Keye Luke
Encyclopedia
Keye Luke was a Chinese
-born American
actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.
, China
to a father who owned an art shop, but grew up in Seattle
. He was part of the Luke family, a relative of Wing Luke, namesake of Seattle's Wing Luke Asian American Museum. He had four siblings who all migrated to California during the Depression. His younger brother Edwin Luke also became an actor in the Charlie Chan series. Luke became a naturalized citizen of the United States
in 1944 - in a moment fictionally recreated in Lisa See's novel "Shanghai Girls".
Before becoming an actor he was a local artist in Seattle and, later, Hollywood, working on several of the murals inside Grauman's Chinese Theater. He did some of the original artwork for the 1933 King Kong
pressbook
. Luke also painted the casino's mural in The Shanghai Gesture
. He published a limited edition set of pen and ink drawings of "The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam" in the 1950s. Other art done 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 first movie roles.
(1934), and the following year gained his first big role, as Charlie Chan
's eldest son in Charlie Chan in Paris
. 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.
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
, 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
. RKO Radio Pictures used him in its popular adventures of The Falcon and Mexican Spitfire. Luke also worked at Universal Pictures
, where he played two-fisted valet/chauffeur Kato
in its Green Hornet serials. In 1946 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
.
In 1948, 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
and The Sky Dragon; in both films, Luke was older than the actor playing his father.
Luke continued to play character parts in motion pictures; he had a featured role in "the Chairman" (1969) starring Gregory Peck. He provided the voice of the evil Mr. Han in Enter the Dragon
(1973) starring Bruce Lee
. Luke played the mysterious old Chinatown
shopowner Mr. Wing in the two Gremlins
movies, he had a significant role in Woody Allen
's 1990 movie Alice
, and was the voice of Zoltar and Colonel Cronus in Battle of the Planets
.
In 1958, Luke had a featured Broadway role in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly. The soundtrack album captures his singing of the part of Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.
Keye Luke also worked in television. In 1955, he played Li Wong, a laundryman and property owner in the episode "Annie and the Chinese Puzzle" of the syndicated western
series, Annie Oakley
. In 1972, "Number One Son" ascended to the role of Charlie Chan himself, thus becoming the first actor of Chinese descent to play the role: he supplied the voice of "Mr. Chan" 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
. He appeared in a few episodes of Dragnet
, including roles as a restaurant owner in "The Big Amateur" and a jade
dealer in "The Jade Story." He appeared also in episodes of M*A*S*H; most memorably "Patent 4077," in which he played Mr Shin, an itinerant metalsmith who made a surgical clamp
the surgeons needed for a critical operation. In the mid 1980s, Luke played 'The Ancient One' on the soap opera
, General Hospital
. In 1986, Luke played the gardener in an episode of The Golden Girls.
Luke voiced Brak
on the original 1966 Hanna Barbara series Space Ghost
and all of the villains on the Scooby Doo, Where Are You? episode "Mystery Mask Mixup". He played Governor Donald Cory in a 1969 episode of Star Trek
entitled "Whom Gods Destroy", and was going to play Doctor Noonien Soong in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Brothers
" but illness prevented him from doing so; Brent Spiner
ultimately took over the role.
In the Fractured Fairy Tales episode "The Enchanted Fly," one of the rewards offered to the man who would rescue and marry the princess is "an autographed picture of Keye Luke."
For his contribution to show business, Luke was honored by having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, on the sidewalk in front of 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
in Whittier
, California
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.
Background
Luke was born in GuangzhouGuangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to a father who owned an art shop, but grew up in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. He was part of the Luke family, a relative of Wing Luke, namesake of Seattle's Wing Luke Asian American Museum. He had four siblings who all migrated to California during the Depression. His younger brother Edwin Luke also became an actor in the Charlie Chan series. Luke became a naturalized citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1944 - in a moment fictionally recreated in Lisa See's novel "Shanghai Girls".
Before becoming an actor he was a local artist in Seattle and, later, Hollywood, working on several of the murals inside Grauman's Chinese Theater. He did some of the original artwork for the 1933 King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
pressbook
Pressbook
In cinema a pressbook may be a piece of promotional material created and distributed by film producers in order to market their films. Prior to 1980, most film companies did their own promotion, and the pressbooks would be given to exhibitors....
. Luke also painted the casino's mural in The Shanghai Gesture
The Shanghai Gesture
The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 American United Artists film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney and Walter Huston, with Victor Mature and Ona Munson....
