Bruce Wong (born Tung Soon Wong) was a Chinese American character actor, filmmaker, and restaurateur who worked in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography

Early life

Bruce was born in Los Angeles as Tung Soon Wong to parents who had immigrated to Southern California from China. One of his brothers,

Beal Wong Beal Wong (1906-1962) was an American actor from California. Wong acted in films from 1933 to 1962. Some of the films he appeared in were '' The Big Bluff'', ''China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in ...

, also became an actor.

Behind the camera

In 1936, after raising money in San Francisco he made a nine-reel film—''Sum Yun'' (aka ''Heartaches'')—for the Chinese market, sensing a real opportunity. The Cantonese-language film starred Wai Kim, and was filmed in California under Wong's Cathay Pictures production company during a six-day shoot. Wong served as producer, and the film was directed by Frank Tang.

Acting roles

Plans to make subsequent films never came to fruition, and he turned to acting instead. He appeared in a long list of films between 1937 and 1950, mostly in background roles.

Personal

Wong was married to Genevieve; the pair had several children together. In addition to his work in Hollywood, Wong also owned and operated at least two restaurants in Los Angeles: Chinese Village Cafe, at 745 N. Main St., and the Ming Room, at 358 S. La Cienega Blvd. Chinese Village Cafe was sold right before Wong's death in November 1953.

Selected filmography

As producer: * '' Sum Yun'' (1936) As actor: * ''

Appointment with Danger ''Appointment with Danger'' is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff. The drama features Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert and Paul Stewart, among others. Plot At the Hotel Compton in ...

'' (1950) * ''

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 highes ...

'' (1945) * ''

The Purple Heart ''The Purple Heart'' is a 1944 American black-and-white war film, produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, directed by Lewis Milestone, and starring Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Don "Red" Barry, Sam Levene and Trudy Marshall. Eighteen-year-old Farley Gr ...

'' (1944) * ''

Up in Arms ''Up in Arms'' is a 1944 musical film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1945. Plot Danny Weems works as an elevator operator in a New York Medical building, so he can ...

'' (1944) * ''

Destination Tokyo ''Destination Tokyo'' is a 1943 black and white American submarine war film. The film was directed by Delmer Daves in his directorial debut,McGee, Scott"Articles: 'Destination Tokyo' (1944)."''TCM.com'', 2019. Retrieved: August 15, 2019. and th ...

'' (1943) * ''

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

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

We've Never Been Licked ''We've Never Been Licked'' (or ''Texas Aggies'', ''Texas to Tokyo'', and ''Fighting Command'') is a 1943 World War II propaganda film produced by Walter Wanger and released by Universal Pictures. Released in the UK under the title, ''Texas to Tok ...

'' (1943) * ''

Crash Dive A crash dive is a maneuver by a submarine in which the vessel submerges as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines, as the ...

'' (1943) * '' Time to Kill'' (1942) * ''

Busses Roar ''Busses Roar'' is a 1942 film directed by D. Ross Lederman and starring Richard Travis and Julie Bishop. Plot A bungling saboteur attempts to place a bomb on board a bus so that it will explode as the bus passes by some oil wells.Pryor, Thom ...

'' (1942) * ''

Submarine Raider '' Submarine Raider'' is a 1942 American war film directed by Lew Landers and starring John Howard. Plot Production Budd Boetticher was working as an assistant director at Columbia Pictures, notably to George Stevens on ''The More the Merrier' ...

'' (1942) * ''

Song of the Islands ''Song of the Islands'' is a 1942 musical comedy film starring Betty Grable and Victor Mature. It was directed by Walter Lang and released through 20th Century Fox. Plot Jeff Harper sails to the tropical paradise Ahmi-Oni with his sidekick Rusty ...

'' (1942) * '' The Mystery of Mr. Wong'' (1939) * ''

North of Shanghai ''North of Shanghai'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by D. Ross Lederman. Cast * James Craig as Jed Howard * Betty Furness as Helen Warner * Keye Luke as Jimmy Riley * Morgan Conway as Bob Laird * Joe Downing as Chandler (as Joseph ...

'' (1939) * '' International Settlement'' (1938) * ''

Daughter of Shanghai ''Daughter of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by Robert Florey and starring Anna May Wong. Unusually for the time, East Asian American actors played the lead roles. It was also one of the first films in which Anthony Quinn appea ...

'' (1937) * ''

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) * '' Devil's Playground'' (1937)

References

American male film actors American film producers 1909 births Male actors from Los Angeles American male actors of Chinese descent 1953 deaths {{US-film-actor-stub