Frank Tang
Frank Tang | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dai Jung Tong November 27, 1905 San Francisco, California, USA |
| Died | June 29, 1968 (aged 62) Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, film director |
| Spouse | Birdie |
| Relatives | Kam Tong (brother) |
Frank Tang (born Dai Jung Tong) was a Chinese-American character actor, filmmaker, community leader, and restaurateur[1] who was best-known for directing the 1936 Cantonese-language film Sum Hun.[2]
Biography
Frank was born in San Francisco into a big Chinese-American family. His parents, Yee Tong and Wong Shee, were immigrants. His brother Kam Tong would also become an actor.[3]
He began his career in Hollywood in the late 1920s, and he got a rare chance to work as a director in 1936, when he teamed up with Bruce Wong and Esther Eng to make the Cantonese-language American film Sum Hun. He'd appear in over a dozen films afterward in smaller roles, in addition to serving as a technical advisor.[4]
Later in life, he owned and operated a restaurant called Tang's in Los Angeles's Chinatown neighborhood.[3] He died in 1968 at the age of 62 after an illness, and was survived by his wife, Birdie, and several siblings.[5]
Selected filmography
As director:
- Sum Hun (1936)
As actor:
- The Hunters (1958)
- The Lineup (1958)
- The Seventh Sin (1957)
- Soldier of Fortune (1955)
- God Is My Co-Pilot (1945)
- Objective, Burma! (1945)
- Dragon Seed (1944)
- The Purple Heart (1944)
- Destination Tokyo (1943)
- The Man from Down Under (1943)
- Salute to the Marines (1943)
- We've Never Been Licked (1943)
- West of Shanghai (1937)
- The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
- The Great Divide (1929)
References
- ^ "Chinese Directory of City Planned in Bilingual Form". The Los Angeles Times. 12 Aug 1949. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "All-Chinese Film Made". The Los Angeles Times. 15 Dec 1935. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Cityside with Gene Sherman". The Los Angeles Times. 6 Apr 1956. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Frank Tang, L.A. Chinese Leader, Dies". The Los Angeles Times. 30 Jun 1968. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Frank Tang Services Wednesday". The Oakland Tribune. 1 Jul 1968. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)