Johnny Yune

Yoon Jong-seung (; October 22, 1936 – March 8, 2020), known as Johnny Yune, was a South Korean and American actor, comedian, and singer. He was best known for starring in the cult comedy film They Call Me Bruce?, and its sequel They Still Call Me Bruce (1987).

Early life Yune was born Yoon Jong-seung in 1936 in Eumseong County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea (then under Japanese rule). He graduated from Sungdong High School in Sindang-dong neighborhood of Seoul, and came to the United States on an ROK Navy scholarship in 1962. He studied vocal music at Ohio Wesleyan University.

He became a U.S. citizen in 1978, at which point he anglicized his first name to "John", due to its phonetic similarity.

Career In 1964, Yune practiced his stand-up routine in places such as the Cafe Tel Aviv at 250 West 72nd Street, New York City. In 1977, he was discovered at a Santa Monica comedy club by comedian Johnny Carson and was invited to appear on his talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson liked Yune and had him on the show 34 times in the 1970s and '80s, making Yune one of the show's most frequent guests for a stand-up comedian.

In 1977, on the December 13th episode of M*A*S*H titled "Comrades in Arms, Part 2" at 7 mins 47 seconds, Yune appeared in a walk-on role as "Korean Soldier"...Jon Yune

Yune also appeared in his own special on NBC.

He played a Mongolian named "Jon Yune" in the 1979 movie Meteor, and performed as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s.

Yune performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics at Seoul, along with Bob Hope and Brooke Shields.

From 1989 to 1990, he hosted The Johnny Yune Show (자니윤쇼), the first Americanized talk show in Korea. The show was a hit, but only after a year, Yune decided to leave KBS due to limited freedom of the media.

Politics Yune was an alternate delegate at the 1988 Republican National Convention, where he sang the U.S. national anthem on August 16, 1988.

He was appointed auditor of the Korea Tourism Organization in 2014 by the Park Geun-hye administration. His appointment provoked controversy, as his critics questioned his lack of business experience and close ties to the then-president. He held the job for two years.

Personal life Johnny Yune married a Korean American named Julia Yune in 1999; they divorced in 2010. He regained his South Korean citizenship in 2013.

Health issues and death Yune was diagnosed with dementia in 2017. He died in Southern California on March 8, 2020, at the age of 83; per his wishes his body was donated to medical science.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1977 M*A*S*H Korean Soldier Season 6 - Episode 14 "Comrades In Arms, Part 2" (credited as Jon Yune)1979 Meteor Siberian man (as Jon Yune)1980 The Love Boat Korean Stand-Up Comedian Episode: "Not So Fast, Gopher/Haven't We Met Before?/Seoul Mates" (not "Foreign Exchange", per The Love Boat opening credits)1981 The Cannonball Run TV Talk Show Host 1982 They Call Me Bruce? Bruce / Grandfather 1985 Gidget's Summer Reunion Johnny Soon TV movie1986 Nothing in Common Mr. Yung 1987 They Still Call Me Bruce Bruce 1988 Hamburger Johnny 1989 The Johnny Yune Show TV Talk Show Host KBS1993 Western Avenue