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.
