Benson Fong (; October 10, 1916 – August 1, 1987) was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. Born in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, California, Fong was from a mercantile family of Chinese extraction. After graduating from high school in Sacramento, he studied briefly in China before returning to Sacramento and opening a grocery store with a cousin.

Career

Fong's acting career resulted from a chance meeting with a Hollywood talent scout. In 1943, while having dinner with some friends in Sacramento, he was approached by a man from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, who asked if he would like to be in a movie. Fong ended up with a role in a film called ''China'' starring

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

and

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...

. He was also offered a 10-week contract for $250 a week. "It looked like a tremendous fortune and I accepted quickly, afraid they might think twice and back out," he told an interviewer. "I couldn't read lines too well, but World War II was under way and all the studios were looking for actors with Oriental features. I bicycled around from one set to another, playing a Japanese here, a Filipino there, a Chinese on still other days." The next year, he played one of the sons in ''

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service ''Charlie Chan in the Secret Service'' is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is the first film made by Monogram Pictures after the series was dropped by 20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly ...

''. Other films in which he appeared included ''

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, Ame ...

'', ''

The Keys of the Kingdom ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' is a 1941 in literature, 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin. Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission (Christian), ...

'', '' His Majesty O'Keefe'', ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'', ''

Our Man Flint ''Our Man Flint'' is a 1966 American spy-fi comedy film that parodies the ''James Bond'' film series. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr (from a story by Hal Fimberg), and starred James Coburn as maste ...

'', and ''

The Strongest Man in the World ''The Strongest Man in the World'' is a 1975 American science fiction comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn (in his first of two posthumous roles) and Eve Arden. It ...

''. First appearing onscreen in ''

Charlie Chan at the Opera ''Charlie Chan at the Opera'' is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the presence of Boris Karloff as the principal suspect, as well as faux operatic music composed by Oscar Levant. This is the 13th f ...

'' as an extra, he returned to the series and is best remembered playing Number Three Son "Tommy Chan" opposite

Sidney Toler Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second non-Asian actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal ...

in six ''

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...

'' movies between 1944 and 1946, replacing

Victor Sen Yung Victor Sen Yung (born Victor Cheung Young or Sen Yew Cheung; ; October 18, 1915 – body discovered November 9, 1980) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the western seri ...

's Number Two Son, Jimmy. His later career as an actor included numerous TV appearances in both series and movies. Fong made four guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'', seven on ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' as Ray Wong, and four on ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

''. Additionally, he played The Old One in the 1986 TV movie '' Kung Fu:The Movie''. He played Mr. Tang Wu in Disney's ''

The Love Bug ''The Love Bug'' (also known as Herbie the Love Bug) is a 1968 American sports film, sports adventure film, adventure comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson (director), Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh (producer), Bill Walsh a ...

''. Actress

Michele Lee Michele Lee (born June 24, 1942) is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera ''Knots Landing'', for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy A ...

later said that the 52-year-old actor had to have his jet-black hair sprayed bright white to make him look older.DVD commentary, ''The Love Bug'', 2003 Later in life, Fong became a successful restaurateur and opened several Ah Fong (亞方) restaurants in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His chain of five restaurants, which he built up over a 30-year period, resulted from a casual remark made by actor

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

. After appearing together in ''The Keys of the Kingdom'', Fong recalled, Peck suggested they start a restaurant together. "The idea appealed to me," Fong said. By that time, he was dating his future wife Gloria. Wanting to have a predictable income instead of becoming one more struggling actor, he decided the restaurant would have to be done with his own capital, so he began saving. Two years later, he had $11,000, and in 1946, opened his first Ah Fong's on Hollywood's Vine Street. By 1971, four others had opened. The Ah in the Ah Fong's name is a term of respect in Chinese, but Fong thought up the name while looking at the wrapper of an "Oh Henry!" candy bar. Retiring from the business in 1985, only the Hollywood Ah Fong's remained, owned by a relative, at the time of his death. An avid golfer and frequent traveler to Asia, Fong practiced meditation and once described himself as "a split personality – half a pound Oriental and eight ounces Yankee". He stated in one interview that he summed up his life this way: "Whatever I am, spiritually speaking, is what I've wanted to be, nothing more and nothing less. Call me a happy man and you call me by my rightful name."

