1903-10-01 Maui, Hawaii, USA
Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982. Chinese by ancestry and Hawaiian by birth, Loo spent his youth in Hawaii, then moved to California as a teenager. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and began a career in business. The stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent economic depression forced Loo to start over. He became involved with amateur, then professional, theater companies and in 1931 made his first film. Like most Asian actors in non-Asian countries, he played primarily small, stereotypical roles, though he rose quickly to familiarity, if not fame, in a number of films. His stern features led him to be a favorite movie villain, and the outbreak of World War II gave him greater prominence in roles as vicious Japanese soldiers in such successful pictures as The Purple Heart (1944) and God Is My Co-Pilot (1945). Loo was most often typecast as the Japanese enemy pilot, spy or interrogator during World War II. In the film The Purple Heart he plays a Japanese Imperial Army general who commits suicide because he cannot break down the American prisoners. According to his daughter, Beverly Jane Loo, he didn't mind being typecast as a villain in these movies as he felt very patriotic about playing those parts. In 1944 he appeared as a Chinese army lieutenant opposite Gregory Peck in The Keys of the Kingdom. He had a rare heroic role as a war-weary Japanese-American soldier in Samuel Fuller's Korean War classic The Steel Helmet (1951), but he spent much of the latter part of his career performing stock roles in films and minor television roles. In 1974 he appeared as the Thai billionaire tycoon Hai Fat in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, opposite Roger Moore and Christopher Lee. Loo was also a teacher of Shaolin monks in three episodes of the 1972–1975 hit TV series Kung Fu and made a further three appearances as a different character. His last acting appearance was in The Incredible Hulk TV series in 1981, but he continued to act in Toyota commercials into 1982. Loo died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 20, 1983, age 80. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]
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The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller | Sgt. Tanaka (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2002-07-02 |
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Kung Fu: The Movie | Master Sun | 1986-02-01 |
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Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur | Chiang-Kai-Shek | 1976-01-04 |
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The Man with the Golden Gun | Hai Fat | 1974-12-04 |
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Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon | Master Sun | 1972-02-22 |
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Chandler | Leo | 1971-12-01 |
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One More Train to Rob | Mr. Chang | 1971-02-19 |
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Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities | Kenji Yamashita | 1969-03-26 |
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The Sand Pebbles | Major Chin | 1966-12-20 |
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Confessions of an Opium Eater | George Wah | 1962-06-20 |
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A Girl Named Tamiko | Otani | 1962-12-27 |
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Diamond Head | Yamagata (uncredited) | 1962-12-27 |
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The Scavengers | 1959-10-01 | |
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Hong Kong Affair | Li Noon | 1958-05-11 |
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The Quiet American | Mr. Heng | 1958-02-08 |
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Battle Hymn | Gen. Kim (scenes deleted) | 1957-02-14 |
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Around the World in 80 Days | Saloon Manager (uncredited) | 1956-10-17 |
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The Conqueror | Captain of Wang's guard | 1956-03-28 |
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Soldier of Fortune | Gen. Po Lin | 1955-05-24 |
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House of Bamboo | Inspector Kito's Voice (voice) (uncredited) | 1955-07-01 |
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Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Robert Hung | 1955-08-18 |
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The Shanghai Story | Officer | 1954-09-01 |
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The Bamboo Prison | Commandant Hsai Tung | 1954-06-15 |
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Living It Up | Dr. Lee | 1954-08-04 |
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Hell and High Water | Hakada Fujimori | 1954-02-01 |
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Destination Gobi | Commanding Officer, Japanese POW Camp | 1953-03-20 |
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China Venture | Chang Sung | 1953-09-07 |
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Target Hong Kong | Fu Chao | 1953-02-06 |
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5 Fingers | 1952-02-22 | |
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The Steel Helmet | Sergeant Tanaka | 1951-01-24 |
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I Was an American Spy | Col. Masamato | 1951-04-14 |
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The Clay Pigeon | Ken Tokoyama | 1949-03-03 |
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State Department: File 649 | Marshal Yun Usu | 1949-02-11 |
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Malaya | Colonel Genichi Tomura | 1949-12-27 |
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To the Ends of the Earth | Commissioner Lu (uncredited) | 1948-02-07 |