. He published a limited edition set of pen and ink drawings of "The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam" in the 1950s. Other art done 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 first movie roles.
Career
Luke made his film debut in The Painted VeilThe Painted Veil (1934 film)
The Painted Veil is a 1934 drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Ryszard Bolesławski and produced by Hunt Stromberg from a screenplay by John Meehan, Salka Viertel, and Edith Fitzgerald, adapted from the 1925 W. Somerset Maugham novel The Painted Veil. The music score was by Herbert Stothart,...
(1934), and the following year gained his first big role, as Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
's eldest son in Charlie Chan in Paris
Charlie Chan in Paris
Charlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan.-Plot:Chan is on his way back from completing the London case -- they always mentioned the previous case -- to go on "vacation" to Paris, but this is just a way to make people think that heis innocently there...
. He worked so well with Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
, 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.
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
Mr. Moto's Gamble
Mr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character. It was released in 1938. It was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan film called Charlie Chan at Ringside, but Warner Oland, who had played Chan in several previous films, left the set after...
, with Luke now opposite Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
.
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
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
cast him in a recurring role in its Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
film series, and Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
featured him in its Frankie Darro
Frankie Darro
Frankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Darro...
comedies and starred him as Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown
Phantom of Chinatown
Phantom of Chinatown is a 1940 Chinese American mystery film directed by Phil Rosen starring Keye Luke.-Plot:In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and...
. RKO Radio Pictures used him in its popular adventures of The Falcon and Mexican Spitfire. Luke also worked at Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, where he played two-fisted valet/chauffeur Kato
Kato (The Green Hornet)
Kato is a fictional character from The Green Hornet series. This character has also appeared with the Green Hornet in film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato was the Hornet's assistant and has been played by a number of actors...
in its Green Hornet serials. In 1946 Universal mounted a low-budget serial consisting largely of action footage from older films; Keye Luke was hired to match old footage of Sabu
Sabu Dastagir
Sabu Dastagir was a film actor of Indian origin—although he later took American citizenship. He was normally credited only by his first name, Sabu, and is primarily known for his work in film during the 1930s-40s in Britain and America.-Early life:Born in 1924 in Karapur, Mysore, Kingdom of...
in the serial Lost City of the Jungle
Lost City of the Jungle
Lost City of the Jungle is a Universal movie serial.-Cast:* Russell Hayden as Rod Stanton, United Peace Foundation operative* Jane Adams as Marjorie Elmore* Lionel Atwill as Sir Eric Hazarias, villain acting under the pseudonym Geoffrey London...
.
In 1948, Keye Luke returned to the Chan mysteries, which were now being produced by Monogram and starred Roland Winters
Roland Winters
Roland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
as Chan. "Number One Son" appeared in the last two Chan features, The Feathered Serpent
The Feathered Serpent (film)
The Feathered Serpent is a 1948 mystery film, the fifth of six in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. It is the only Chan film which featured both Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung together. Luke had been popular in the Warner Oland Chan films while Yung appeared primarily in the Sidney...
and The Sky Dragon; in both films, Luke was older than the actor playing his father.
Luke continued to play character parts in motion pictures; he had a featured role in "the Chairman" (1969) starring Gregory Peck. He provided the voice of the evil Mr. Han in Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
(1973) starring Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
. Luke played the mysterious old Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
shopowner Mr. Wing in the two Gremlins
Gremlins
Gremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature—called a Mogwai—as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It was followed by a sequel,...
movies, he had a significant role in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's 1990 movie Alice
Alice (1990 film)
Alice is a 1990 film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.-Plot:...
, and was the voice of Zoltar and Colonel Cronus in Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
.
In 1958, Luke had a featured Broadway role in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly. The soundtrack album captures his singing of the part of Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.
Keye Luke also worked in television. In 1955, he played Li Wong, a laundryman and property owner in the episode "Annie and the Chinese Puzzle" of the syndicated western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (TV series)
Annie Oakley is an American Western television series which fictionalized the life of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It ran from January 1954 to February 1957 in syndication. ABC showed reruns on Saturday and Sunday daytime from 1959–1960 and from 1964-1965...
. In 1972, "Number One Son" ascended to the role of Charlie Chan himself, thus becoming the first actor of Chinese descent to play the role: he supplied the voice of "Mr. Chan" in the animated television series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan The voice of Mr...
