Philip Ahn
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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
Perry Mason
James Wong
Bonanza
Mr. Lee Chang
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H
The Father
M*A*S*H
Korean Grandfather
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel
W. Chung
Mannix
Ironside
Mission: Impossible
Dr. Liu
Hawaii Five-O
Attorney General
Hawaii Five-O
Quon Li
Hawaii Five-O
Lin Mai-Lu
Love, American Style
Chow Lee
Dragnet
My Three Sons
George Wong
The Wild Wild West
Around the World in 80 Days
Hong Kong Citizen (uncredited)
The Big Valley
Chen Yu
Lawman
Wong
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Tom Wing
Shock Corridor
Dr. Fong
The F.B.I.
Police Chief Henry Nakamura
Sanford and Son
Four Star Playhouse
Chang
Four Star Playhouse
Capt. Shu Gat
Police Woman
Disputed Passage
Dr. Fung
Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye
Mr. Kwong
Hawaiian Eye
Florist
The Rebel
Quong Lee
Switch
Charlie Kuang
December 7th
Shinto Priest (uncredited)
It Takes a Thief
Owner
The Streets of San Francisco
Mr. Wu
Macao
Itzumi
The Time Tunnel
Dr. Nakamura
Klondike Annie
Stowaway
Sun Lo
Adventures in Paradise
Ling
Adventures in Paradise
Reverend Yen
Adventures in Paradise
Mr. Chee
Desirable
Chinese Waiter
Saigon
Boss Merchant (uncredited)
Laredo
The Shadow
Wu Yung
Singapore
Jimmy - Bartender (uncredited)
One Step Beyond
Song
Checkmate
Rogues' Regiment
Tran Duy Gian
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Dr. Sazami Kyushu
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
High Lama of Ghupat
Wonder Woman
Colonel Minh
They Were Expendable
Army Orderly (uncredited)
His Majesty O'Keefe
Sien Tang, Dentist
Diamond Head
Mr. Immacona
Barricade
Col. Wai Kang
China Girl
Kai Young
Impact
Ah Sing
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Ho-Lung
China Venture
Adm. Amara
Dragon Seed
Leader of City People (uncredited)
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
The Miracle of the Bells
Ming Gow
Navy Log
Red Barry
Hong Kong Cholly
Ship Ahoy
Koro Sumo
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Third Uncle
The Chinese Ring
Captain Kong
The Left Hand of God
Jan Teng
Daughter of Shanghai
Kim Lee
Jump Into Hell
Chinese POW Lieutenant
Telephone Time
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Moki Kaimana
China
Lin Cho
Drums of Fu Manchu
Dr. Chang
Halls of Montezuma
Maj. Kenji Matsuoda (aka "Nomura")
The Cobra Strikes
Kasim--Houseboy
China Sky
Dr. Kim
Roaring Timber
Crooner
Battle Zone
South Korean Guerrilla Leader
Behind the Rising Sun
Japanese Officer Murdering Takahashi
God Is My Co-Pilot
Hong Kong Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Cocoon
Attorney General
China Passage
Fang Tu
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Lee Chin
The Purple Heart
Saburo Goto (uncredited)
The Third Man
The Creeper
Ah Wong - Restaurant Owner
Red Snow
Taglu, a spy
The Good Earth
Captain (uncredited)
The Keys of the Kingdom
Mr. Pao, Envoy for Mr. Chia
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Chang (voice)
The Tuttles of Tahiti
Emily's Servant (uncredited)
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
Wu
Fair Wind to Java
Gusti
The General Died at Dawn
Oxford
Yesterday's Enemy
Yamazuki
Back to Bataan
Col. Coroki
The Great Impostor
Capt. Hun Kim
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Tea
Blood on the Sun
Secret Police Capt. Yomamoto (uncredited)
China Corsair
Wong San
The World's Greatest Athlete
Old Chinaman
King of Chinatown
Robert 'Bob' Li
Pete and Gladys
The Man from Down Under
English-Speaking Japanese Aviator (uncredited)
Battle Hymn
Old Man
The Magician
Chao Liu
Stoney Burke
Around the World
Foo
Across the Pacific
Man in Theatre (uncredited)
Intrigue
Louie Chin
Tightrope
Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon
Master Kan
Hawaii Calls
Julius
Panama Patrol
Sun
One-Eyed Jacks
Uncle
The Shanghai Story
Major Ling Wu
The Islanders
Governor Galli
Don Winslow of the Coast Guard
Hirota
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Prince Chung
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Wing Foo
I Was an American Spy
Capt. Arito
Kung Fu: The Movie
Master Kan
Betrayal from the East
Kato
The Big Hangover
Dr. Lee
Judgment: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya — General Yamashita
General Yamashita
The Karate Killers
Sazami Kyushu
Ensign O'Toole
Low Kong
Target Hong Kong
Sin How
Japanese War Bride
Eitaro Shimizu
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
Wu Tan
China's Little Devils
Farmer
Confessions of an Opium Eater
Ching Foon
North of Shanghai
Chinese Doctor
Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts
Sing Fung, Laundry Man
The Sickle or the Cross
Chinese Official
A Girl Named Tamiko
Akiba
Dragon by the Tail
Lee Chin
The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
Soong
Hell's Half Acre
Roger Kong
Hey, Jeannie!
Wong
Forever Yours
Chinese Man (uncredited)
Anna and the King
A Scream in the Night
Wu Ting (as Philip Ann)
Let's Get Tough
Joe Matsui
Island of Lost Men
State Department: File 649
Col. Aram
Johnny Midnight
Hong Kong Confidential
Tan Chung
Jungle Jim
Women in the Night
Professor Kunioshi
They Met in Bombay
Japanese officer (uncredited)
Kraft Mystery Theatre
The Way to the Gold
Mr. Ding - cafe owner
Something to Sing About
Ito (Terry's servant)
Jefferson Drum
Charles Wong
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
Wong Chung Shee
General Electric Theater
Rahm Sing
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Never So Few
Nautaung
Kung Fu
Master Kan
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Ping
The Sex Serum of Dr. Blake
Mao Tse Tung (uncredited)
Submarine Raider
First Officer Kawakami
Shanghai
Servant
Secrets of Monte Carlo
Wong
A Yank on the Burma Road
Franklin Ling