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Keye Luke - Wikipedia
Keye Luke - Wikipedia
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Keye Luke
Keye Luke (traditional Chinese: 陸錫麒; simplified Chinese: 陆锡
麒; pinyin: Lù Xīqí, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – Keye Luke
January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television 陸錫麒
actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the
Screen Actors Guild.[1][2]
He was known for playing Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the
Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 Green
Hornet film serials, Brak in the 1960s Space Ghost cartoons,
Master Po in the television series Kung Fu, and Mr. Wing in the
Gremlins films.
Luke was born in Guangzhou, China, to a father who owned an art Signature
shop, but he was raised in Seattle. [3] He was part of the Luke
family, a relative of Washington assistant attorney-general Wing
Luke, for whom Seattle's Wing Luke Asian Museum was named.
He had four siblings who all emigrated from China to California
during the Great Depression. His younger brother Edwin Luke also became an actor in the Charlie
Chan series.
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In Seattle, Luke attended Franklin High School, where he contributed cartoons and illustrations to
school publications.[4] Keye Luke became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1944.
Artist
Before becoming an actor, he was a local artist in Seattle and, later, Hollywood, working on several of
the murals inside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He did some of the original artwork for the pressbook of
the original King Kong (1933). Luke also painted the casino's mural in The Shanghai Gesture (1941).
He published a limited edition set of pen and ink drawings of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in the
1950s. He also created illustrations for the books The Unfinished Song of Achmed Mohammed by
Earle Liederman, Blessed Mother Goose by Frank Scully and an edition of Messer Marco Polo by Brian
Oswald Donn-Byrne (unpublished).[4] Other artwork completed by Luke included the dust jackets for
books published in the 1950s and 1960s. It was through his studio art work that he was recruited for
his earliest movie roles.
Acting career
Luke made his film debut in The Painted Veil (1934), and the following year gained his first big role, as
Charlie Chan's eldest son, Lee Chan, in Charlie Chan in Paris (1935). He worked so well with Warner
Oland, the actor playing Chan, that "Number One Son" became a regular character in the series,
alternately helping and distracting 'Pop' Chan in each of his murder cases. Regardless, Lee is depicted
as an enthusiastic American youth of some accomplishment, including becoming an Olympic Gold
Medalist in 100-metre swimming in Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937).[5] Luke appeared seven
times as Lee Chan opposite Oland's Chan. Keye Luke left the Charlie Chan series in 1938, shortly after
Oland died. The unfinished Oland-Luke film Charlie Chan at the Ringside was completed as Mr.
Moto's Gamble (1938), with Luke now opposite Peter Lorre.
Unlike some performers who failed to establish themselves beyond a single role, Keye Luke continued
to work prolifically in Hollywood, at several studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast him in a recurring
role in its Dr. Kildare film series, and Monogram Pictures featured him in its Frankie Darro comedies
and starred him as Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown. Unlike Boris Karloff, who had preceded him
in the Mr. Wong role, Luke played the detective without any exotic touches. Though his Mr. Wong was
of Chinese descent and able to speak Chinese, he was otherwise an ordinary American gumshoe, with
no trace of a foreign accent or "Oriental" philosophy.
RKO Radio Pictures used Luke in its The Falcon series and Mexican Spitfire. Luke also worked at
Universal Pictures, where he played two-fisted valet/chauffeur Kato in its Green Hornet serials.
Universal mounted a low-budget serial consisting largely of action footage from older films; Keye Luke
was hired to match old footage of Sabu in the serial Lost City of the Jungle (1946).
Keye Luke returned to the Chan mysteries, which were now being produced by Monogram and starred
Roland Winters as Chan. "Number One Son" appeared in the last two Chan features, The Feathered
Serpent (1948), along with "Number Two Son" Tommy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) in their only
appearance together, and Sky Dragon (1949). In both of these films, Luke was older than the actor
playing his father. Luke had a featured Broadway role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical
Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly in 1958. The original cast album captures his singing of the
part of Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.