. He was also known for his role of Master Po in the television series, Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
. He appeared in a few episodes of Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
, including roles as a restaurant owner in "The Big Amateur" and a jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
dealer in "The Jade Story." He appeared also in episodes of M*A*S*H; most memorably "Patent 4077," in which he played Mr Shin, an itinerant metalsmith who made a surgical clamp
Clamp
Clamp may refer to:*Clamp , a device used to hold an object in a fixed position*Wheel clamp, a device used with road vehicles to prevent theft or enforce parking restrictions*Riser clamp, a device used to support vertical piping...
the surgeons needed for a critical operation. In the mid 1980s, Luke played 'The Ancient One' on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
. In 1986, Luke played the gardener in an episode of The Golden Girls.
Luke voiced Brak
Brak (character)
Brak is a supervillain on the 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Space Ghost, portrayed as a catlike alien space pirate trying to conquer the galaxy...
on the original 1966 Hanna Barbara series Space Ghost
Space Ghost
Space Ghost is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space...
and all of the villains on the Scooby Doo, Where Are You? episode "Mystery Mask Mixup". He played Governor Donald Cory in a 1969 episode of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
entitled "Whom Gods Destroy", and was going to play Doctor Noonien Soong in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Brothers
Brothers (TNG episode)
"Brothers" is an episode from the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Plot:A misguided prank between two young brothers exposes one of them to a toxic parasite that cannot be treated on the USS Enterprise, but Dr. Crusher is able to stabilize his condition in a controlled environment...
" but illness prevented him from doing so; Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
ultimately took over the role.
In the Fractured Fairy Tales episode "The Enchanted Fly," one of the rewards offered to the man who would rescue and marry the princess is "an autographed picture of Keye Luke."
For his contribution to show business, Luke was honored by having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, on the sidewalk in front of 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Death
Luke died of a stroke on January 12, 1991. His interment is at Rose Hills Memorial ParkRose Hills Memorial Park
Rose Hills Memorial Park is the largest cemetery in the United States and is located in Whittier, California. It is owned and operated by Service Corporation International .-Mausoleums and Chapels:...
in Whittier
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Filmography
- The Painted VeilThe Painted Veil (1934 film)The Painted Veil is a 1934 drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Ryszard Bolesławski and produced by Hunt Stromberg from a screenplay by John Meehan, Salka Viertel, and Edith Fitzgerald, adapted from the 1925 W. Somerset Maugham novel The Painted Veil. The music score was by Herbert Stothart,...
(1934) (uncredited) - Charlie Chan in ParisCharlie Chan in ParisCharlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan.-Plot:Chan is on his way back from completing the London case -- they always mentioned the previous case -- to go on "vacation" to Paris, but this is just a way to make people think that heis innocently there...
(1935) - Oil for the Lamps of ChinaOil for the Lamps of China (film)Oil for the Lamps of China is a 1935 drama film starring Pat O'Brien and Josephine Hutchinson. It is based on the novel of the same name by Alice Tisdale Hobart. A man blindly puts his faith in his employer.-Plot:...
(1935) - Mad LoveMad Love (1935 film)Mad Love is a 1935 American horror film adaptation of Maurice Renard's story The Hands of Orlac. Directed by German-émigré film maker Karl Freund, the film stars Peter Lorre as Dr. Gogol, Frances Drake as Yvonne Orlac and Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac. The plot revolves around Doctor Gogol's...
(1935) - Shanghai (1935)
- Charlie Chan at the CircusCharlie Chan at the CircusCharlie Chan at the Circus is the 11th film produced by Fox starring Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. A seemingly harmless family outing drags a vacationing Chan into a murder investigation.- Plot :...
(1936) - Charlie Chan at the Race TrackCharlie Chan at the Race TrackCharlie Chan at the Race Track is the 12th film in the 20th Century Fox-produced Charlie Chan series starring Warner Oland in the title role.- Plot :...
(1936) - Charlie Chan at the OperaCharlie Chan at the OperaCharlie Chan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the co-acting of Boris Karloff. This is the 13th film starring Oland as Chan and produced by Fox in 1936.- Plot :...
(1936) - King of BurlesqueKing of BurlesqueKing of Burlesque is a 1936 musical film about a former burlesque producer played by Warner Baxter who moves into a legitimate theatre does very well, until he marries a socialite...
(1936) - The Good EarthThe Good Earth (film)The Good Earth is a film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the play by Donald Davis and Owen Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S...
(1937) - Charlie Chan at Monte CarloCharlie Chan at Monte CarloCharlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 movie directed by Eugene Forde. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Warner Oland portraying Chan...
