Philip Ahn
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1905-03-29
Day of Death
1978-02-28 (72 years old)
Place of Birth
Highland Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
Philip Ahn
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Ahn (born Pil Lip Ahn (안필립), March 29, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a Korean American actor. He was the first Korean American film actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ahn's first film was A Scream in the Night in 1935. He appeared in the Bing Crosby film Anything Goes, though director Lewis Milestone had initially rejected him because his English was too good for the part. His first credited roles came in 1936 in The General Died at Dawn and Stowaway, opposite Shirley Temple. He starred opposite Anna May Wong in Daughter of Shanghai (1937) and King of Chinatown (1937).
During World War II, Ahn often played Japanese villains in war films. Mistakenly thought to be Japanese, he received several death threats. He enlisted in the United States Army, having served in the Special Services as an entertainer. He was discharged early because of an injured ankle and returned to making films.
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. He got to play Korean characters in Korean War movies such as Battle Circus (1953) and Battle Hymn (1956). In 1952, Ahn made his television debut on the Schlitz Playhouse, a series he would make three additional appearances on. Ahn would also be cast in four episodes of ABC's Adventures in Paradise, four episodes of the ABC/Warner Brothers crime drama Hawaiian Eye, and the CBS crime drama Hawaii Five-O. He made three appearances each on Crossroads, Bonanza, and M*A*S*H. He would also appear in two television movies.
Ahn's most notable television role was as "Master Kan" on the television series Kung Fu. A Presbyterian, Ahn felt that the Taoist homilies his character quoted did not contradict his own religious faith.
Known For
Acting
(1976)
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
as Soong
(1974)
Judgment: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya — General Yamashita
as General Yamashita
(1973)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
as Chang (voice)
(1973)
The World's Greatest Athlete
as Old Chinaman
(1972)
(1970)
The Sex Serum of Dr. Blake
as Mao Tse Tung (uncredited)
(1968)
Cocoon
as Attorney General
(1967)
Thoroughly Modern Millie
as Tea
(1967)
The Karate Killers
as Sazami Kyushu
(1966)
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
as Moki Kaimana
(1963)
Shock Corridor
as Dr. Fong
(1962)
Diamond Head
as Mr. Immacona
(1962)
Confessions of an Opium Eater
as Ching Foon
(1962)
A Girl Named Tamiko
as Akiba
(1961)
One-Eyed Jacks
as Uncle
(1960)
The Great Impostor
as Capt. Hun Kim
(1959)
Never So Few
as Nautaung
(1959)
Yesterday's Enemy
as Yamazuki
(1958)
Hong Kong Confidential
as Tan Chung
(1957)
Battle Hymn
as Old Man
(1957)
The Way to the Gold
as Mr. Ding - cafe owner
(1956)
Around the World in Eighty Days
as Hong Kong Citizen (uncredited)
(1955)
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
as Third Uncle
(1955)
The Left Hand of God
as Jan Teng
(1955)
Jump Into Hell
as Chinese POW Lieutenant
(1954)
Hell's Half Acre
as Roger Kong
(1954)
The Shanghai Story
as Major Ling Wu
(1954)
His Majesty O'Keefe
as Sien Tang, Dentist
(1953)
Fair Wind to Java
as Gusti
(1953)
China Venture
as Adm. Amara
(1953)
Target Hong Kong
as Sin How
(1952)
Macao
as Itzumi
(1952)
Red Snow
as Taglu, a spy
(1952)
Battle Zone
as South Korean Guerrilla Leader
(1952)
Japanese War Bride
as Eitaro Shimizu
(1951)
Halls of Montezuma
as Maj. Kenji Matsuoda (aka "Nomura")
(1951)
China Corsair
as Wong San
(1951)
I Was an American Spy
as Capt. Arito
(1951)
Secrets of Monte Carlo
as Wong
(1950)
The Big Hangover
as Dr. Lee
(1949)
Impact
as Ah Sing
(1949)
State Department: File 649
as Col. Aram
(1949)
The Sickle or the Cross
as Chinese Official
(1949)
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
as Wong Chung Shee
(1948)
The Miracle of the Bells
as Ming Gow
(1948)
Rogues' Regiment
as Tran Duy Gian
(1948)
Women in the Night
as Professor Kunioshi
(1948)
The Creeper
as Ah Wong - Restaurant Owner
(1948)
The Cobra Strikes
as Kasim--Houseboy
(1947)
Intrigue
as Louie Chin
(1947)
The Chinese Ring
as Captain Kong
(1947)
Singapore
as Jimmy - Bartender (uncredited)
(1945)
They Were Expendable
as Army Orderly (uncredited)
(1945)
Back to Bataan
as Col. Coroki
(1945)
China Sky
as Dr. Kim
(1945)
God Is My Co-Pilot
as Hong Kong Radio Announcer (uncredited)
(1945)
China's Little Devils
as Farmer
(1945)
Forever Yours
as Chinese Man (uncredited)
(1945)
Betrayal from the East
as Kato
(1944)
The Keys of the Kingdom
as Mr. Pao, Envoy for Mr. Chia
(1944)
Dragon Seed
as Leader of City People (uncredited)
(1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Ping
(1944)
The Purple Heart
as Saburo Goto (uncredited)
(1943)
(1943)
December 7th
as Shinto Priest (uncredited)
(1943)
China
as Lin Cho
(1943)
Behind the Rising Sun
as Japanese Officer Murdering Takahashi
(1943)
Around the World
as Foo
(1943)
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
as Wu Tan
(1943)
Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
as Hirota
(1942)
Across the Pacific
as Man in Theatre (uncredited)
(1942)
China Girl
as Kai Young
(1942)
Ship Ahoy
as Koro Sumo
(1942)
A Yank on the Burma Road
as Dr. Franklin Ling
(1942)
The Tuttles of Tahiti
as Emily's Servant (uncredited)
(1942)
Submarine Raider
as First Officer Kawakami
(1942)
Let's Get Tough
as Joe Matsui
(1941)
They Met in Bombay
as Japanese officer (uncredited)
(1940)
The Shadow
as Wu Yung
(1940)
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Dr. Chang
(1939)
Disputed Passage
as Dr. Fung
(1939)
King of Chinatown
as Robert 'Bob' Li
(1939)
(1939)
Barricade
as Col. Wai Kang
(1939)
Panama Patrol
as Sun
(1939)
North of Shanghai
as Chinese Doctor
(1938)
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
as Wing Foo
(1938)
Red Barry
as Hong Kong Cholly
(1938)
Hawaii Calls
as Julius
(1937)
The Good Earth
as Captain (uncredited)
(1937)
Daughter of Shanghai
as Kim Lee
(1937)
Something to Sing About
as Ito (Terry's servant)
(1937)
Roaring Timber
as Crooner
(1937)
China Passage
as Fang Tu
(1937)
Thank You, Mr. Moto
as Prince Chung
(1937)
Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts
as Sing Fung, Laundry Man
(1936)
(1936)
Stowaway
as Sun Lo
(1936)
The General Died at Dawn
as Oxford
(1935)
Shanghai
as Servant
(1935)
A Scream in the Night
as Wu Ting (as Philip Ann)
(1934)
Desirable
as Chinese Waiter