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)
The Karate Killers
as Sazami Kyushu
(1967)
Thoroughly Modern Millie
as Tea
(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
(1961)
Dragon by the Tail
as Lee Chin
(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)
His Majesty O'Keefe
as Sien Tang, Dentist
(1954)
The Shanghai Story
as Major Ling Wu
(1954)
Hell's Half Acre
as Roger Kong
(1953)
Target Hong Kong
as Sin How
(1953)
Fair Wind to Java
as Gusti
(1953)
China Venture
as Adm. Amara
(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)
I Was an American Spy
as Capt. Arito
(1951)
China Corsair
as Wong San
(1951)
Secrets of Monte Carlo
as Wong
(1950)
The Big Hangover
as Dr. Lee
(1949)
Impact
as Ah Sing
(1949)
The Sickle or the Cross
as Chinese Official
(1949)
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
as Wong Chung Shee
(1949)
State Department: File 649
as Col. Aram
(1948)
Women in the Night
as Professor Kunioshi
(1948)
The Miracle of the Bells
as Ming Gow
(1948)
Rogues' Regiment
as Tran Duy Gian
(1948)
The Cobra Strikes
as Kasim--Houseboy
(1948)
The Creeper
as Ah Wong - Restaurant Owner
(1947)
Saigon
as Boss Merchant (uncredited)
(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)
Blood on the Sun
as Secret Police Capt. Yomamoto (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)
Betrayal from the East
as Kato
(1945)
Forever Yours
as Chinese Man (uncredited)
(1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Ping
(1944)
The Keys of the Kingdom
as Mr. Pao, Envoy for Mr. Chia
(1944)
The Purple Heart
as Saburo Goto (uncredited)
(1944)
Dragon Seed
as Leader of City People (uncredited)
(1943)
December 7th
as Shinto Priest (uncredited)
(1943)
China
as Lin Cho
(1943)
Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
as Hirota
(1943)
(1943)
Behind the Rising Sun
as Japanese Officer Murdering Takahashi
(1943)
The Man from Down Under
as English-Speaking Japanese Aviator (uncredited)
(1943)
Around the World
as Foo
(1943)
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
as Wu Tan
(1942)
China Girl
as Kai Young
(1942)
Let's Get Tough
as Joe Matsui
(1942)
Across the Pacific
as Man in Theatre (uncredited)
(1942)
Submarine Raider
as First Officer Kawakami
(1942)
The Tuttles of Tahiti
as Emily's Servant (uncredited)
(1942)
Ship Ahoy
as Koro Sumo
(1942)
A Yank on the Burma Road
as Dr. Franklin Ling
(1941)
They Met in Bombay
as Japanese officer (uncredited)
(1940)
The Shadow
as Wu Yung
(1940)
Drums of Fu Manchu
as Dr. Chang
(1939)
North of Shanghai
as Chinese Doctor
(1939)
(1939)
Disputed Passage
as Dr. Fung
(1939)
King of Chinatown
as Robert 'Bob' Li
(1939)
Panama Patrol
as Sun
(1939)
Barricade
as Col. Wai Kang
(1938)
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
as Wing Foo
(1938)
Hawaii Calls
as Julius
(1938)
Red Barry
as Hong Kong Cholly
(1937)
Something to Sing About
as Ito (Terry's servant)
(1937)
Thank You, Mr. Moto
as Prince Chung
(1937)
The Good Earth
as Captain (uncredited)
(1937)
Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts
as Sing Fung, Laundry Man
(1937)
Daughter of Shanghai
as Kim Lee
(1937)
China Passage
as Fang Tu
(1937)
Roaring Timber
as Crooner
(1936)
The General Died at Dawn
as Oxford
(1936)
Stowaway
as Sun Lo
(1936)
(1935)
Shanghai
as Servant
(1935)
A Scream in the Night
as Wu Ting (as Philip Ann)
(1934)
Desirable
as Chinese Waiter