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The Cobra Strikes | Hyder Ali | 1948-04-24 |
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Half Past Midnight | Lee Gow | 1948-03-01 |
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Women in the Night | Colonel Noyama | 1948-01-02 |
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Rogues' Regiment | Kao Pang | 1948-12-28 |
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Seven Were Saved | Colonel Yamura | 1947-03-28 |
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Beyond Our Own | James Wong | 1947-11-16 |
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Web of Danger | Wing | 1947-06-10 |
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Tokyo Rose | Colonel Suzuki | 1946-02-08 |
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Back to Bataan | Maj. Hasko | 1945-05-30 |
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Betrayal from the East | Lt. Cmdr. Miyazaki, alias Tani | 1945-04-24 |
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China Sky | Col. Yasuda | 1945-05-16 |
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First Yank into Tokyo | Col. Hideko Okanura | 1945-09-05 |
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God Is My Co-Pilot | Tokyo Joe | 1945-04-07 |
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China's Little Devils | Colonel Huraji | 1945-05-27 |
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Prison Ship | Capt. Okisawa | 1945-11-15 |
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The Purple Heart | General Ito Mitsubi | 1944-02-25 |
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The Story of Dr. Wassell | Chinese Doctor on Train (uncredited) | 1944-07-04 |
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The Keys of the Kingdom | Lt. Shon | 1944-12-15 |
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Destroyer | Japanese Submarine Commander | 1943-08-19 |
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Behind the Rising Sun | Japanese Officer Dispensing Opium | 1943-08-01 |
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So Proudly We Hail | Japanese Radio Announcer (Voice) (Uncredited) | 1943-09-09 |
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The Amazing Mrs. Holliday | 1943-02-19 | |
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The Falcon Strikes Back | Jerry | 1943-04-01 |
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China | Lin Yun | 1943-04-21 |
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Flight for Freedom | Mr. Yokahata (uncredited) | 1943-04-14 |
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Wake Island | 1942-08-11 | |
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Road to Morocco | Chinese Announcer (uncredited) | 1942-11-10 |
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Star Spangled Rhythm | Emperor Hirohito (uncredited) | 1942-03-05 |
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Across the Pacific | First Officer Miyuma | 1942-09-04 |
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Secret of the Wastelands | Quan | 1941-11-15 |
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Doomed to Die | Tong Leader | 1940-08-12 |
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The Fatal Hour | Jeweler | 1940-01-15 |
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Mr. Wong in Chinatown | Tong Chief | 1939-08-01 |
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Miracles for Sale | Chinese Soldier in Demo | 1939-08-10 |
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North of Shanghai | Jed's Pilot | 1939-01-24 |
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Lady of the Tropics | Delaroch's Chauffeur | 1939-08-11 |
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Barricade | Colonel Commander of Rescue Party | 1939-12-08 |
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Daughter of the Tong | Wong | 1939-08-28 |
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Island of Lost Men | General Ahn Ling | 1939-08-16 |
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Panama Patrol | Tommy Young | 1939-03-20 |
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Too Hot to Handle | Charlie (uncredited) | 1938-09-16 |
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Shadows Over Shanghai | Fong | 1938-10-14 |
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Blondes at Work | Sam Wong (uncredited) | 1938-02-05 |
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West of Shanghai | Mr. Cheng | 1937-10-30 |
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Lost Horizon | Shanghai Airport Official (uncredited) | 1937-03-03 |
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The Soldier and the Lady | Tartar (Uncredited) | 1937-04-09 |
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The Good Earth | Farmer (uncredited) | 1937-06-02 |
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That Certain Woman | Elevator Operator (uncredited) | 1937-08-30 |
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Roaming Lady | Chinese Seaman | 1936-05-02 |
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Stowaway | Chinese Merchant (uncredited) | 1936-12-25 |
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Mad Holiday | Li Yat (uncredited) | 1936-11-13 |
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Stranded | Chinese Groom (uncredited) | 1935-06-29 |
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China Seas | Chinese Inspector at Gangplank (uncredited) | 1935-08-09 |
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Now and Forever | Hotel Clerk (uncredited) | 1934-08-31 |
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Student Tour | Geisha's Customer | 1934-10-05 |
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen | Captain Li | 1932-12-25 |
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The Secrets of Wu Sin | Charlie San | 1932-12-15 |
