodes) from the television series ''[[Archer (2009 TV series)|Archer]]'', and Uncle Po in ''[[Sleeping Dogs (video game)|Sleeping Dogs]]''. In 2013, he appeared as Ogisan, the gift shop keeper from the [[Incredible Crew]] sketch "Magical Video Game Controller" alongside [[Jeremy Shada]] and [[Shauna Case]]. He also appeared in the film ''[[R.I.P.D.]]'' (2013). Hong guest-starred in a 2015 episode of ''[[Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'' as the father of [[Melinda May]], played by [[Ming-Na Wen]], with whom he co-starred in ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]''. In 2018, it was announced that he was producing a feature screenplay about a grandfather and his estranged granddaughter who realize, through an unexpected adventure that pushes them into another world, that family relationships are the key to survival.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/james-hong-89-year-old-chinese-american-actor-interview-crazy-rich-asians-1202437858/ |title=James Hong, 89-Year-Old Chinese American Actor: "I Never Thought It Would Take This Long" |first1=Anita |last1=Busch |date=August 17, 2018 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> Later it was revealed that the film's title is ''[[Patsy Lee & the Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms]]'', directed by [[Zack Ward]], starring Michelle Fang.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8959084/ |title=Patsy Lee & The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms |website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref> Currently, James Hong is in production for [[A24 (company)|A24]] film ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/01/a24-reunites-dan-kwan-daniel-scheinert-agbo-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-swiss-army-man-1202838566/ |title=A24 Reunites With ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors; Finance & Distribute AGBO’s ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ |first1=Mike Jr. |last1=Fleming |date=January 23, 2020 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> There is an effort now underway to get Hong a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/08/daniel-dae-kim-james-hong-walk-of-fame-star-1234578962/ |title=Daniel Dae Kim Raises $55,000 to Help Get James Hong a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star |first=Zack |last=Sharf |date=August 10, 2020 |website=IndieWire}}</ref> == Personal life == [[File:Hong Family Mountain Biking Hollywood 1994-2.jpg|thumb|right|Hong with his wife and daughter in Hollywood, 1994]] Hong lives in [[Hollywood]], [[California]], with his wife Susan (née Tong) whom he married in 1977. They have a daughter, April (b. 1978). Hong is a Presbyterian Christian, and he attended the Westminister Presbyterian church with his family as a child in Minneapolis.<ref name="NNDB">{{cite web |url=https://www.nndb.com/people/667/000113328/ |title=James Hong |website=[[NNDB]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://millcitytimes.com/news/get-to-know-minneapolis-native-james-hong-in-town-for-comic.html |title=Get to know Minneapolis native James Hong, in town for Comic Con |date=April 28, 2014 |first=Rachel |last=Kahn |website=Mill City Times}}</ref> == Filmography == {{Main|James Hong filmography}} {{Clear}} == References == {{Reflist}} ===Sources=== *{{cite book |last=Pilato |first=Herbie J. |title=The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western |location=Boston |publisher=Charles A. Tuttle |date=1993 |isbn=0-8048-1826-6}} == External links == {{Commons category|James Hong (actor)|James Hong}} * {{Facebook|officialjameshong|James Hong}} * {{IMDb name|393222|James Hong}} {{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Biography|United States|Los Angeles|California|Film|Television}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, James}} [[Category:1929 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:American male video game actors]] [[Category:American male voice actors]] [[Category:American male actors of Chinese descent]] [[Category:American people of Chinese descent]] [[Category:American people of Hong Kong descent]] [[Category:Annie Award winners]] [[Category:Chinatown, Los Angeles]] [[Category:American people of Taishan descent]] [[Category:Male actors from Minneapolis]] [[Category:USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni]] [[Category:University of Minnesota alumni]] [[Category:Los Angeles County Department of Public Works]] [[Category:American Presbyterians]] [[Category:American civil engineers]] [[Category:Central High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota) alumni]]'