Willie Fung
Willie Fung ( born March 3, 1896 in Guangzhou, † April 16, 1945 in Los Angeles, California ) was a Chinese- American actor.
Life and career
The native Chinese emigrated as a young man to the United States. Initially he worked as a peanut seller, until he unexpectedly received a role in the film Hurricane's Gal. It was the beginning of a long film career, in the next two decades Fung played in some 135 Hollywood movies. Frequently his roles were small and did not receive credit, but occasionally he also took over major tasks. Usually he had to embody Asian stereotypes, such as the simple-minded staff, cook or scrubbers in the racist America of the 1930s. Occasionally played Fung also threatening figures, such as a persecutor of Dolores Costello in the silent film Old San Francisco. The small, heavyset character actor had a reputation as Szenenstehler and received with some performances praise from the press. Among his better-known roles include his appearance as a racist comic relief in the romantic drama jungle by storm as well as sneaky spy in Wee Willie Winkie on the side of Shirley Temple.
In the 1930s he opened a Chinese restaurant Lotusland in Hollywood, which included, among others, Henry Miller and Paul Muni to the guests. Miller wrote about Fung: " When he laughed, it was as if the sun goes down over Waikīkī. " He died only a month after his 49th birthday of a heart attack.