(1937) - International SettlementInternational Settlement (film)International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
(1938) - Mr. Moto's GambleMr. Moto's GambleMr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character. It was released in 1938. It was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan film called Charlie Chan at Ringside, but Warner Oland, who had played Chan in several previous films, left the set after...
(1938) - BarricadeBarricade (1939 film)Barricade is a 1939 adventure film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Alice Faye, Warner Baxter, Charles Winninger, Arthur Treacher, and Keye Luke.-Plot:...
(1939) - The Green HornetThe Green Hornet (serial)The Green Hornet is a Universal movie serial based on The Green Hornet radio series by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker.-Synopsis:...
(1940 serial) - Phantom of ChinatownPhantom of ChinatownPhantom of Chinatown is a 1940 Chinese American mystery film directed by Phil Rosen starring Keye Luke.-Plot:In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and...
(1940) - The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941 serial)
- The Gang's All HereThe Gang's All Here (1941 film)The Gang's All Here is an American black-and-white feature film starring Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland in a story about a trucking company targeted by saboteurs. The film was directed by Jean Yarbrough, produced by Lindsley Parsons, and is one of several that paired Darro and Moreland...
(1941) - Bowery BlitzkriegBowery BlitzkriegBowery Blitzkrieg is a 1941 film and the sixth installment of the East Side Kids series.It was released in the United Kingdom under the title Stand and Deliver.-Cast:The East Side Kids:* Muggs McGinnis- Leo Gorcey...
(1941) - Let's Go CollegiateLet's Go CollegiateLet's Go Collegiate is a 1941 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Jean Yarbrough.The film is also known as Farewell to Fame in the United Kingdom.- Plot summary :...
(1941) - Mr. and Mrs. NorthMr. and Mrs. North (film)Mr. and Mrs. North is a 1942 American mystery film directed by Robert B. Sinclair, starring Gracie Allen and William Post Jr. as detectives Pam and Jerry North. A dizzy socialite and her husband Jerry, returning home from a vacation, find a dead body in their home...
(1942) - Across the PacificAcross the PacificAcross the Pacific is a 1942 spy film set on the eve of the entry of the United States into World War II. The film was directed first by John Huston, then by Vincent Sherman after Huston joined the United States Army Signal Corps...
(1942) - The Falcon's BrotherThe Falcon's BrotherThe Falcon's Brother is a 1942 film in which George Sanders, who had been portraying "The Falcon" in a series of movies, appears with his lookalike brother Tom Conway; the brothers play brothers and Sanders hands off the series to Conway, who plays the new Falcon in nine subsequent films...
(1942) - The Adventures of Smilin' JackThe Adventures of Smilin' Jack (serial)The Adventures of Smilin' Jack is a Universal movie serial based on the comic strip The Adventures of Smilin' Jack.-Cast:* Tom Brown as 'Smilin' Jack' Martin* Rose Hobart as Gertrude Muller, alias Fräulein von Teufel...
(1943 serial) - Salute to the MarinesSalute to the MarinesSalute to the Marines is a 1943 World War II war film starring Wallace Beery. The movie, set in the Philippines and shot in Technicolor , was directed by S...
(1943) - Andy Hardy's Blonde TroubleAndy Hardy's Blonde TroubleAndy Hardy's Blonde Trouble is a romantic comedy, the fourteenth starring Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy. Andy goes to college, but soon gets in trouble with some pretty co-eds.-Cast:*Lewis Stone as Judge James K. Hardy*Mickey Rooney as Andrew "Andy" Hardy...
(1944) - Secret Agent X-9Secret Agent X-9 (1945 serial)Secret Agent X-9 is a Universal movie serial based on the comic strip Secret Agent X-9. It was the second serial with this name, the first was released by Universal in 1937.-Plot:...
(1945 serial) - First Yank into TokyoFirst Yank into TokyoFirst Yank into Tokyo is a 1945 United States war film; it takes place within World War II. It was directed by Gordon Douglas.-Plot:In the film, the U.S. government assigns Major Steve Ross to receive plastic surgery to appear Japanese; Ross had lived in Japan and is well versed with Japanese culture...
(1945) - Lost City of the JungleLost City of the JungleLost City of the Jungle is a Universal movie serial.-Cast:* Russell Hayden as Rod Stanton, United Peace Foundation operative* Jane Adams as Marjorie Elmore* Lionel Atwill as Sir Eric Hazarias, villain acting under the pseudonym Geoffrey London...
