Mary Mon Toy

Mary Mon Toy (June 3, 1916 – December 7, 2009) was a Japanese American actor, showgirl, and secretary whose Broadway career spanned from 1954 to 1958. Born Mary Teruko Watanabe to Mon Yusa Watanabe and Yoshizo Watanabe, her birthplace is disputed, with some sources citing Seattle, Washington and others citing Honolulu. Her father was the first Japanese chiropractor in Washington. She had one brother, Frank Chusei Watanabe.

Mon Toy graduated from Broadway High School in 1934 and subsequently attended William Business School from 1934 to 1935, where she met fellow nisei Shigesato Okada, whom she married on September 28, 1941. On April 28, 1942, she and Okada were among the first group remanded to Camp Harmony following the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The couple was transferred in August of that year to the Minidoka War Relocation Center, from which Mon Toy was released in 1943.

Following her release from Minidoka, she separated from Okada, ended their marriage, and relocated to New York City to study voice at the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, she supported herself working as a secretary. In 1946, she responded to an advertisement seeking Oriental girls five feet six and over for the China Doll nightclub, launching her career as a chorus girl. To avoid discrimination, she adopted a more Chinese-sounding stage name, becoming Mary Mon Toy. Her work as a showgirl provided a path to Broadway, where she appeared in Street Scene in 1949, House of Flowers in 1954, and The World of Suzie Wong in 1958. She is particularly noted for her role as Minnie Ho in The World of Suzie Wong. According to a friend, Mon Toy did not disclose her Japanese background or her experiences at Camp Harmony and Minidoka to those around her.

Beyond her Broadway credits, Mon Toy took on roles in traveling theater productions, including Bloody Mary in South Pacific, Lady Thiang in The King and I, and Helen Chao in Flower Drum Song. In 1975, she played Yamato in Santa Anita '42, a play about Japanese American incarceration written by Allan Knee and directed by Steven Robman. Her screen work included television appearances on Nurse, One of Our Own, Ryan's Hope, and Kojak, as well as a voice role as Jade Snow Wong in the PBS special Jade Snow. She also appeared in the 1979 film All That Jazz.

Mon Toy was active in advocacy related to the representation of Asian performers. In 1968, she picketed against yellowface casting in New York City Center's production of The King and I, carrying a sign that read: "If Caucasians are given Oriental roles, why doesn't it work both ways? Oriental Actors of America." She was a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and in 1986 she joined fellow AFTRA members in solidarity against victims of apartheid. Mon Toy died on December 7, 2009, in New York City.