Victor Wong

Victor Gee Keung Wong (July 30, 1927 – September 12, 2001) was an American actor, artist, and journalist.

He appeared in supporting roles in films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Chinese sorcerer Egg Shen in John Carpenter's cult film Big Trouble in Little China, royal adviser Chen Bao Shen in the Best Picture–winning The Last Emperor (1987), rural storekeeper Walter Chang in the comedy horror film Tremors (1990), and Grandpa Mori in the 3 Ninjas tetralogy (1992–1998). He also played several starring roles for independent filmmaker Wayne Wang, who described him as his "alter ego".

Earlier in his career, Wong worked for KQED as an on-air reporter and later a pioneering photojournalist. Victor Wong was fluent with both English and Cantonese, which helped lead his acting career to Hong Kong.

Wong studied political science and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley and theology at the University of Chicago under Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Buber. In Chicago, Wong joined The Second City comedy troupe and stayed with Langston Hughes.

Journalism Although he had acted in and staged productions with his first wife, Olive, who he had met after his return from Chicago, Wong was inspired by the assassination of John F. Kennedy to pursue a career in journalism, landing an on-air role for KQED's Newsroom, where he won a Regional Emmy, from 1968 until 1974, when he was stricken with Bell's palsy. In between film roles, Wong lived in Sacramento, California, where he supported the local performing arts. In 1986 he was the Old Man in the movie hit The Golden Child alongside Eddie Murphy. In 1992, he acted in the Hong Kong film, Cageman (笼民). He later starred as Grandpa Mori in the 3 Ninjas franchise, and the cult-classics, Big Trouble in Little China and Tremors.

He worked closely with director Wayne Wang. The independent filmmaker and fellow San Franciscan first cast him in the lead role of his 1985 film Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, and went on to include him in Eat a Bowl of Tea and Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (both 1989), and The Joy Luck Club (1993). Wang later called Wong his role model for living life. text=I felt that Victor was my alter ego for a few years ... Victor was very experimental and had this innocent child-like quality that is a part of me. I felt very close to him. — Wayne Wang, quoted in Asian Week, 2001

Association with the Beat Generation

In the 1950s, while studying art under Mark Rothko, Victor Wong had his first art exhibition at the City Lights Bookstore. During this time, Wong befriended Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He met Jack Kerouac in the early 1960s, who chronicled their meeting in his novel Big Sur (1962). In the novel, Wong is characterised as "Arthur Ma".

His son, musician Lyon Wong, died in 1986 after being attacked by a young man while walking home in Sacramento. Wong was asked to film the prologue scene for Big Trouble in Little China shortly after Lyon's wake; after shooting the scene, Wong suffered his first stroke. 1998 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain Grandpa Mori Sean McNamara Television + Year Title Role Notes 1975–1976 Search for TomorrowChang 1984–1985American PlayhouseFung Leung / Chin GungEpisodes: "Nightsongs" & "Paper Angels" 1988 Beauty and the Beast Dr. Wong Episode: "China Moon" 1989 A Fine Romance Lon Mo Wah Episode: "The Tomas Crown Affair"1990 Forbidden Nights Ho TV movie Legacy Larry Chow Midnight Caller Phil Wong Episode: "Language Barrier" 1994 Due South Coo Episode: "Chinatown" 1996 Poltergeist: The Legacy Lee Tzin-Soong Episode: "Fox Spirit"