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 neighborhood.[1][2]
Luke Chan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Luke Tin Chan April 16, 1896 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | September 30, 1983 Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | Mary Vanvliet (m. 1936) |
Biography
editChan was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to parents of Chinese origin. His father, Chan Yu Tan, was a minister and his mother was a doctor.[3]
Chan graduated from Columbia University, 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.[4] Like a lot of Chinese actors during this period, he often played Japanese roles.[5]
Chan opened the Chinese Junk Cafe in Los Angeles's Chinatown in the late 1930s.[6] 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.)[7][8] 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.[9][10]
Selected filmography
edit- Saigon (1948)
- Singapore (1947)
- Ladies' Man (1947)
- The Show-Off (1946)
- The Well Groomed Bride (1946)
- Secret Agent X-9 (1945)
- God Is My Co-Pilot (1945)
- Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
- Dragon Seed (1944)
- The Chinese Cat (1944)
- The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944)
- The Purple Heart (1944)[11]
- The Man from Down Under (1943)
- Behind the Rising Sun (1943)
- Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
- Mission to Moscow (1943)
- The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943)
- Destination Unknown (1942)
- Somewhere I'll Find You (1942)
- Wake Island (1942)
- Submarine Raider (1942)
- Remember Pearl Harbor (1942)
- A Yank on the Burma Road (1942)
- They Met in Bombay (1941)
- The Real Glory (1939)
- Too Hot to Handle (1938)
- West of Shanghai (1937)
- Roaming Lady (1936)
- Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)
- Without Regret (1935)
- The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)
- Now and Forever (1934)
- The Secrets of Wu Sin (1932)
- War Correspondent (1932)
References
edit- ^ California, Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern (2013). Chinese in Hollywood. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738599731.
- ^ "Chinese Actors in Great Demand in Movie Studios". The Pittsburgh Press. 30 Aug 1942. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "Chinese Minister Dies at 85". The Province. 5 Oct 1948. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "Luke Chan Discovers Hollywood No Place for Philosophers". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 29 Jul 1935. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "Chinese Actors Are Busy". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 27 Dec 1942. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "Chinatown Rises Anew". The Los Angeles Times. 29 May 1938. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "Pirate Junk in China City". The Los Angeles Times. 29 Mar 1939. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ Cho, Jenny; California, Chinese Historical Society of Southern (2011). Chinatown and China City in Los Angeles. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738581651.
- ^ "Working Mayor". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 15 Nov 1942. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ Gravari-Barbas, Maria; Graburn, Nelson; Staszak, Jean-Francois (2019-08-28). Tourism Fictions, Simulacra and Virtualities. Routledge. ISBN 9781000681178.
- ^ "'The Purple Heart' Proves Powerful and Dramatic War Film". The Gazette. 1 Apr 1944. Retrieved 2019-11-10.