Robert Ya Fu Lee (1913 â€" 1 December 1986) was a Chinese actor based
in the United Kingdom.Born in Tianjin, he arrived in England as an
international student, attaining a BA in history from Trinity College,
Cambridge. He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese
restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor. Lee
played supporting roles in many films and television programmes
throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was frequently called upon
whenever a production required an East Asian character. His film
appearances include You Only Live Twice (1967) and Half Moon Street
(1986), and his television appearances include The Avengers, The
Chinese Detective and The Bill, but his best known role is as TarÅ
Nagazumi, the Japanese business executive and English language
student, in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979. He never
married, citing marriage in a 1984 interview as "Too much
responsibility", and lived in a flat in Hampstead, north London, where
he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986, aged 73.
in the United Kingdom.Born in Tianjin, he arrived in England as an
international student, attaining a BA in history from Trinity College,
Cambridge. He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese
restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor. Lee
played supporting roles in many films and television programmes
throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was frequently called upon
whenever a production required an East Asian character. His film
appearances include You Only Live Twice (1967) and Half Moon Street
(1986), and his television appearances include The Avengers, The
Chinese Detective and The Bill, but his best known role is as TarÅ
Nagazumi, the Japanese business executive and English language
student, in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979. He never
married, citing marriage in a 1984 interview as "Too much
responsibility", and lived in a flat in Hampstead, north London, where
he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986, aged 73.
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