Luke continued to play character parts in motion pictures. He had a featured role in The Chairman
(1969) starring Gregory Peck. He dubbed the voice of the evil Mr. Han (played by Shih Kien) in Enter
the Dragon (1973) starring Bruce Lee. Luke played the mysterious old Chinatown shopowner Mr.
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Wing in the two Gremlins movies and he had a significant role in Woody Allen's movie Alice (1990).
Keye Luke also worked extensively in television, making numerous guest appearances, including four
on The F.B.I. and seven TV movies. He was a regular cast member in two short lived sitcoms, Anna
and the King (1972) starring Yul Brynner and Sidekicks (TV 1967) “Dragnet” As Lin Fong [A Jade
merchant] (1986–87). In 1972, the "Number One Son" ascended to the role of Charlie Chan himself,
thus becoming the first actor of Chinese descent to play the role; Luke supplied the voice of the lead
role in the animated television series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.
He was also known for his role of Master Po in the television series
Kung Fu (1972–1975). In 1985, Luke played 'The Ancient One' on
the soap opera General Hospital, for the Asian Quarter storyline,
which showcased strong chemistry between Luke and young
actress Kimberly McCullough, whom he mentored. In 1986, Luke
appeared in season two of "The Golden Girls" as Sophia's love
interest. Additionally Luke voiced many animated series including
Brak in Space Ghost, the aforementioned Charlie Chan, and
Zoltar/The Great Spirit/Colonel Cronus in Battle of the Planets.
Death
Luke died of a stroke on January 12, 1991, at the age of 86. He is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in
Whittier, California.
Legacy
Writer and filmmaker Timothy Tau wrote, directed and produced a short film about Keye Luke's
earlier life and work, entitled Keye Luke, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film
Festival as a Visual Communications Armed with a Camera Fellowship film.[6][7][8][9] The film was
also the Closing Night choice of the inaugural 2013 Seattle Asian American Film Festival.[10][11] Feodor
Chin starred as Keye Luke. Archie Kao starred as Edwin Luke, Keye Luke's brother. Kelvin Han Yee
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Filmography
▪ The Painted Veil (1934) as Shay Key Fong (uncredited)
▪ Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) as Lee Chan
▪ The Casino Murder Case (1935) as Taki - Casino Pageboy (uncredited)
▪ Eight Bells (1935) as Interpreter (uncredited)
▪ Murder in the Fleet (1935) as Consul's Secretary (uncredited)
▪ Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) as Chinese soldier
▪ Mad Love (1935) as Dr. Wong
▪ Shanghai (1935) as Chinese Ambassador's son
▪ Here's to Romance (1935) as Saito
▪ Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) as Lee Chan
▪ King of Burlesque (1936) Wong
▪ Anything Goes (1936) as Ching (uncredited)
▪ Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936) as Lee Chan
▪ Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) as Lee Chan
▪ Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) as Lee Chan
▪ The Good Earth (1937) as Elder son
▪ Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) as Lee Chan
▪ Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) as Lee Chan
▪ Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) as Lee Chan
▪ International Settlement (1938) as Dr. Wong
▪ Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938) as Lee Chan
▪ North of Shanghai (1939) as Jimmy Riley
▪ Disputed Passage (1939) as Andrew Abbott
▪ Sued for Libel (1939) as Chang Howe
▪ Barricade (1939) as Ling - Cady's secretary
