Patrick Adiarte

Patrick Robert Adiarte (August 2, 1942 – April 15, 2025) was a Filipino-American actor and dancer whose Broadway career spanned from 1951 to 1958. Born in Manila, Philippines, Adiarte came to the United States as a child after his father was killed during the liberation of Manila. His mother, herself an actress and singer in the Philippines, relocated to New York in 1949 with six-year-old Adiarte and his sister, taking on various jobs to support the family. Hoping to secure roles and income for her children, she brought them to Broadway auditions, including an open call for The King and I.

That audition led to one of Adiarte's defining stage credits. He appeared in The King and I, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, playing Prince Chulalongkorn. He later returned to Broadway in Flower Drum Song, another Rodgers and Hammerstein production, in the role of Wang San. Together, these two productions formed the core of his Broadway work during the 1950s.

Beyond the stage, Adiarte built a screen career in which he frequently portrayed characters of Asian or other foreign backgrounds. His film work included the role of college student T.J. Padmanagham in High Time. On television, he was cast as Ho-Jon in the series M*A*S*H and served as a regular dancer on the musical variety program Hullabaloo.

After his performing career concluded, Adiarte taught tap dance at Santa Monica College. The COVID-19 pandemic forced him into retirement in March 2020. He died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles-area hospital on April 15, 2025, at the age of 82. In 1977, he directed Starting Here, Starting Now at the Old Vat Room at Arena Stage.