(1946 serial) - Sleep, My LoveSleep, My LoveSleep, My Love is a feature film directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche.-Plot:Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't a clue how she ended up on a train bound for Boston...
(1948) - The Feathered SerpentThe Feathered Serpent (film)The Feathered Serpent is a 1948 mystery film, the fifth of six in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. It is the only Chan film which featured both Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung together. Luke had been popular in the Warner Oland Chan films while Yung appeared primarily in the Sidney...
(1948) - The Sky Dragon (1949)
- Fair Wind to JavaFair Wind to JavaFair Wind to Java is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Ralston, Robert Douglas and Victor McLaglen. An American sailor voyages to search for diamonds on a volcanic island but has to contend with mysteries, pirates and an exploding volcano....
(1953) - Hell's Half AcreHell's Half Acre (film)Hell's Half Acre is a 1954 film noir set in Hawaii.The film is directed and produced by John H. Auer and stars Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes and Elsa Lanchester. -Plot:...
(1954) - RodanRodan (film)Rodan, released in Japan as , is a 1956 Kaiju film produced by Toho Studios. It was the studio's first Kaiju movie filmed in color...
(1956) (uncredited narrator) - Yangtse IncidentYangtse Incident (1957 film)Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957) - Gigantis the Fire MonsterGodzilla Raids Again, also known in the United States as Gigantis, the Fire Monster, is a 1955 Japanese black-and-white kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, written by Shigeru Koyama, Shigeaki Hidaka and Takeo Murata, and produced by Toho....
(1959, VA for Shoichi Tsukioka) (uncredited) - The ChairmanThe ChairmanThe Chairman is a 1969 spy film starring Gregory Peck. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay was by Ben Maddow, based on a novel by Jay Richard Kennedy.-Plot:...
(1969) - The HawaiiansThe Hawaiians (film)The Hawaiians is a 1970 American historical film based on the novel Hawaii by James A. Michener. It was directed by Tom Gries with a screenplay by James R. Webb. The cast included Charlton Heston as Whipple Hoxworth, and Geraldine Chaplin...
(1970) - The Amsterdam KillThe Amsterdam KillThe Amsterdam Kill is a 1977 film directed by Robert Clouse. It stars Robert Mitchum and Richard Egan.-Cast:*Robert Mitchum as Quinlan*Richard Egan as Ridgeway*Leslie Nielsen as Riley Knight*Bradford Dillman as Odums*Keye Luke as Chung Wei*Mars...
(1977) - Just You and Me, KidJust You and Me, KidJust You and Me, Kid is a 1979 comedy film that stars Brooke Shields, George Burns, Ray Bolger and Burl Ives. It was directed by Leonard Stern. It is rated PG for brief nudity and adult language.-Plot:...
(1979) - M*A*S*H (1980)
- GremlinsGremlinsGremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature—called a Mogwai—as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It was followed by a sequel,...
(1984) - Dead Heat (1988)
- The Mighty Quinn (1989)
- Gremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
(1990) - AliceAlice (1990 film)Alice is a 1990 film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.-Plot:...
(1990)
Further reading
- Ken Hanke, Charlie Chan at the Movies Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1989. ISBN 0-7864-1921-0. (Examination of the Charlie Chan feature films, with firsthand commentary by Keye Luke)
- Herbie J. Pilato, The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern WesternThe Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern WesternThe Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western is a companion book to the television series and sequels, Kung Fu , Kung Fu: The Movie , Kung Fu: The Next Generation , Kung Fu: The Legend Continues , by Herbie J...
. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle, 1993. ISBN 0-8048-1826-6 - Lisa See, "Shanghai Girls". New York: Random House, 2008 fictionally recreates Keye Luke's, Anna May Wong's LA Chinatown.
- Darrell Hamamoto, Monitored Peril: Asian Americans and the Politics of TV Representation, University of Minnesota Press, 1994 has a critical commentary on Luke's cinema.
- Allan Luke, Another ethnic autobiography? Childhood and the cultural economy of looking. In: Hammer, R. & Kellner, D. (Eds.) Critical Cultural Studies Reader. Peter Lang, New York, 2008, has a family account of Luke's work.
External links
- "Keye Luke: What the Doctor Called For"; Aljean HarmetzAljean HarmetzAljean Harmetz is a Hollywood journalist and film historian. She has written as a Hollywood film correspondent for The New York Times since 1981....
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(December 23, 1990) - Obituary in the New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(January 16, 1991)