▪ The Green Hornet (1940, serial) as Kato
▪ Wildcat Bus (1940) as Tai (uncredited)
▪ Phantom of Chinatown (1940) as James Lee Wong
▪ Comrade X (1940) as World Press Attendee with Glasses (uncredited)
▪ No, No, Nanette (1940) as Sung, Oriental Cafe Manager (uncredited)
▪ The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940, Serial) as Kato
▪ Footlight Fever (1941) as Chinese Restaurant Waiter (uncredited)
▪ The Gang's All Here (1941) as George Lee
▪ They Met in Bombay (1941) as Mr. Toy (scenes deleted)
▪ Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941) as Clancy (as Key Luke)
▪ Passage from Hong Kong (1941) as Charlie, Chinese Waiter (uncredited)
▪ Let's Go Collegiate (1941) as Buck Wing
▪ Burma Convoy (1941) as Lin Taiyen
▪ No Hands on the Clock (1941) as Severino (uncredited)
▪ North to the Klondike (1942) as K. Wellington Wong
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▪ Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957) as Capt. Kuo Tai
▪ Gigantis the Fire Monster (1959) as VA for Shoichi Tsukioka (uncredited)
▪ Nobody's Perfect (1968) as Gondai-San
▪ Project X (1968) as Sen Chiu
▪ The Chairman (1969) as Prof. Soong Li
▪ Noon Sunday (1970) as Colonel Oong
▪ The Hawaiians (1970) as Foo Sen
▪ Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Cook in kitchen
▪ The Amsterdam Kill (1977) as Chung Wei
▪ Just You and Me, Kid (1979) as Dr. Device
▪ Wonders of China at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center (1982) as philosopher Li Bai
▪ Gremlins (1984) as Grandfather
▪ A Fine Mess (1986) as Ishimine
▪ Dead Heat (1988) as Mr. Thule
▪ The Mighty Quinn (1989) as Dr. Raj
▪ Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) as Mr. Wing
▪ Alice (1990) as Dr. Yang
Television
▪ Mysteries of Chinatown 1 episode (Shadow of the Avenger) (1950)
▪ The Stu Erwin Show 1 episode (Lin Yang in What Paper Do You Read?) (1951)
▪ Schlitz Playhouse 1 episode (Souvenir from Singapore) (1952)
▪ Chevron Theatre 1 episode (One Thing Leads to Another) (1952)
▪ Your Jeweler's Showcase 1 episode (Juice Man) (1952)
▪ Terry and the Pirates 3 episodes (Okura in Macao Gold) (1952) (Lt. Leong in The Green God)
(1953) (Police Captain in Compound 3-C Theft) (1953)
▪ Biff Baker, U.S.A. 1 episode (Tom Ling in The Hawaii Story) (1953)
▪ Fireside Theatre 2 episodes (The Traitor) (1953) (The Reign of Amelika Joe) (1954)
▪ The New Adventures of China Smith 4 episodes (Aban in The Sign of the Scorpion) (Tony Wan in
The Talons of Tongking) (Wong in Plane to Tainan) (The Proverbs of Shen-Tze) (1954)
▪ Studio 57 1 episode (Sam Kee in Ring Once for Death) (1954)
▪ December Bride 1 episode (Waiter in The Chinese Dinner) (1954)
▪ The Ray Milland Show 1 episode (Professor Wong in Chinese Luck) (1954)
▪ My Little Margie 1 episode (Mr. Chang/Fake Mr. Lee in San Francisco Story) (1954)
▪ Cavalcade of America (Ordeal in Burma) (1954) (Call Home the Heart) (1956)
▪ Big Town 1 episode (The Sniper) (1955)
▪ Annie Oakley 1 episode (Li Wong in Annie and the Chinese Puzzle) (1955)
▪ Soldiers of Fortune 1 episode (Captain Kopan in Jungle Rebel) (1955)
▪ The Lineup 1 episode (The Chinatown Case) (1955)
▪ Gunsmoke 1 episode (Chen in The Queue) (1955)
▪ Crusader 1 episode (Lin Suchow in Christmas in Burma) (1955)
▪ Crossroads 2 episodes (Leang Fan in Calvary in China) (1956) (Wang-Red Soldier in The Inner
Light) (1956)
▪ Jungle Jim 1 episode (Jolong in Power of Darkness) (1956)
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▪ Hawaii Five-O 1 episode (Senator John Oishi in All the King's Horses) (1969)
▪ Marcus Welby, M.D. 2 episodes (Dr. George Braley in A Woman's Place) (1971) (David Yen in A
