PHILIP AHN BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Philip Ahn was born on March 29th, 1905 in Los Angeles, California with the birth name Pil Lip Ahn to parents, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and Helen Lee.  He was a Korean-American actor and throughout his career he portrayed a number of Chinese and Japanese characters.  He also had two other brothers who also pursued careers as actors, Philson and Ralph Ahn.  His family was the first married couple to ever leave Korea and immigrate to America.  
 
His father was a Korean diplomat and after Ahn completed High School at Polytechnic High he furthered his education at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  He originally studied electrical engineering in High School and in college studied foreign commerce with a minor in speech but soon took an interest in drama classes as well.  He soon broke into the acting industry first appearing on stage in, "Merrily We Roll Along" which was a role that toured throughout San Francisco.
 
Originally, his mother wanted him to have nothing to do with the entertainment industry and since his father was no longer helping support the family financially a lot of the responsibility fell into his hands.  He even worked as a truck driver delivering produce from the fields to Los Angeles as well as an elevator operator.  
 
In 1936 he got his film debut on "Anything Goes" which followed with a number of big screen appearances such as "The Good Earth" (1937), "The General Died at Dawn" (1936), "Thank You Mr. Moto" (1937) and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" (1938).
 
He had a talent in acting in that he could portray a variety of different characters and made it a point to never be type cast to one specific role.  In 1945, he took a brief break from acting to join the United States Army but was soon discharged due to a bad ankle.  He remained serving his country though by writing and directing plays for the troops such as, "You Can't Take It With You" (1946) and he actually for a brief time dealt with a lot of hate mail due to him portraying the cruel Japanese officer. 
 
After the war he returned back to acting and took his most well known role on television in 1972 on the series "Kung Fu".  Throughout his career he had the opportunity to work with such great stars as, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, Ethel Merman and Julie Andrews amongst many others.
 
He was also very involved in the politics of Asian/Pacific American and non-Asian individuals within the entertainment industry.  He made it a point to make sure that discriminatory casting practices were banished.  
 
One of his greatest accomplishments was the completion of a memorial park and burial site in Seoul, Korea.  
 
Philip Ahn passed away on February 28th, 1978 in Los Angeles, California after suffering from complications from surgery for a biopsy for lung cancer which had lead to pneumonia.
 
Philip Ahn was a wonderful man who made a difference for Asian American actors and will always be remembered for his contributions to the film industry.  He was even honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and will always be remembered as a tough act to follow.   

