ADVENTURES IN
PARADISE/ABC/1959-62
*(Weaver Levy/costar) Oliver
Kee, Chinese-American seaman who plyed the
waters of the South Seas with Captain Adam Troy,
a schooner skipper. Sondi Sodsai (Miss Thailand
of 1960) and Lani Kai appeared as Sondi and
Kelly, two attractive young Tahitian women
featured during the 1960-62 season.
THE ADVENTURES OF FU MANCHU/SYN/1955-56
*(Glen Gordon) Dr. Fu Manchu,
an evil, oriental scientific genius operating
out of Macao whose nefarious goals included the
destruction of western democracy. Hot on his
heels was the determined Scotland Yard inspector
Sir Dennis Nayland-Smith. The series was based
on the character created by novelist Sax Rohmer
in the early 1900's.
ALLY MCBEAL/FOX/1997-2002
**(Lucy Liu) Ling ("soft L, soft G") Woo, a
Chinese-American no-holds-barred female lawyer
with long raven tresses who worked at the law
firm of Fish & Associates in the city of Boston.
Ling's icy cold character makes you hear the
"Dum-Dee-Dum-Dee-Dum-Dum" music that accompanied
the witch in the movie "The Wizard of Oz"
(1939). Ling was very quirky and sued God, the
Environment; and a woman for having real
breasts. She liked to suck fingers and give
"hair" during sex (dragging her long hair over
her partner's body to stimulate them). Lucy Lu
grew up in Queens, New York and spoke Chinese
until she went to school.
BACHELOR
FATHER/CBS/NBC/ABC/1957-62
**(Sammee Tong) Peter Tong,
outspoken Chinese houseboy who cared for the
household of Hollywood attorney, Bentley Gregg.
Peter's relatives included Victor Sen Yung (of
BONANZA fame) as cousin, Charlie Fong (earlier
called Charlie Ling); and Beal Wong as Grandpa
Ling "a 70-year-old juvenile delinquent" who
limited English vocabulary included the words
"Hello, Joe" and "Nice."
BONANZA/NBC/1959-73
**(Victor Sen Yung) Hop Sing,
a hot-tempered Chinese cook who worked for the
Cartwright family on the Ponderosa ranch near
Virginia City, Nevada in the late 1800's. Hop
Sing was fond of reminding his employers "You
listen Hop Sing. Hop Sing 'A' number one cook.
Will cook whatever you like." Victor Sen Yung
also appeared as Asian cousin Charlie during the
1961-62 season of BACHELOR
FATHER/NBC/CBS/ABC /1959-62
BURKE'S LAW/ABC/1963-66
**(Leon Lontoc) Henry,
oriental manservant and chauffeur for Los
Angeles millionaire police detective, Captain
Amos Burke. Henry often drove his employer to
the scene of a crime in a Rolls Royce.
CHASE/NBC/1973-74
**(Brian Fong) Officer Fred
Sing, Chinese-American policeman and expert
motorcycle rider working for a special unit of
the Los Angeles Police Department.
CLAUDE'S CRIB/USA/1997
**(James Wong) Des, a happy
go-lucky Asian-American living in an apartment
owned by a free-wheeling African-American guy
who rents out rooms to make ends meet. James
Wong is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated
from Carnegie-Mellon University with an
engineering degree, pursued acting and comedy
and is proficient in the martial arts (Kenpo
Karate, Judo, Aikido, Chinese Wu Shu and
Japanese Sword) as well in the musical arts.
CRAZY LIKE A FOX/CBS/1984-86
**(Lydia Lei & Patricia Ayame
Thomson) Allison Ling, Chinese-American
secretary of Harrison K. Fox, a San
Francisco-based attorney whose father Harry Fox
frequently burst in on Allison and interrupted
her while working on legal matters
DIANA/NBC/1973-74
**(Liam Dunn) Smitty, an
Oriental-American bellboy who worked at the
Manhattan apartment building of Ms. Diana Smythe,
an English divorcee new to New York City.
DING HOWE AND THE FLYING
TIGERS/SYN/1950
**(Richard Loo) Hu Fang, the
evil leader of the Hill bandits who teamed with
a group of renegade pilots (The Flame Dragons).
