Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 â€" November 20, 1983) was a third
generation Chinese-American film actor who was one of the most
familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and
1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 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. However, the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent
economic depression forced him 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 the Second World War. In the film
The Purple Heart he plays a Japanese judges 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.
He was also considered an "atmosphere" player along with Spencer Chan,
Willie Fung and Frank Chew.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.
generation Chinese-American film actor who was one of the most
familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and
1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 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. However, the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent
economic depression forced him 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 the Second World War. In the film
The Purple Heart he plays a Japanese judges 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.
He was also considered an "atmosphere" player along with Spencer Chan,
Willie Fung and Frank Chew.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.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.