Personal life and death

Fong was married to the actress Maylia Fong, with whom he had five children. He died of a stroke in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, in 1987.

Filmography

*''

'' (1936) .... Opera Supernumerary (uncredited) *''

The Fighting Devil Dogs ''The Fighting Devil Dogs'' (1938) is a 12-chapter Republic Pictures, Republic Serial (film), movie serial starring Lee Powell (actor), Lee Powell and Herman Brix, the latter better known by his later stage name, Bruce Bennett. It was directed by ...

'' (1938, Serial) .... Gehorda outlaw (Ch. 9 Attack from the Skies) (uncredited) *''

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

'' (1943) .... Guerilla (uncredited) *'' Behind the Rising Sun'' (1943) .... Japanese Officer with message (uncredited) *''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

'' (1943) Japanese sonar operator (uncredited) *'' Destination Tokyo'' (1943) .... Japanese (uncredited) *''

'' (1944) .... Tommy Chan *'' Up in Arms'' (1944) .... Japanese sentry (uncredited) *'' The Purple Heart'' (1944) .... Moy Ling (uncredited) *'' Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat'' (1944) .... Tommy Chan *'' Dragon Seed'' (1944) .... Student (uncredited) *''

'' (1944) .... Young Dr. Chung *''

'' (1944) .... Joseph *'' China Sky'' (1945) .... Chung *'' The Scarlet Clue'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan *''

Back to Bataan ''Back to Bataan'' is a 1945 American black-and-white World War II war film drama from RKO Radio Pictures, produced by Robert Fellows, directed by Edward Dmytryk, that stars John Wayne and Anthony Quinn. The film depicts events (some fictionalize ...

'' (1945) .... Officer making broadcast (uncredited) *''

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highe ...

'' (1945) .... Chinese servant (uncredited) *''

Secret Agent X-9 ''Secret Agent X-9'' is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett ('' The Maltese Falcon'') and artist Alex Raymond ('' Flash Gordon''). Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934, until February 10, 1996. Premise and ...

'' (1945 serial) .... Dr. Hakahima *'' The Shanghai Cobra'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan *'' First Yank Into Tokyo'' (1945) .... Capt. Tanahe *''

The Red Dragon Red Dragon may refer to: Entertainment * ''The Red Dragon'' (magazine), a Welsh historical and literary magazine published 1882–1887 * ''Red Dragon'' (novel), a 1981 book by Thomas Harris ** ''Manhunter'' (film), a 1986 film directed by Micha ...

'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan *'' Dark Alibi'' (1946) .... Tommy Chan *''

Deception Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Tort of ...

'' (1946) .... Jimmy – Hollenius' servant *''

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

'' (1947) .... Young Chinese clerk *'' Women in the Night'' (1948) .... Chang *''

Hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

'' (1948) .... Houseboy (uncredited) *'' Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture'' (1949) .... Ah Hing – Wong's salesclerk (uncredited) *'' Chinatown at Midnight'' (1949) .... Joe Wing *'' Three Husbands'' (1951) .... George the butler (uncredited) *'' Korea Patrol'' (1951) .... Kim – South Korean scout *'' Peking Express'' (1951) .... Wong *''

Katie Did It ''Katie Did It'' is a 1951 American romantic comedy film directed by Frederick De Cordova and starring Ann Blyth, Mark Stevens and Cecil Kellaway.Stephens p.63 A small town girl falls in love with a big city artist, but mistakenly believes he ...

'' (1951) .... Lahoo (uncredited) *'' Submarine Command'' (1952) .... Major Kim (uncredited) *''

Back at the Front ''Back at the Front'' (titled ''Willie and Joe in Tokyo'' in the UK) is a 1952 American comedy film directed by George Sherman and starring Tom Ewell, Harvey Lembeck and Mari Blanchard, very loosely based on the characters ''Willie and Joe'' by ...

'' (1952) .... Rickshaw boy *'' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) .... Mr. Chou *'' Dragonfly Squadron'' (1954) .... Capt. Liehtse *'' The Left Hand of God'' (1955) .... Chun Tien (husband of dying woman) *'' Conquest of Space'' (1955) .... Imoto *'' The Scarlet Hour'' (1956)....Benson (uncredited) *'' Five Gates to Hell'' (1959) .... Gung Sa *''

Walk Like a Dragon ''Walk Like a Dragon'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by James Clavell, written by James Clavell and Daniel Mainwaring, and starring Jack Lord, Nobu McCarthy, James Shigeta, Mel Tormé, Josephine Hutchinson, Rodolfo Acosta and Be ...

