During his 92 years, the character actor has racked up more film and TV credits than nearly anyone. Even more impressive, he did so while confronting demeaning stereotypes in Hollywood.
A sitdown interview with James Hong can morph unexpectedly into an episode of „Dancing With the Character Actors.“ „Should we dance a little?“ Hong suggested. „You have to think, ‚This is a 92-year-old man,‘ too!“ James Hong is no ordinary 92-year-old man. And while he can clearly cut the rug, what’s truly astounding is a Hollywood career currently in its 68th year. „I’ve been an actor since 1953 or ’54,“ he said. „Probably the only living guy that has worked with Groucho Marx!“ That’s where it began, with Groucho. Today,445 screen credits later, Hong has been in „Chinatown,“ „Blade Runner,“ „Bonanza,“ „The Big Bang Theory,“ and a memorable episode of „Seinfeld.“ The list goes on and on. Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz said, „You might have been in more TV and films than anyone else ever.“ „I would think so, for major movies and TV,“ Hong replied. „There’s some guys that have been in stage plays and such.“ „Acch, who goes to plays?“ Forget the 445 credits – that he even has four credits is a tribute to his fierce determination. The son of Chinese immigrants, Hong was born in Minneapolis in 1929. „It was Chinatown. But in Minneapolis, Chinatown consists of two Chinese stores!“ „And one of ‚em was your dad’s?“ „Yeah. He had an herb store, and we lived on the second floor.“ As a young boy, Hong didn’t speak much English. That made him a target in school: „I think my class was, you know, probably 500 kids. I was the only Asian student. So, the bullies would pick on me and beat me up so because, you know, bullies are bullies, right? They’ll pick on the underdog.“ Hong’s parents wanted him to be an engineer; that’s what he studied in college. Then, he was drafted to fight in the Korean War. Mankiewicz asked, „What was it like to be a Chinese American in the Army?“ Hong said, „One of my Army fellow mates there said to me, ‚You know, James, I think you might have a problem, because if you are in an American Army outfit [and] charge the Koreans, they will shoot you because you’re an American.
