Philip Ahn

Philip Ahn
Born	Pil Lip Ahn March 29, 1905(1905-03-29) Los Angeles, California, United States
Died	February 28, 1978 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, United States

Philip Ahn (March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a Korean-American actor. Ahn was born Pil Lip Ahn in Highland Park, California.

Early life

His parents were the first Korean married couple admitted into the United States, and his mother, Helen Lee, only the second Korean woman admitted,^{[citation needed]} when they arrived in 1902. His father, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, was an educator and an activist for Korean independence during the Japanese occupation. Philip is believed to be the first American citizen born in the United States of Korean parents.^{[citation needed]}

While still in high school, Philip visited the set of the film The Thief of Bagdad, where he met Douglas Fairbanks. Fairbanks offered young Philip a screen test, and then a part in the movie. However, when Philip rushed home to tell his mother, she refused to allow him to become an actor, saying "No son of mine is going to get mixed up with those awful people."

Ahn graduated from school in 1923, and went to work in the rice fields around Colusa, California. The field was owned by the Hung Sa Dan, or Young Korean Academy, a Korean independence movement which trained young Koreans to become leaders of their country once it became free from Japanese rule. Because Koreans could not own land, the Academy used Ahn's American citizenship and put the property in his name. Because of heavy rains, the rice crops failed, and Ahn found himself deep in debt not of his own making.

His father was in Asia working for independence, so the younger Ahn had to support his mother and four younger siblings. He worked as an elevator operator in Los Angeles.

College

In 1934, he began attending the University of Southern California. Although he was interested in the import-export business, his father told him that if he really wanted to be an actor, he had to commit to being the best actor he could be, convinced him to take acting and cinematography courses. While in school, he appeared in a stage production of Merrily We Roll Along, which toured the western United States.

While still in college, Ahn served as president of the Cosmopolitan Club, chairman of the All University Committee on International Relations, and assistant to the dean of men, as advisor for foreign student affairs. He was responsible for organizing visits by many foreign dignitaries, including Princess Der Ling of China, Indian journalist Chaman Lal and archeologist-explorer Robert B. Stacey-Judd. Following his sophomore year, however, Ahn dropped out of school to pursue acting full time.

Career

His first film was A Scream in the Night in 1935. He appeared in the Bing Crosby film Anything Goes the following year, although director Lewis Milestone had initially rejected him because his English was too good for the part. He had his first credited roles in 1936, in The General Died at Dawn and Stowaway, opposite Shirley Temple. Ahn starred opposite Anna May Wong in Daughter of Shanghai (1937) and King of Chinatown (1939), leading to gossip that they would marry.^{[citation needed]}

During the war years, he often played Japanese villains in war films such as Back to Bataan (1945). Because of the violent hatred of Japanese during the war, he received many death threats. Partly in order to counter his image, Ahn joined the United States Army, but he was forced out because of a bad ankle. During his brief time in the Army, he served in Special Services, entertaining troops.

Following the war, Ahn appeared in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Around the World in Eighty Days, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Paradise, Hawaiian Style, with Elvis Presley. On rare occasions, he actually got to play Korean characters, for example, in the Korean War films Battle Circus (1953) and Battle Hymn (1956).

In 1968, Ahn made a USO tour of Vietnam, visiting both American and Korean troops throughout South Vietnam.

Ahn's last major role was that of "Master Kan" in the television series Kung Fu. A life-long Presbyterian, Ahn felt that the Taoist homilies his character quoted did not contradict his own personal religious philosophy.

For contributions to the motion picture industry, Ahn was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6205 Hollywood Boulevard. He is the first Asian-American actor to receive a star on Hollywood Boulevard.^[1]

Personal life

Ahn was always involved in the Korean community of Los Angeles. He worked hard to make Los Angeles a sister city of Pusan, Korea. He also helped to bring the Korean Friendship Bell to San Pedro. The Bell has been seen in many subsequent movies. He served as honorary mayor of Panorama City for twenty years.

He worked to have his father and mother buried together in Seoul. His father had been buried far from the city because the Japanese hoped to play down his independence work. His mother had died in California. They had not seen each other from the time Dosan returned to Korea in 1926, before the birth of his youngest son. Working with the Korean government, Ahn helped to establish a park to honor his father and was able to have his parents buried there.

Ahn's younger brother Philson had a minor acting career. He was best known as "Prince Tallen" in the twelve-episode serial Buck Rogers, featuring Buster Crabbe.

In the 1950s, Ahn opened a Chinese restaurant with his sister, Soorah. "Phil Ahn's Moongate Restaurant" was one of the first Chinese restaurants in the San Fernando Valley, and existed for over thirty years before finally closing.

Ahn died on 28 February 1978 following surgery.

Partial filmography

References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008)

• Pilato, Herbie J. The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle, 1993. ISBN 0-8048-1826-6

External links

• Philip Ahn at the Internet Movie Database
• Philip Ahn at Allmovie
• The Philip Ahn Admiration Society
  • Philip Ahn photo gallery
  • Philip Ahn: Born in America, by Philip Ahn Cuddy

Bibliography

• Chung, Hye-seung (2006). Hollywood Asian: Philip Ahn and the Politics of Cross-ethnic Performance. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1592135161.