Portrait of Debbie) (1971)
▪ Adam-12 2 episodes (George Lum in Log 56: Vice Versa) (1971) (Sing Hong in Mary Hong Loves
Tommy Chen) (1972)
▪ Here's Lucy 1 episode (Quon Fong in Lucy and the Chinese Curse) (1972)
▪ The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972) (animated) 14 episodes (voice) (Charlie Chan)
▪ Anna and the King 13 episodes (Kralahome) (1972)
▪ Kung Fu 46 episodes (Master Po) (1972-1975)
▪ The Cat Creature TV movie (The Thief-Joe Sung) (1973)
▪ Love, American Style 1 episode segment (Hi Ching in Love and the Golden Worm) (1973)
▪ Judgement: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya-General Yamashita TV movie (1974)
▪ Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders TV movie (Lord Sun Ming) (1974)
▪ Cannon 2 episodes (Sam in Where's Jennifer?) (1974) (Lu Chin in The Melted Man) (1975)
▪ Harry-O 1 episode (Dr. Creighton Fong in The Mysterious Case of Lester and Dr. Fong) (1976)
▪ Hunter 1 episode (The Back-Up) (Never broadcast)
▪ Quincy M.E. 1 episode (Hitoshi Hiyato in Touch of Death) (1977)
▪ Battle of the Planets (animated) 85 episodes (voice) (Zoltar/The Great Spirit/Colonel Cronus)
(1978-1980)
▪ M*A*S*H 3 episodes (Mr. Shin in Patent 4077) (1978) (Cho Kim in A Night at Rosie's) (1979)
(headmaster in Death Takes a Holiday) (1980)
▪ Vega$ 1 episode (Henry Matsimura in Death Mountain) (1979)
▪ Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (animated) unknown episode(s) (voices) (1979-1983)
▪ How the West Was Won 1 episode (Leong Chung Hua in China Girl) (1979)
▪ Thundarr the Barbarian (animated) 2 episodes (voice) (Additional voices in Secret of the Black
Pearl) (1980) (Zevon in The Brotherhood of Night) (1980)
▪ Charlie's Angels 1 episode (Lin in Island Angels) (1980)
▪ Fly Away Home TV movie (Duc) (1981)
▪ Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (animated) 1 episode (voice) (Genju in Sunfire) (1981)
▪ Bret Maverick 1 episode (Lu Sung in The Yellow Rose) (1981)
▪ Remington Steele 1 episode (Tanaka in Your Steele the One for Me) (1982)
▪ Voyagers! 1 episode (Kublai Khan in The Travels of Marco...and Friends) (1982)
▪ Cocaine and Blue Eyes TV movie (Tan Ng) (1983)
▪ Magnum P.I. 1 episode (Goto in Forty Years from Sand Island) (1983)
▪ Falcon Crest 2 episodes (Wilson Fong in Separate Hearts and Maelstrom) (1983)
▪ Faerie Tale Theatre 1 episode (Imperial Doctor in The Nightingale) (1983)
▪ Mister T (animated) unknown episode(s) (voice) (1983)
▪ Alvin and the Chipmunks (animated) 13 episodes (voice) (1983)
▪ The A-Team 1 episode (Sam Yeng in The Maltese Cow) (1984)
▪ The New Mike Hammer 1 episode (Sun Woo in Hot Ice) (1984)
▪ Trapper John, M.D. 1 episode (Ronald Kwan Mein in Eternally Yours) (1984)
▪ Miami Vice 1 episode (Lao Li in Golden Triangle (Part II)) (1985)
▪ Street Hawk 1 episode (Mr. Ming in Chinatown Memories) (1985)
▪ Blade in Hong Kong TV movie (1985)
▪ Crazy Like a Fox 1 episode (Requiem for a Fox) (1985)
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See also
References
1. Flint, Peter B. (January 16, 1991). "Keye Luke, Actor, Is Dead at 86; 'No. 1 Son' and 'Kung Fu'
Master" (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/16/obituaries/keye-luke-actor-is-dead-at-86-no-1-son-a
nd-kung-fu-master.html?scp=11&sq=david%20carradine%20kung%20fu&st=cse). The New York
Times. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
2. "Keye Luke" (https://variety.com/1991/scene/people-news/keye-luke-99127524/). Variety. January
21, 1991. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
3. "Keye Luke" (https://filesofjerryblake.com/serial-sidekicks/keye-luke/). Files of Jerry Blake.
Retrieved February 25, 2020.
