Bruce Wong

Bruce Wong (born Tung Soon Wong) was a Chinese American character actor, filmmaker, and restaurateur who worked in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s.

Bruce Wong
Born
Tung Soon Wong

March 11, 1909
Los Angeles County, California, USA
DiedNovember 1, 1953
Los Angeles County, California, USA
OccupationActor, restaurateur, film producer
Spouse(s)Genevieve

Biography

Early life

Bruce was born in Los Angeles as Tung Soon Wong to parents who had immigrated to Southern California from China. One of his brothers, Beal Wong, also became an actor.[1]

Behind the camera

In 1936, after raising money in San Francisco he made a nine-reel film—Sum Yun (aka Heartaches)—for the Chinese market, sensing a real opportunity.[2][3] The Cantonese-language film starred Wai Kim, and was filmed in California under Wong's Cathay Pictures production company during a six-day shoot. Wong served as producer, and the film was directed by Frank Tang.[4][5][6][7]

Acting roles

Plans to make subsequent films never came to fruition, and he turned to acting instead.[8] He appeared in a long list of films between 1937 and 1950, mostly in background roles.

Personal

Wong was married to Genevieve; the pair had several children together. In addition to his work in Hollywood, Wong also owned and operated at least two restaurants in Los Angeles: Chinese Village Cafe, at 745 N. Main St., and the Ming Room, at 358 S. La Cienega Blvd.[9][10] Chinese Village Cafe was sold right before Wong's death in November 1953.[11]

Selected filmography

As producer:

  • Sum Yun (1936)

As actor:

References
  1. "Obituary". The Los Angeles Times. 10 Feb 1962. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  2. Yin), Nangaen Chearavanont (Tse; Ho (歐荷), Au; Shui (歐臻水), Ou Chiu (2014-01-18). Movie Stories: เรื่องราว ภาพยนตร์. H.M. Ou. ISBN 9789881590954.
  3. California, Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern (2013). Chinese in Hollywood. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738599731.
  4. "The Hollywood Lowdown". The Montgomery Advertiser. 23 Feb 1936. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  5. "Movie Stars' Wastebasket". Quad-City Times. 15 Dec 1935. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  6. "Chinese Makes Film". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 9 May 1936. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  7. "All-Chinese Film Made". The Los Angeles Times. 15 Dec 1935. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  8. "Oriental Picture Completed". The Baltimore Sun. 31 May 1936. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  9. "Auction #3". The Los Angeles Times. 18 Oct 1953. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  10. Cooper, Kim (2012-07-20). "From the George Mann Archives: La Cienega Restaurant Row". On Bunker Hill. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  11. "Obituary". The Los Angeles Times. 3 Nov 1953. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
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