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ER/NBC/1994+
**(Ming-Na Wen) Debbie “Deb” Chen, [a.k.a. Gin May Chen] emergency medical
intern at Chicago County General Hospital. Her character quit her job but .later
in the series returned during the 1999-2000 fall season as a third-year
resident. .Ming-Na Wen [later shortened to Ming-Na] was born in Macau, China.
Her family immigrated to New York City when she was four. and then moved to
Pittsburgh when she was nine. Her family still lives in Pittsburgh where they
operate a successful Chinese restaurant. Ming-Na was included on People
magazines list of the “50 Most Beautiful People.” See also - "The Single Guy"
EYE TO EYE WITH CONNIE CHUNG/CBS/1993-95
*(Connie Chung) Connie Chung, Chinese-American newscaster, journalist anchored
this hour of interviews and stories. Chung also appeared on SATURDAY NIGHT WITH
CONNIE CHUNG/CBS/1989-90; FACE TO FACE WITH CONNIE CHUNG/CBS/1990 and as
co-anchor of THE CBS EVENING NEWS from June 1, 1993 through mid-May 1995.
FALCON CREST/CBS/1981-90
**(Chao-Li Chi) Chao Li Chi, an elderly Chinese-American butler who cared for
the needs of the wealthy Angela Channing in a mansion located in the fictional
Tuscany Valley near San Francisco. Chao Li was on hand to help with the delivery
of Maggie Gioberti's baby boy during the 2/20/87 episode of this prime-time soap
opera.
FOREVER KNIGHT/CBS/SYN/1992-96
**(Natsuko Ohama) Captain Amanda Cohen, Asian-American police officer who
supervised homicide detectives on the nightshift of a Seattle police department.
Her character later died in a plane crash.
FRIENDS/NBC/1994-2004
**(Lauren Tom) Julie, the Chinese-American girlfriend of Ross Geller, a fellow
paleontologist. The Julie character was introduced in episode No. 24 "The One
Where Rachel Finds Out" as Russ returns from a seminar in China with a new
girlfriend (Julie) and is written out of the program in episode No. 34 "The One
With Russ" after Ross decides to continue his romantic liaison with his friend
Rachel Green.
FUTURAMA/FOX/1999-2003
**(Voice of Lauren Tom) Amy Wong, an Asian university engineering student
interning with Professor Hubert Farnsworth’s Planet Express Research &
Development Division. She has good fashion sense, likes to party, but is quite
superficial. When speaking, she mouths a fictional pseudo-Asian language that
blends elements of Japanese, Chinese and gibberish. (phrases like “ai ya” and
“Dame yaru n datta ne!”). Her parents, Leo and Inez Wong (of the Mars Wongs) are
ranchers on Mars. They donated a large sum of money to the University of Mars.
Consequently, the library is dubbed the Wong Library and the sorority is named
Kappa Kappa Wong. Amy's boyfriend is Lieutenant Kif Kroker of the Democratic
Order of Planets.
FUTURE COP/ABC/1977
**(Irene Tsu) Dr. Tingley, oriental robotics expert in charge of following the
progress of Officer Haven, a robot programmed to be the perfect cop.
THE GALLERY OF MME. LIU-TSONG/DUM/1951-52
*(Anna May Wong) Madame Liu Tsong, a beautiful Chinese proprietress of a number
of art galleries who got involved in all sorts of international intrigue on her
many business endeavors. Anna May Wong's real name was Wong Liu-Tsong.
GRACE UNDER FIRE/ABC/1993-98
**(Lauren Tom) Dot, a Chinese-American hairdresser friend of the series main
character Grace Kelly (a divorced, recovering alcoholic with 2.4 children)
introduced during the 1997-1998 season.
THE GREEN HORNET/ABC/1966-67
*(Bruce Lee/costar) Kato, a mild-mannered oriental houseboy by day and a
karate-chopping crime fighting avenger by night. The manservant of publisher
Britt Reid (alias the Green Hornet) Kato teamed with his employer to battle the
criminal underworld in a souped-up car called the "Black Beauty" (driven by
Kato). On the original “Green Hornet” radio series, Kato was a Filipino houseboy
of Japanese ancestry. This fact was revealed two years before the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor (according to John Dunning‘s Encyclopedia of Old Radio
Programs). Consequently (according to some sources) Kato’s Japanese heritage was
allegedly downplayed. during the war. Tokutaro Hayashi (later “renamed Raymond
Toyo by director James Jewell for professional reasons”). voiced the Kato
character on the radio. TRIVIA NOTE: Bruce Lee died in 1973 at the age of 33 but
not before becoming a cult figure in such movies as Enter the Dragon (1973).
Tragically, some twenty years later Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee (himself an
action film hero) died on the set of the movie The Crow (1993) when live ammo
from a prop handgun discharged, killing him instantly. In April of 1993 Brandon
Lee was buried next to his father in Seattle, Washington. That same year the
film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story debuted starring Jason Scott Lee in a
convincing biographical drama about the life of Bruce Lee. Eerily, the storyline
included a family curse wherein death stalked members of the Lee family. See
also - LONGSTREET
HARRY O/ABC/1974-76
**(Keye Luke) Dr. Fong, a Chinese-American amateur criminologist who
occasionally assisted Santa Monica based private detective, Harry Orwell.
HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL/CBS/1957-63
**(Kam Tong) Hey Boy, a cow-towing, efficient Chinese manservant employed at the
San Francisco Hotel Carlton who fetched newspaper, cigars and other items for
Paladin, a gentleman gunfighter living at the hotel. Also featured were Lisa Lu
as female hotel servant, Hey Girl (during the 1960-61 season); and W. Beal Wong
as Hey's Boy's uncle Sing Wo, owner of Sing Wo's Chinese Laundry (on one
episode).