4. "Keye Luke papers, circa 1918-1987" (http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=104565)
. Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
5. Berlin, Howard M. "The Who's Who of Charlie Chan's Family" (https://web.archive.org/web/200503
02124106/http://www.drberlin.com/chan_family/story.htm)
6. Stipp, Christopher (April 20, 2012). "This Week In Trailers: Keye Luke, Something from Nothing:
The Art of Rap, Here, I Wish, The Angels' Share" (https://www.slashfilm.com/week-trailers-keye-luk
e/). Film.
7. Brown, Todd. "Meet The Original Kato in Short Film Biopic Keye Luke" (https://web.archive.org/web
/20120415223159/http://twitchfilm.com/news/2012/04/meet-the-original-kato-in-short-film-biopic-ke
ye-luke.php). Screen Anarchy. Archived from the original (https://screenanarchy.com/2012/04/meet
-the-original-kato-in-short-film-biopic-keye-luke.html) on 2012-04-15.
8. "Keye Luke" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120411000638/http://laapff.festpro.com/films/detail/key
e_luke_2012). 2012 LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. Archived from the original (http://laapff.festpro.c
om/films/detail/keye_luke_2012) on 2012-04-11. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
9. Moy, Ed. "Writer's Journey: Q&A with 'Keye Luke' Director Timothy Tau" (http://edmoy.blogspot.co
m/2012/04/q-with-keye-luke-director-timothy-tau.html).
10. Macdonald, Moira. "Seattle Asian American Film Festival Gets Under Way" (https://web.archive.org
/web/20130203221741/http://seattletimes.com/html/movies/2020207886_atatheater25columnxml.h
tml). The Seattle Times. Archived from the original (http://seattletimes.com/html/movies/202020788
6_atatheater25columnxml.html) on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
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11. Sommerfeld, Seth (December 19, 2012). "Timothy Tau Discusses His Short Film About Keye Luke"
(http://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-entertainment/film/articles/timothy-tau-discusses-his-short-film
-about-keye-luke). Seattle Metropolitan. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
Further reading
▪ Hanke, Ken (January 14, 2011). Charlie Chan at the Movies (https://books.google.com/books?id=D
nq4DgAAQBAJ&q=Charlie+Chan+at+the+Movies). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
ISBN 978-0786486618.. (Examination of the Charlie Chan feature films, with firsthand commentary
by Keye Luke)
▪ Pilato, Herbie J. (1993). The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical
Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle. ISBN 978-0804818261.
▪ Hamamoto, Darrell (1994). Monitored Peril: Asian Americans and the Politics of TV Representation
(https://archive.org/details/monitoredperilas0000hama). University of Minnesota Press.
ISBN 978-1452901152. Contains critical commentary on Luke's cinema.
▪ Luke, Allan. "Another ethnic autobiography? Childhood and the cultural economy of looking" (http://
lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Paper/kellnerhammernojpg.pdf). In: Hammer, R. & Kellner, D. (Eds.) Critical
Cultural Studies Reader. Peter Lang, New York, 2008: Contains a family account of Luke's work.
▪ Sporn, David (2017) "Keye Luke: An American Son" TGNR. retrieved 12/20 from:
https://tgnreview.com/2017/08/21/keye-luke-american-son/ is a comprehensive overview of Luke's
career that discusses issues of race, cinema and representation.
External links
▪ Keye Luke (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525601/) at IMDb
▪ Keye Luke (https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/92714) at the Internet Broadway Database
▪ Harmetz, Aljean (December 23, 1990). "Keye Luke: What the Doctor Called For" (https://www.nyti
mes.com/1990/12/23/movies/film-keye-luke-what-the-doctor-called-for.html); The New York Times
▪ Obituary (https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/16/obituaries/keye-luke-actor-is-dead-at-86-no-1-son-a
nd-kung-fu-master.html) in The New York Times (January 16, 1991)
▪ Keye Luke (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Keye_Luke) at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
▪ Keye Luke (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5775) at Find a Grave
▪ Keye Luke papers, circa 1918-1987 (http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=104565),
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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