Luke Chan was a Canadian character actor and designer who worked in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. He was also a prominent figure in the development of Los Angeles's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

neighborhood.

Biography

Chan was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada, to parents of Chinese origin. His father, Chan Yu Tan, was a minister and his mother was a doctor. Chan graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and later married Mary Alice Van Vleet in 1936; she died several years later. He was known for his intellectual manner, and he struck up an enduring friendship with actress

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine von Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood, California, Hollywood films of the 1920s and 19 ...

. Like a lot of Chinese actors during this period, he often played Japanese roles. Chan opened the Chinese Junk Cafe in Los Angeles's Chinatown in the late 1930s. He and fellow actor Johnson Sing spent time designing a large replica of a Chinese pirate ship that adorned the restaurant at 733 N. Main St. (The building later burned down in a fire.) Chan also served as president of the neighborhood's China City Merchants' Association and as Chinatown's unofficial mayor, and helped design the look of the area.

Selected filmography

* ''

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

'' (1948) * ''

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

'' (1947) * '' Ladies' Man'' (1947) * ''

The Show-Off ''The Show-Off'' is a 1924 stage play by George Kelly about a working-class North Philadelphian family's reluctance to accept their daughter's suitor Aubrey Piper, an overly confident Socialist buffoon. The play has been revived five times on B ...

'' (1946) * ''

The Well Groomed Bride ''The Well Groomed Bride'' is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Olivia de Havilland, Ray Milland, and Sonny Tufts. Written by Claude Binyon and Robert Russell, the film is about a man and a woman who ...

'' (1946) * ''

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) * '' God Is My Co-Pilot'' (1945) * ''

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 ...

'' (1944) * '' Dragon Seed'' (1944) * '' The Chinese Cat'' (1944) * ''

The Story of Dr. Wassell ''The Story of Dr. Wassell'' is a 1944 American World War II film set in the Dutch East Indies, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso and Dennis O'Keefe. The film was based on a book of the same name by ...

'' (1944) * '' The Purple Heart'' (1944) * ''

The Man from Down Under ''The Man from Down Under'' is an American 1943 drama film starring Charles Laughton as an Australian man who raises two war orphans. Plot After the end of World War I, Australian soldier Jocko Wilson (Charles Laughton) admires the spirit of a d ...

'' (1943) * '' Behind the Rising Sun'' (1943) * ''

Night Plane from Chungking ''Night Plane from Chungking'' (also known as ''China Pass'' and ''Sky Over China'') is a 1943 American war film released by Paramount Pictures, directed by Ralph Murphy, and produced by Michael Kraike and Walter MacEwen from a screenplay by Le ...

'' (1943) * ''

Mission to Moscow Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada * Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

'' (1943) * ''

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ended April 1, 1973. After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was create ...

'' (1943) * '' Destination Unknown'' (1942) * ''

Somewhere I'll Find You ''Somewhere I'll Find You'' is a 1942 film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner, released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The film took almost two years to complete and was the last film Gable starred in before he enlisted ...

'' (1942) * ''

Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...

'' (1942) * ''

Submarine Raider '' Submarine Raider'' is a 1942 American war film directed by Lew Landers and starring John Howard. Plot A Japanese aircraft carrier is heading to Hawaii, it sinks a civilian yacht. An American submarine receives their distress call. Three of the ...

'' (1942) * ''

Remember Pearl Harbor Remember Pearl Harbor may refer to: *Remember Pearl Harbor (slogan), American popular saying coined after December 7, 1941, attack * "Remember Pearl Harbor" (song), American patriotic march by Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; M ...

'' (1942) * ''

A Yank on the Burma Road ''A Yank on the Burma Road'' is a 1942 drama film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Laraine Day, Barry Nelson and Keye Luke. It is also known as ''China Caravan'' and ''Yanks on the Burma Road''. It was produced as part of a cluster of ...

'' (1942) * ''

They Met in Bombay ''They Met in Bombay '' is a 1941 American adventure drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Peter Lorre.''Variety'' film review; June 25, 1941, page 16.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; July 5, 1941 ...

'' (1941) * ''

The Real Glory ''The Real Glory'' is a 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Productions adventure film starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds and Broderick Crawford released by United Artists in the weeks immediately following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Based ...

'' (1939) * '' Too Hot to Handle'' (1938) * ''

West of Shanghai ''West of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American adventure film directed by John Farrow and starring Boris Karloff as a Chinese warlord. It is based on the 1920 Porter Emerson Browne play '' The Bad Man''. Three other films, all titled ''The Bad Man'', ...

'' (1937) * '' Roaming Lady'' (1936) * ''

Charlie Chan in Shanghai ''Charlie Chan in Shanghai'' is the ninth Charlie Chan film produced by Fox Film Corporation with the title character played by Warner Oland. Plot Charlie Chan arrives in Shanghai at the behest of the U.S. government to help stop an opium smugg ...

'' (1935) * '' Without Regret'' (1935) * '' The Mysterious Mr. Wong'' (1934) * '' Now and Forever'' (1934) * ''

The Secrets of Wu Sin ''The Secrets of Wu Sin'' is a 1932 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Lois Wilson, Grant Withers and Dorothy Revier. It was made by the Poverty Row studio Chesterfield Pictures.Pitts p. 91 Plot James M ...

'' (1932) * ''

War Correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

'' (1932)

References

Canadian male film actors Canadian male actors of Asian descent {{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Luke Columbia University alumni 1896 births 1983 deaths Male actors from Victoria, British Columbia