 
Filmography

1979 Portrait of a Hitman 
1977-1978 Police Woman  
1978 Switch
1977 The New Adventures of Wonder Woman 
1976-1977 M*A*S*H 
1977 Sanford and Son
1976 The Killer Who Wouldn't Die
1975 Voodoo Heartbeat
1972-1975 Kung Fu 
1974 Judgement: The Court Martial of the Tiger of Malaya - General Yamashita
1974 The Magician
1974 Love, American Style
1973 Jonathan Livingston Seagull 
1973 The World's Greatest Athlete 
1972 The Streets of San Francisco 
1968-1972 Hawaii Five-O
1969 Ironside
1969 It Takes a Thief
1969 Mission: Impossible 
1969 Mannix 
1968 My Three Sons 
1968 The Big Valley
1965-1967 I Spy
1966-1967 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 
1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie 
1967 The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. 
1967 Laredo 
1967 The Time Tunnel
1966 Paradise, Hawaiian Style 
1966 The Wild Wild West 
1965 The Rogues 
1960-1964 Bonanza 
1963 Shock Corridor
1963 Stoney Burke
1963 The Third Man 
1963 Diamond Head
1963 Ensign O'Toole 
1962 A Girl Named Tamiko 
1962 Perry Mason
1962 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1960-1962 Hawaiian Eye
1962 Confessions of an Opium Eater 
1962 The New Breed 
1959-1962 Adventures in Paradise
1961-1962 Follow the Sun
1961 Alcoa Premiere
1961 One-Eyed Jacks
1960-1961 Hong Kong 
1961 The Great Impostor 
1960 Mr. Garlund
1960 Pete and Gladys
1960 The Brothers Brannagan 
1960 Checkmate
1960 Richard Diamond, Private Detective 
1960 Wanted: Dead or Alive 
1960 The Rebel 
1960 Tightrope
1960 The Gale Storm Show 
1958-1960 Have Gun - Will Travel 
1960 The Islanders
1959 G.E. True Theater
1959 Never So Few
1959 Alcoa Theatre
1959 Yesterday's Enemy
1959 Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond 
1959 The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin 
1958 Lawman 
1958 Hong Kong Confidential
1958 Jefferson Drum 
1958 The Californians
1958 The Eve Arden Show
1958 Dragnet
1956-1957 Navy Log
1957 Telephone Time
1957 The Way to the Gold 
1957 The Alcoa Hour 
1957 Battle Hymn 
1957 The New Adventures of Charlie Chan
1956 Hey, Jeannie!
1956 Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
1956 Around the World in Eighty Days 
1955-1956 Four Star Playhouse 
1956 Jungle Jim 
1956 Schlitz Playhouse 
1955-1956 Crossroads 
1955 TV Reader's Digest
1955 Jump Into Hell
1955 The Left Hand of God 
1955 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 
1955 Captain Midnight
1954 The Shanghai Story 
1954 Hell's Half Acre
1954 His Majesty O'Keefe
1953 China Venture
1953 Fair Wind to Java
1953 Battle Circus 
1953 Target Hong Kong
1952 Battle Zone
1952 Red Snow
1952 Macao 
1952 Japanese War Bride
1951 Secrets of Monte Carlo
1951 China Corsair
1951 I Was an American Spy 
1950 Halls of Montezuma 
1950 The Glass Menagerie
1950 The Big Hangover 
1949 The Gal Who Took the West 
1949 The Sickle or the Cross
1949 Impact
1949 Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture 
1949 State Department: File 649
1948 Rogues' Regiment
1948 The Creeper
1948 The Cobra Strikes
1948 Saigon
1948 The Miracle of the Bells
1948 Women in the Night
1947 The Chinese Ring
1947 Intrigue
1947 Singapore
1945 They Were Expendable
1945 Back to Bataan
1945 China's Little Devils
1945 Blood on the Sun
1945 China Sky
1945 Betrayal from the East 
1945 God Is My Co-Pilot 
1945 Forever Yours
1944 The Keys of the Kingdom 
1944 Dragon See
1944 The Story of Dr. Wassell 
1944 The Purple Heart 
1943 Around the World 
1943 The Man from Down Under 
1943 Behind the Rising Sun 
1943 China 
1943 Don Winslow of the Coast Guard 
1943 They Got Me Covered 
1943 The Amazing Mrs. Holliday 
1943 The Adventures of Smilin' Jack 
1943 December 7th 
1942 China Girl
1942 Across the Pacific
1942 Submarine Raider 
1942 Ship Ahoy 
1942 Let's Get Tough!  
1942 A Yank on the Burma Road 
1941 Passage from Hong Kong 
1941 They Met in Bombay 
1940 Drums of Fu Manchu 
1940 The Shadow 
1939 Barricade 
1939 Disputed Passage
1939 Island of Lost Men 
1939 Panama Patrol 
1939 King of Chinatown 
1939 North of Shanghai 
1938 Charlie Chan in Honolulu 
1938 Red Barry
1938 Hong Kong Choll
1938 Hawaii Calls 
1937 Thank You, Mr. Moto 
1937 Daughter of Shanghai 
1937 Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts 
1937 Something to Sing About 
1937 Think Fast, Mr. Moto 
1937 Roaring Timber 
1937 I Promise to Pay
1937 China Passage 
1937 The Good Earth 
1936 Counterfeit Lady 
1936 Stowaway
1936 The General Died at Dawn
1936 Klondike Annie 
1936 Anything Goes 
1935 Shanghai
1935 A Scream in the Night
1934 Desirable