'' (1960) .... Wu *''

'' (1961) .... Wang Chi-Yang *''

Girls! Girls! Girls! ''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' is a 1962 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaii-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. " Return to Sender", which reached No. 2 on the '' Bi ...

'' (1962) .... Kin Yung *''

'' (1966) .... Dr. Schneider *''

'' (1968) .... Mr. Tang Wu *'' Charley Varrick'' (1973) .... Honest John *'' A Time for Love'' (1974) *'' He Is My Brother'' (1975) .... Kiko *''

'' (1975) .... Ah Fong *'' Oliver's Story'' (1978) .... John Hsiang *'' S.O.B.'' (1981) .... Chef *'' Jinxed!'' (1982) .... Dr. Wing

Television

*''

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...

'' – "The Bachelor of Grandby Oaks", 1954 .... Alexander *'' Navy Log'' – "Operation Typewriter", 1956 .... Colonel Huam *'' Crossroads'' – "The Inner Light", 1956 .... Po Ling *''Crusader'' – "Pressure", 1956 .... Dr. Chen *''

'' – Gow Loong in "The Case of the Empty Tin", 1958; James Hing in "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat", 1959; Itsubi Nogata in "The Case of the Blushing Pearls", 1959; Oolong Kim in "The Case of the Waylaid Wolf", 1961 *''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'' – "Sam Kee and Uncle Sam", 1959 .... Sam Kee *'' The Islanders'' – "The Generous Politician", 1960 .... O'Hara *'' Have Gun - Will Travel'' – "The Hatchet Man", 1960 .... Det. Joe Tsin *''

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

'' – "With Deadly Sorrow", 1961.... Lee-Po *''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' – uncredited in "Day of the Dragon", 1961; Na Shan in "A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay", 1964 *'' The Beachcomber'' – "The Brooch", 1962 .... Ah Ling *'' Bachelor Father'' – "The Twain Shall Meet", 1962 .... Mr. Chang *''

'' – seven episodes, 1963–1969 .... Ray Wong *''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member ...

'' – "No More, Cried the Rooster-There Will be Truth", 1965 .... Mr. Lee *''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

'' – "The Night the Dragon Screamed", 1966 .... Mo Ti *'' The FBI'' – "The Hiding Place", 1966 .... Dr. Leonard Shigetsu *'' Dundee and the Culhane'' – "The Vasquez Brief", 1967 *'' I Spy'' – "An American Empress", 1967 .... Cheng *''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

'' – Paul Chang in "The Great Kow-Tow", 1968; Eng Ho in "Number One Boy", 1969; and "Eastward Ho", 1970 *'' It Takes a Thief'' – "Mad in Japan", 1969 .... Dr. Takita *'' Mission: Impossible'' – "Butterfly", 1970 .... Inspector Akita *'' Travis Logan, D.A.'' 1971, TV movie .... Alfred Ling *''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'' – "Sam's Witchcraft Blows a Fuse", 1972 .... Mr. Fong *'' The Smith Family'' – "San Francisco Cop", 1972 .... Frank Low *''

'' – Han Fei in "Pilot", 1972; Soong in "Blood Brother", 1973; Sorcerer Liu in "The Brujo", 1973; Li Yu in "The Vanishing Image", 1974 *'' Ironside'' – "Terror on Grant Avenue", 1974 .... Henry Wing *'' Police Story'' – "Year of the Dragon Parts I & II", 1975 .... William Liu *''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broad ...

'' – "Forbidden City", 1976 .... Soong Kee *''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' – "The Chinese Web Parts I & II", 1979 .... Min Lo Chan *''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

'' – 1982, TV movie .... Clifford Wu *'' TJ Hooker'' – "Chinatown", 1983 .... Lee Chan *'' The Glitter Dome'' – 1984,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

movie .... Wing *''

Crazy Like a Fox Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

'' – "Year of the Fox", 1985 .... Harry Woo *'' Kung Fu:The Movie'' – 1986, TV movie .... The Old One (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Benson 1916 births 1987 deaths American restaurateurs Male actors from Sacramento, California American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors American male actors of Chinese descent 20th-century American businesspeople