Philip Ahn

Korean-American character actor 'Philip Ahn' (qv) played hundreds of Chinese and Japanese characters during a long career. He was born in Los Angeles in 1905 (though 1911 is the year usually given, U.S. government records confirm that Ahn was born in 1905), the son of a Korean diplomat. He attended the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. Ahn got his first film acting job in 1935 and quickly made a place for himself playing Asians of many ethnicities. Although his kindly demeanor made him perfect for sympathetic roles, he could excel in the occasional villainous "Yellow Peril"-type role. Condemned, like most Asian actors of the period, to stereotypical roles, Ahn nevertheless brought a dignity to even the most subservient of characters. In his later years he achieved his greatest fame as the wise Master Kan on the television series _Kung Fu (1972)_ (qv). Ahn was also a successful Los Angeles restaurateur. He died in 1978. Not to be confused with his brother, actor 'Philson Ahn' (qv).::Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>