Hu Fang's plans to conquer a region called
Kunsang in China were thwarted by American
pilots known as the Flying Tigers. Other cast
included Ding Howe ("Good Friend" in Chinese) a
U.S. pilot born in China who returned from
America to fight Hu Fang and his minions; Rob
Lee as Wing Lee, a Chinese mechanic working for
the Flying Tigers; Victor Sen Yung, as General
Ching, a Chinese leader who battled Hu Fang; and
Spencer Chan as Lum Chow, the proprietor of the
Gentle Dragon bar.
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.”
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+
**(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 Ross 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/1998+
**(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 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.
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."
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.
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 Caine'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.
LONGSTREET/ABC/1971-72
**(Bruce Lee) Li Tsung, an
oriental self-defense instructor who taught
martial arts to Mike Longstreet, a blind
insurance investigator.
MAJOR DEL CONWAY OF THE
FLYING TIGERS/SYN/1953
**(Warren Nsien) Joe Suie, an oriental pilot who
belonged to the Flying Tigers, a group of
volunteer American pilots stationed in China to
battle the attacking Japanese Zeros aircraft.
The back of Joe's jacket as all the Flying
Tigers displayed the image of the Chinese flag.
Each of the Flying Tigers received $500 each for
every Aero they downed. On February 22, 1999, the
PBS ninety minute documentary "Fei-Hu: The Story
of the Flying Tigers" examined the history of
AVG flight group. The Chinese words "Fei-Hu"
translates "Shark's Teeth."
THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE
GILLIS/CBS/1959-63
**(James Yagi/Johnny Lee)
Charlie Wong, a Chinese-American businessman and
owner of "Charlie Wong's Ice Cream Parlor," an
after school hangout of Dobie Gillis and his
teenage friends from Central High School. The
shop sold "31 Celestial Flabors."
MARTIAL LAW/CBS/1998-2000
*(Sammo Hung Kam-Bo) Captain
Sammo Law, the best policeman in China, chases a
master criminal from Shanghai to Los Angeles and
ends up joining the LAPD. Sammo doesn't carry a
gun but his formidable barrel-chest and his
martial arts skills helps to get him out of
troubles. According to the grapevine it took
seven cops to replace Sammo when he left China
(two of which had to retire from exhaustion).
Sammo Hung was born in Hong Kong, the oldest of
four children. With a 220-pound, 5-foot-7 frame,
Hung looks "like Dennis Franz and moves like
Bruce Lee." Also featured was Kelly Hu as Grace
Chen (Pei Pei), a streetwise martial arts
trained police detective. See also NASH BRIDGES
MIDNIGHT CALLER/NBC/1988-91
*(Dennis Dun/costar) Billy
Po, radio producer/engineer of Chinese descent
working at a late night radio talk show
broadcast in San Francisco. Billy Po was an
intelligent Asian with none of the stereotypical
trappings (e.g. funny accent).
MR. GARLUND/CBS/1960-61
*(Philip Ahn/costar) Po
Chang, a wealthy Chinese gentleman who raised
Caucasian, Frank Garlund, now a successful
international business tycoon. Kam Tong played
Kam Chang, his foster brother who owned a pawn
shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. The title of
series later changed to THE GARLUND TOUCH.
MR.
MAGOO/SYN/1960-62/NBC/1964-65/CBS/1977-79
**(Cartoon Character)
Charlie, an oriental houseboy who worked for the
near-sighted senior citizen, Mr. Magoo (or as
Charlie would say "Mr. Maglue"). His character
was a stereotype with the long braided pony-tail
and large beaver-toothed smile.
MORTAL COMBAT/SYN/1998-99
(Jeff Meek as Raven) Kung
Lao, a humble exiled Chinese warrior monk who
fought to save the Earth realm from the evil
minions of the dark realm call Outworld. Other
cast included as Shang Tsung, an evil banished
underworld Lord serving the Emperor Shou Khan.
Jeff Meek as Raven, god of thunder, protector of
the Earth realm; Siro and a thief Taja.
THE MYSTERY FILES OF SHELBY
WOO/NIK/1996-98
*(Irene Ng) Shelby Woo, a
16-year old Asian-American heroine who lives
with her grandfather, Mike Woo, a former cop
(Pat Morita) and works as a desk clerk after
school at the local police station, where she
finds ways to get involved in investigations.
