Barbara Jean Wong (March 3, 1924 – November 13, 1999) was an American actress, primarily on the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

Early life and career

Wong was a fourth-generation Chinese-American born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, to produce market owners Thomas and Maye Wong. She attended the Fanchon and Marco School of the Theater. She began her performance career at the age of five, as she could read and had a clear voice, and was soon dubbed the Chinese-American Shirley Temple because of her long black hair curled into ringlets and her charming persona. As a youngster, Wong was also a dancer, performing at events such as a fashion show for charity in 1932 and a Hollywood Women's Club costume party in 1935. Wong appeared in films as early as 1934, when she had "a featured bit" in '' The Painted Veil''. In 1937, as a voice actress, she began performing in programs for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. She played Judy Barton, one of the twins in the children's Christmas old time radio show '' The Cinnamon Bear''. She was heard on several episodes of the ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'', ''

Hallmark Playhouse ''Hallmark Playhouse'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology series. It was broadcast on CBS from June 10, 1948 until February 1, 1953, and was described by one author as "a program that consistently produced the highest levels of prod ...

'', ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially ...

'', ''Three Thirds of a Nation'', and many other shows. Her biggest radio role was on the comedy show ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'', in which she played Amos' daughter Arbadella. In October 1938, she began portraying the detective's oldest daughter in a new

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional 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 was conceived as an alter ...

radio series. She also played P.Y., a Chinese character, in '' I Love a Mystery'' on radio. She attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and drama, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where she gained a master of arts degree. After college, Jean (she used her middle name) began working in the movies and worked in 20 films, including ''

The Good Earth ''The Good Earth'' is a historical fiction novel by Pearl S. Buck published in 1931 that dramatizes family life in a Chinese village in the early 20th century. It is the first book in her ''House of Earth'' trilogy, continued in ''Sons'' (1932) ...

'', '' The Man from Button Willow'', and ''

Charlie Chan in Honolulu ''Charlie Chan in Honolulu'' is a 1939 American film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. The film is the first appearance of both Toler as Chan and Victor Sen Yung as ...

'', in which she played the part of Charlie Chan's Number Three daughter. Wong also played a key supporting role in '' The Trap'' in 1946 which was the last Charlie Chan movie that featured Sidney Toler. Her last role was uncredited, a nurse in the motion picture '' Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing''. Her featured-part movie career lasted from 1938 to 1955. In most of her movies, she was a backdrop, serving only as part of the scenery.

Later years

After Wong married, she retired from acting and earned her teaching credentials from Cal State Los Angeles. For 23 years, she taught elementary school before retiring in 1992.

Personal life

Wong was married to Robert Wah Lee, who died in 1988. They had four children.

Death

Wong died of respiratory illness on November 13, 1999, in

Tarzana, California Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. Histo ...

, aged 75.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Barbara Jean 1924 births 1999 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American radio actresses American actresses of Chinese descent 20th-century American actresses American child actresses