Richard Loo

Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American actor of Chinese ancestry, born in Maui, Hawaii, who built a career spanning more than five decades in film, television, and theater. After spending his youth in Hawaii, he relocated to California as a teenager and went on to earn a degree from the University of California at Berkeley, initially pursuing a career in business. The stock market crash of 1929 disrupted that path, leading him toward amateur and then professional theater. He made his film debut in 1931 and ultimately appeared in more than 120 films between that year and 1982.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Loo became one of the most recognizable Asian character actors working in American cinema, though like many Asian performers of the era, he was frequently cast in small or stereotypical roles. His stern screen presence made him a recurring choice for villain parts, and the onset of World War II brought him heightened visibility as Japanese soldiers, spies, pilots, and interrogators. Among his most prominent wartime roles was that of a Japanese Imperial Army general in The Purple Heart (1944), a character who takes his own life rather than break American prisoners. He also appeared in God Is My Co-Pilot (1945). His daughter Beverly Jane Loo noted that he embraced these roles out of a sense of patriotism. In a departure from type, he played a Chinese army lieutenant opposite Gregory Peck in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), and later took on a rare heroic part as a Japanese-American soldier in Samuel Fuller's Korean War film The Steel Helmet (1951).

Loo's later career included a prominent role in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), in which he portrayed Thai billionaire Hai Fat opposite Roger Moore and Christopher Lee. On television, he appeared in six episodes of the series Kung Fu, which aired from 1972 to 1975, playing a teacher of Shaolin monks in three of those episodes and a separate character in the remaining three. His final acting credit was a 1981 appearance in The Incredible Hulk television series, though he continued to appear in Toyota commercials through 1982. He also made talk-show appearances with Johnny Carson in 1969 and Dick Cavett in 1971.

Alongside his film and television work, Loo maintained a presence in theater. He appeared on Broadway between 1949 and 1958, with credits that included South Pacific, The Teahouse of the August Moon, and the comedy Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?

In his personal life, Loo was married twice. His first wife, Bessie Sue, worked as a Hollywood agent. Together they had twin daughters, Angela Marie Loo and Beverly Jane Loo. Beverly became prominent in publishing, while Angela, known as Angela Loo Levy, worked as a Hollywood agent and ski patroller. Loo's second wife was named Hope, and he remained with her until his death. He also had a stepdaughter, Christel Hope Mintz. Richard Loo died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 20, 1983, at the age of 80.