During the 1998-99 season Shelby moves with her
grandpa from Cocoa Beach, Florida to a Boston
suburb on the series' fourth season opener. In
1989, Irene Ng (pronounced Ung) moved from
Malaysia to Allentown, Pa. where her father
managed a Chinese restaurant. Additional credits
included a four month role on the ABC soap ALL
MY CHILDREN and later the motion pictures "The
Joy Luck Club" and "Heaven & Earth."
MYSTERIES OF
CHINATOWN/ABC/1949-50
*(Marvin Miller) Dr Yat Fu, a
Chinese-American merchant and amateur
criminologist who owned a herb & curio shop in
San Francisco's Chinatown. Marvin Miller was a
Caucasian actor. Also featured was Gloria
Sanders as Ah Toy, Yat's beautiful niece and
shop assistant who occasionally helped him solve
crimes.
NASH BRIDGES/CBS/1996-2001
*(Kelly Hu/costar) Michelle
Chan, a streetwise Chinese-American police
detective (1996-98 season) who assisted white
police detective Nash Bridges and his
Mexican-American partner at the Special
Investigators Unit in San Francisco. Before she
began her career as an actress, Kelly Hu was the
1985 Miss Teen USA and later represented her
native state of Hawaii in the Miss USA Pageant.
Hu has a brown belt in karate, having been
introduced to martial arts as a young girl by
her brother, a captain in the U.S. Army. She was
born in Honolulu of Chinese, Hawaiian and
English ancestry.
NASTY BOYS/NBC/1990
*(James Pax/costar) Jimmy Kee,
an Asian-American member of a five man team of
Las Vegas narcotic officers known as the Nasty
Boys. James Pax's (his real name was Jimmy Kee)
was a native of Hong Kong, a graduate of the New
York University Business School and a former
movie star in Asia.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF CHARLIE
CHAN/SYN/1957
*(J. Carrol Naish) Charlie
Chan, Chinese detective whose patient, deductive
reasoning always cracked the case. Oriental
actor James Hong starred as Chan's "Number one"
son, Barry. J.Carrol Naish (an Irish actor) was
one of a long line of non-Chinese actors to
portray this oriental sleuth, including Warner
Oland, Sydney Toler, and Roland Winters. The
character of Charlie Chan was created by Earl
Derr Biggers and inspired by the real Honolulu
detective, Chang Apana.
ONE WORLD/NBC/1999+
**(Michelle Krusiec) Sui,
Asian-American girl adopted into a multi-racial
family supervised by Caucasian Dave Blake and
his wife, Karen. She is always looking for fun.,
whether it’s competing in soccer tournaments or
just shopping at the mall with her friends.
Michelle Krusiec was born in Fallon, Nevada,
speaks Mandarin Chinese and frequently traveled
to Taiwan to visit family.
PLAYERS/NBC/1997-98
*(Mia Korf/costar) Asian
female ex-con recruited by FBI experimental
undercover unit that employed streetwise felons
to bring down criminals.
RENEGADES/ABC/1983
**(Brian Tochi) Dragon, tough
Asian gang leader (Shanghai Shieks Gang) who
teamed with six other street gang leaders (under
the supervision of a big city cop) to form a
group of crime fighting youths. Peter Kwong
played the role of Dragon in the 1982 Made-for
TV movie that inspired the series.
RELIC HUNTERS/SYN/1999+
*(Tia Carrere) Sydney Fox, an
unorthodox History Professor of Asian descent
working for Trinity College on the East Coast.
Sydney moonlights as an explorer, crisscrossing
the globe in pursuit of fabled lost treasures
and rare stolen artifacts. She is skilled in the
martial arts and in high demand by a variety of
employers: secret government agencies, private
collectors, museum curators, etc. Sydney's
father was a civil engineer, designing and
building bridges, roads and structures the world
over. He met his wife, a beautiful Asian woman,
while working in the Far East, The family stayed
in the East for a few years, but after Sydney’s
mother died, she traveled with her father and
thus became familiar with different cultures and
languages.
SANFORD AND SON/NBC/1972-77
**(Noriyuki Pat Morita) Ah
Chew, Asian-American neighbor of a black Watts
junk dealer, who was introduced during the
1974-74 season. Morita also appeared on the
sitcom HAPPY DAYS/ABC/1974-84 as the Arnold
(Matsuo Takahashi), the owner of a Milwaukee
drive-in restaurant called Arnold's.
SEAQUEST DSV/NBC/1993-95
**(Dustin Nguyen) Chief
William Shan, naval officer onboard the
submarine SeaQuest that roamed the oceans of the
near future. Shan’s character appeared in
episodes 19-22 during the 1993-94 season.
THE SINGLE GUY/NBC/1995-97
*(Ming-Na Wen/costar) Trudy
Sloane, Asian-American woman who worked for a
New York art gallery and was married to Sam
Sloane, a sound recording engineer. Ming-Na Wen
was born in Macau, China and raised in the
Pennsylvanian town of Mount Lebanon, a suburb of
Pittsburgh.
SPACE: ABOVE AND
BEYOND/FOX/1995-96
*(Joel de la Fuente/costar)
Lt. Paul Wang, an Asian soldier part of a
squadron of United States Marine space warriors
sent into space to battle an unknown enemy
attacking the planet Earth in the year 2063 A.D.
Joel de la Fuente is actually Filipino.
STAR TREK: VOYAGER/UPN/1995-2001
**(Garrett Wang) Ensign Harry
Kim, Starfleet communication officer of
Asian-American descent who served aboard
Voyager, a starship marooned on the far side of
the galaxy. Garrett Wang (whose last name is
pronounced “Wong.”) graduated high school from
Harding Academy in Memphis, TN and studied at
UCLA.
STRANGE WORLD/ABC/1999
**(Vivian Wu) Shadowy Asian
woman who doled out doses of a mystery drug that
kept former army scientist (afflicted with a
deadly Gulf War syndrome) alive so he could do
her bidding by investigating and exposing
criminal abuses of science.
TEECH/CBS/1991
**(Maggie Han) Cassie Lee, a
sexy Asian-American assistant headmaster of an
exclusive all-white boarding school for boys.
One night when she entered the boy's dorm
wearing a provocative outfit, she said "I love
the sound of expanding khaki in the evening."
TERRY AND THE PIRATES/DUM/1952-53
**(Gloria Saunders) Lai Choi
San, aka "The Dragon Lady," an evil Eurasian
female who was often at odds with American
aviators who had come to the orient in search of
a lost gold mine.
TRACY GOES ON/HBO/1996+
*(Tracy Ullman) Mrs. Noh Nang
Ning, Asian donut shop owner, who relates
everything to the donut; and one of many
characters created by white British comedian and
impressionist Tracy Ullman.
TWIN PEAKS/ABC/1990-91
**(Joan Chen) Jocelyn "Josie"
Packard, the widow of Andrew Packard, an
American lumberman who left his sawmill to his
newly married Chinese wife. Described as "one of
the most beautiful women in the state," Josie
was considered an outsider by most, but found
support and love in the arms of the local
sheriff. Joan Chen was born in Shanghai. Her
part was originally written to be an Italian.
VANISHING SON/SYN/1995-96
*(Russell Wong) Jian Wa
Chang, a Chinese musician (a violinist) and
martial arts experts who is falsely accused of
killing two federal agents. He spends the
majority of the series escaping the clutches of
agents from the United States Immigration and
Naturalization Service and the Asian Crime Task
Force while trying to prove his innocence. The
show's opening narration intoned "Running from
oppression, yearning for freedom, he came to
America. But when he is falsely accused of
murder, he must run again searching for the
truth...the hunter and the hunted." The series
was based on the 1994 syndicated made-for-TV
movie of the same name.
V.I.P./SYN/1998+
**(Dustin Nguyen) Johnny
Loh, Asian stuntman/actor who escaped from the
Hong Kong mob to America. On occasion, he
assists the Los Angeles-based security
professionals at Vallery Irons Protection.
WHAT A COUNTRY!/SYN/1986-87
**(Leila Hee Olsen) Yung Hi,
a shy Chinese immigrant female who attended
night school in Los Angeles with a number of
other foreigners studying for their citizenship.
Translated, her name meant: "Petal of wild
flower blossoming in sun, then wither and die
and gone forever."
