Takayo Fischer (née Tsubouchi; born 1932) is an American stage, film and television actress, as well as voice-over actress.

Personal life

Fischer is the youngest of four daughters of Japanese immigrants Chukuro, a farm laborer, and Kinko Tsubouchi. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, at age 10, she and her family were forcibly removed from the West Coast following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...

. They spent time in the Fresno Assembly Center before being relocated to the

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and Rohwer incarceration camps. After their release, the Tsubouchi family went to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where, as a young adult, Tsubouchi won the crown of "Miss

Nisei is a Japanese language, Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the nikkeijin, ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants, or . The , or Second generation imm ...

Queen." She graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago in 1950 and attended

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

from 1951 to 1953, where she was a

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

and member of Phi Beta, a performing arts fraternity. She resides in

Los Angeles 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 1980, she married Sy Fischer, an entertainment executive and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

agent.

Career

Fischer appeared in the stage production of '' The World of Suzie Wong'' in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1958. She won a Drama-Logue Award for ensemble performance for ''Tea'' at the

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which is collec ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. She has also appeared in many productions with East West Players in Los Angeles, including ''

Into The Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

''. Fischer was an honoree at East West Players' 2019 gala for her work in raising "the visibility of the

Asian Pacific American Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian ...

(APA) community through ercraft." She toured the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in ''

The Peony Pavilion ''The Peony Pavilion'' (), also named ''The Return of Soul at the Peony Pavilion'', is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The plot was drawn from the short story ''Du Liniang Revives For Love'' and depicts a love ...

'' in 1997. Fischer has appeared in many big-budget films, including ''

Moneyball Moneyball or money ball may refer to: * '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'', 2003 book by Michael Lewis ** ''Moneyball'' (film), 2011 film adaptation of the book * ''Moneyball'' (album), 2025 album by Dutch Interior * Sabermetrics ...

'', '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (2007) as Mistress Ching, ''

The Pursuit of Happyness ''The Pursuit of '' is a 2006 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman. Smith's son Jaden Smith co-stars, making his film debut as Gardner's son, Christopher Jr. ...

'' (2006) as Mrs. Chu, '' Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005) and '' War of the Worlds'' (2005). She has also worked on many

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

films including '' Americanese'' (2009), '' Only the Brave'' (2005), '' Stand Up for Justice: The Ralph Lazo Story'' (2004) and '' Strawberry Fields'' (1997). Fischer has had numerous guest-starring roles on

network television A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United ...

including FX's ''

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' and Walden Media's '' The Baby-Sitter's Club''. She is sometimes credited as Takayo Doran.

Voice work

Fischer has also done voices in several animated series. Some of her well-known roles include '' Mister T'', '' Battle of the Planets'', '' Rubik the Amazing Cube'', ''

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his companions as ...

'', '' Saturday Supercade'', '' The Flintstone Kids'', '' Batman: The Animated Series'', ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

'', '' The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'', ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, an ...

'', ''

Capitol Critters ''Capitol Critters'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Hanna-Barbera in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show is about the lives of mice, rats, and roaches who reside in the basem ...

'', '' The Centurions'', '' The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show'', '' The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show'', ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...

'', '' Thundarr the Barbarian'', '' Rambo'', ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

'', '' Captain Planet and the Planeteers'', ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'', ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'', ''

The Wild Thornberrys ''The Wild Thornberrys'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays the zany hijinks of a family o ...

'', '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

''. She also reprised her role as Mistress Ching in the video game version of '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End''.

Filmography

Television

Film

Video games

References

External links

* *
''Densho Encyclopedia'' article on Fischer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Takayo 1932 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Living people American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American actresses of Japanese descent American musicians of Japanese descent Japanese-American internees People from Kings County, California American women musicians of Japanese descent