HAWAII FIVE-O/CBS/1968-1980
**(Kam Fong) Detective Chin Ho Kelly, a Chinese immigrant who worked for the
special state police investigation unit called Hawaii Five-O. Chin Ho Kelly was
killed by mobsters on the final episode of the 1977-78 season. Also featured was
Che Fong, the Chinese forensic scientist who help Five-O with its
investigations. Che Fong was played by three different actors. Edward Tom in an
uncredited role in episode No. 5 "...And They Painted Daisies on His Coffin";
Daniel Kamekona on episode No. 29 "A Bullet for McGarrett"; and starting on
episode No. 38 "Blind Tiger," Harry Endo took over the role of Che Fong from
1970-77. Once when McGarett offered his insight on a case, Che Fong remarked
"Very good, and your not even Chinese."
HAYWIRE/FOX/1990-91
**(Billy Quon) Billy Quon, martial arts instructor who appeared in a weekly
etiquette spot "Mind your Manners with Billy Quon." on segments of this comedy
program.
HEAD OF THE CLASS/ABC/1986-91
**(Jonathan Ke Quan) Jasper Kwong, an Asian-American student attending the
Individual Honors Program at a New York City high school during the 1990-91
season.
HIGHCLIFFE MANOR/NBC/1979
**(Harold Sakata) Cheng, huge oriental servant in the service of Frances
Kiskadden, a mad scientist working on stolen corpses on an island off the coast
of Massachusetts.
HONG KONG/ABC/1960-61
**(Harold Fong) Fong (also given as Ahting), a Chinese houseboy employed by
American journalist based in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. Fong was
replaced by Ling (Gerald Jann) soon after the series began. Ching Mei later
joined the cast as Mai Tai Sing, hostess of the Golden Dragon Cafe.
IT AIN’T HALF HOT MUM/BBC/1974-81
**(Andy Ho) Arsin Chinese Chef working in the steamy jungles of Burma during
World War II.
JIGSAW JOHN/NBC/1976
**(James Hong) Frank Chen, a Chinese-American police officer working with Los
Angeles detective John St. John, a meticulous criminal investigator.
JUDGE DEE AND THE MONASTERY MURDER/TV-MOVIE/1974
*(Khigh Dhiegh) Judge Dee, a Chinese judge/detective who lived in 7th century
China. This was the first time a TV movie was produced with all Asian actors.
Cast included Mako, Soon-Taik Oh, Miiko Taka, Irene Tsu, James Hong, and Keye
Luke. The film was based on the novel Judge Dee at the Haunted Monastery by
Robert Van Gulick. See also KHAN
KAY O'BRIEN, SURGEON/CBS/LIF/1986-87
**(Keone Young) Dr. Michael Kwan, a Chinese-American physician working on the
surgical team at a large metropolitan hospital in Manhattan.
KENTUCKY JONES/NBC/1964-65
*(Ricky Der/costar) Dwight Eisenhower "Ike" Wong, a nine-year old Chinese orphan
adopted by Southern California veterinarian/rancher. Local Chinese neighbors
included Cherylene Lee as Annie Ng; Arthur Wong as Mr. Ng; and Keye Luke as
Thomas Wong.
KHAN/CBS/1975
*(Khigh Dhiegh) Khan, a San Francisco private detective based in Chinatown.
Other cast included Irene Yah-Ling Sun as Khan's criminologist daughter, Anna, a
biophysics student as San Francisco State; and Evan Kim as Kim Khan, Khan's son.
This series was the first to feature an all Asian-American cast in starring
roles. (Khigh Dheigh refused billing as the star of the series). Besides his
acting credits Khigh Dhiegh taught philosophy at UCLA and was once an owner of
Taoist sanctuary in Tempe, Arizona. His real name was allegedly Kenneth
Dickerson and. although he was well-known for playing Oriental villains, Dhiegh
was born in Spring Lake, New Jersey and was of Anglo-Egyptian Sudanese descent.
He died of a heart attack and liver failure ailments on October 25, 1991 at the
age of 81 in Chandler, Arizona. See also HAWAII FIVE-O.
KUNG FU/ABC/1972-75
*(David Carradine) Kwai Chang Caine, a half-American, half-Chinese orphan
adopted by a Shaolin monastery in the Hunan Province of China. Raised as a
Buddist Monk, Caine later fled China to American West of the 1880's when he
killed the Royal Nephew of the Chinese Emperor. The program utilized a number of
flashback scenes to Caines's life at the monastery where he interacted with a
variety of Chinese monks including: Keye Luke as the blind Master Po; and Philip
Ahn as Master Kan. Other cast included John Leoning as Master Teh; Stephen
Manley as Caine (age 6); and Radamas Pera as Caine (as teenager). The series was
followed by a CBS movie KUNG FU: THE MOVIE (2/1/86) with Caine fighting an evil
warlord played by Mako; and the spin-off TV pilot KUNG FU: THE NEXT
GENERATION/CBS/1987 (aired on SUMMER PLAYHOUSE) starring David Darlow as Kwai
Chang Caine, a modern-day descendent and his son Johnny played by Brandon Lee
the real son of Bruce Lee. Later in 1993, a first-run syndicated series revived
the show as KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES/SYN/1993-97 with David Carradine
playing Caine, the grandson of the original Kwai Chang Caine; Chris Potter as
Caine's son, Peter Caine, a police officer; Kim Chan as an elderly Shaolin
priest (a Shambala Master) called "The Ancient" who ran the local apothecary
shop in Chinatown; .Nathaniel Moreau as young Peter in flashbacks; and Ernest
Abuba as Tan, a former Shaolin monk and enemy of Peter's father.
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