Chao-Li Chi (; April 5, 1927 – October 16, 2010) was a Chinese-born American actor and dancer who worked extensively in American television, including his best known role as Chao-Li, the faithful

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

and

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to specia ...

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

's character in ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...

''. Additionally, his film credits include ''

Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also in known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action comedy film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. ...

'', '' The Joy Luck Club'', '' The Nutty Professor'', ''

Wedding Crashers ''Wedding Crashers'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Christopher Walken with Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper and Jane Seymour in ...

'' and '' The Prestige''. He was featured in the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

by Maya Deren, '' Meditation on Violence'', in 1948. His brothers include the economist

Ji Chaoding Ji Chaoding (; 1903–1963) was a Chinese economist and political activist. His book ''Key Economic Areas in Chinese History'' (1936) influenced the conceptualization of Chinese history in the West by emphasizing geographic and economic factors ...

and diplomat

Ji Chaozhu Ji Chaozhu (July 30, 1929 – April 29, 2020) was a Chinese diplomat who held a number of important positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (PRC), most notably as English interpreter for Chairman Ma ...

Early life and education

Chi was born in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, China, on April 5, 1927. He settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1939 with his family, including his younger brother

, as refugees from the

Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific The ...

. He obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from St. John's College, in Annapolis, Maryland. Chi also earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

and a second master's degree from

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, which was known as the New School for Social Research at the time.

Career

Chi began studying acting under Pearl S. Buck at the East and West Association. He appeared as the lead performer in Maya Deren's 1948 film, '' Meditation on Violence''. He continued to perform with Deren dance companies into the 1960s. In 1967, Chi became the Dance Director of the Living Arts Program in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

, while touring with Deren. Chi appeared in approximately fifty-one film and television roles during the course of his career. On television, Chi was perhaps best known for his role as Chao-Li in the 1980s

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' which aired for nine years on CBS. His other television credits included parts on ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker (auth ...

'' and '' Pushing Daisies''. Chi's film credits included '' The Joy Luck Club'', ''

'', '' The Prestige'' and ''

''. His theater credits included the travelling production of ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth 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. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

'' and the short lived musical '' Barbary Coast''. Chi moved to

Los Angeles 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 wor ...

in 1975. A practicing

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, Chi co-founded the Taoist Sanctuary, which is now known as the Taoist Institute, in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. He taught courses in

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zh ...

, philosophy and T'ai chi at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

and the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, ...

. He also taught T'ai chi at the

Pacific Asia Museum USC Pacific Asia Museum is an Asian art museum located at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California, United States. The museum was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Ori ...

in Pasadena, California, on Saturdays for more than thirty years.

Death

Chi died in his home in

Granada Hills, California Granada Hills is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community has a sports program and a range of city recreation centers. The neighborhood has fourteen public and ten private schools. Hist ...

, on October 16, 2010, at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife, daughter and stepson.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Obituary Los Angeles Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chi, Chao-Li 1927 births 2010 deaths American male actors of Chinese descent American male television actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male dancers American male soap opera actors California State University, Los Angeles faculty St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni New York University alumni The New School alumni American Taoists Republic of China (1912–1949) emigrants to the United States Male actors from New York City People from Granada Hills, Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles