Acting
Victor Sen Yung
Victor Sen Young (born Victor Cheung Young or Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1915 – body discovered November 9, 1980) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the Western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China. His mother died during the flu epidemic of 1919. His father placed Victor and his younger sister, Rosemary, in a children's shelter, and returned to his homeland to seek another wife. He returned in 1922 with his new wife, Lovi Shee, forming a household with his two children. Sen Yung made his first significant acting debut in the 1938 film Charlie Chan in Honolulu, as the Chinese detective's "number two son", Jimmy Chan. Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan in 11 Charlie Chan films between 1938 and 1942. Moonlighting from the popular Chan series, Sen Yung won critical acclaim playing the nuanced role of Ong Chi Seng, a young attorney assisting Howard Joyce, in defending Leslie Crosbie, in The Letter. Like other Chinese-American actors, he was cast in Japanese parts during World War II, like his role as the treacherous Japanese-American Joe Totsuiko in the 1942 Humphrey Bogart film Across the Pacific. During World War II he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces just as his erstwhile co-star Sidney Toler was set to revive the dormant Charlie Chan series at Monogram Pictures. Sen Yung's military obligations forced him to decline rejoining the series immediately, but Monogram gave him a standing invitation to work there after his tour of duty. Sen Yung's military service included work in training films at the First Motion Picture Unit and a role in the Army Air Forces' play and film Winged Victory. In 1946 Sen Yung resumed his Hollywood career at Monogram, now billed as Victor Sen Young, and reunited with Sidney Toler. Toler's health was failing; Monogram was conserving Toler's waning energy, limiting his scenes and giving him long rest periods during filming. To relieve the burden on Toler, Monogram entrusted much of the action to Victor Sen Young; he and either Mantan Moreland or Willie Best shared much of the footage in Toler's final three films, Dangerous Money, Shadows Over Chinatown, and The Trap. The addition of Moreland as Chan's black chauffeur, Birmingham Brown, reflected the fact that by this time the Chan pictures had a significant following among black Americans, who liked a film series that for once did not feature a white hero. Moreland's popularity in the Chan pictures was so great that he was booked for a nationwide vaudeville tour. Following Toler's death in 1947, Victor Sen Young appeared in five of the remaining six Charlie Chan features. His character "Jimmy" was renamed "Tommy". Victor Sen Young continued to work in motion pictures and television in roles ranging from featured players (affable or earnest Asian characters) to bit roles (clerks, houseboys, waiters, etc.). Arguably even more than for his work in the Charlie Chan films, Victor Sen Yung is remembered as "Hop Sing," the irascible cook and general factotum on the iconic television series Bonanza, appearing in 107 episodes between 1959 and 1973. Sen Yung was also an accomplished and talented chef. He frequently appeared on cooking programs and authored The Great Wok Cookbook in 1974.
Filmography
The Man with Bogart's Face
Film · 1980
How the West Was Won
Series · 1977
The Killer Elite
Film · 1975
Isis
Series · 1975
Barbary Coast
Series · 1975
Police Woman
Series · 1974
The Red Pony
Film · 1973
Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon
Film · 1972
Kung Fu
Series · 1972
The Paul Lynde Show
Series · 1972
Kung Fu
Series · 1972
Kung Fu
Series · 1972
Kung Fu
Series · 1972
The Hawaiians
Film · 1970
Night Gallery
Series · 1970
Hawaii Five-O
Series · 1969
The Movie Orgy
Film · 1968
A Flea in Her Ear
Film · 1968
Here's Lucy
Series · 1968
Here's Lucy
Series · 1968
The F.B.I.
Series · 1965
Get Smart
Series · 1965
The Wild Wild West
Series · 1965
Get Smart
Series · 1965
The F.B.I.
Series · 1965
The F.B.I.
Series · 1965
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Series · 1964
Mickey
Series · 1964
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Series · 1964
Confessions of an Opium Eater
Film · 1962
Flower Drum Song
Film · 1961
Dragon by the Tail
Film · 1961
Mister Ed
Series · 1961
The Mike Douglas Show
Series · 1961
87th Precinct
Series · 1961
Thriller
Series · 1960
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Series · 1960
Hong Kong
Series · 1960
Hawaiian Eye
Series · 1959
Bonanza
Series · 1959
Hawaiian Eye
Series · 1959
Hawaiian Eye
Series · 1959
She Demons
Film · 1958
The Hunters
Film · 1958
Jet Attack
Film · 1958
The Saga of Hemp Brown
Film · 1958
Yancy Derringer
Series · 1958
The Rifleman
Series · 1958
Men in War
Film · 1957
Perry Mason
Series · 1957
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Series · 1957
Perry Mason
Series · 1957
The Rawhide Years
Film · 1956
Accused of Murder
Film · 1956
Flight to Hong Kong
Film · 1956
The Family Nobody Wanted
Film · 1956
Dr. Fu Manchu
Series · 1956
Broken Arrow
Series · 1956
The Left Hand of God
Film · 1955
Soldier of Fortune
Film · 1955
Jump Into Hell
Film · 1955
Blood Alley
Film · 1955
Navy Log
Series · 1955
The Shanghai Story
Film · 1954
Jubilee Trail
Film · 1954
Port of Hell
Film · 1954
Trader Tom of the China Seas
Film · 1954
Captain Midnight
Series · 1954
The Lone Wolf
Series · 1954
Forbidden
Film · 1953
Target Hong Kong
Film · 1953
The Blue Gardenia
Film · 1953
Cripple Creek
Film · 1952
Hong Kong
Film · 1952
The Sniper
Film · 1952
China Smith
Series · 1952
Adventures of Superman
Series · 1952
Terry and the Pirates
Series · 1952
China Smith
Series · 1952
Valley of Fire
Film · 1951
Secrets of Monte Carlo
Film · 1951
Grounds for Marriage
Film · 1951
The Law and the Lady
Film · 1951
Peking Express
Film · 1951
The Groom Wore Spurs
Film · 1951
Woman on the Run
Film · 1950
The Breaking Point
Film · 1950
Key to the City
Film · 1950
A Ticket to Tomahawk
Film · 1950
The Jack Benny Program
Series · 1950
Chinatown at Midnight
Film · 1949
Tuna Clipper
Film · 1949
The Sickle or the Cross
Film · 1949
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
Film · 1949
And Baby Makes Three
Film · 1949
Red Light
Film · 1949
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Film · 1949
State Department: File 649
Film · 1949
Docks of New Orleans
Film · 1948
The Shanghai Chest
Film · 1948
The Feathered Serpent
Film · 1948
The Golden Eye
Film · 1948
To the Ends of the Earth
Film · 1948
Rogues' Regiment
Film · 1948
Half Past Midnight
Film · 1948
The Flame
Film · 1947
The Chinese Ring
Film · 1947
The Crimson Key
Film · 1947
Web of Danger
Film · 1947
Intrigue
Film · 1947
Shadows Over Chinatown
Film · 1946
Dangerous Money
Film · 1946
The Trap
Film · 1946
G.I. War Brides
Film · 1946
Dangerous Millions
Film · 1946
Betrayal from the East
Film · 1945
Winged Victory
Film · 1944
China
Film · 1943
Night Plane from Chungking
Film · 1943
Lost Angel
Film · 1943
Castle in the Desert
Film · 1942
Moontide
Film · 1942
Across the Pacific
Film · 1942
A Yank on the Burma Road
Film · 1942
Secret Agent of Japan
Film · 1942
Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
Film · 1942
Manila Calling
Film · 1942
The Mad Martindales
Film · 1942
Charlie Chan in Rio
Film · 1941
Dead Men Tell
Film · 1941
They Met in Bombay
Film · 1941
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Film · 1940
Charlie Chan in Panama
Film · 1940
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
Film · 1940
Murder Over New York
Film · 1940
The Letter
Film · 1940
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Film · 1939
Charlie Chan in Reno
Film · 1939
Escape to Paradise
Film · 1939
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Film · 1939
Barricade
Film · 1939
20,000 Men a Year
Film · 1939
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Film · 1938
Shadows Over Shanghai
Film · 1938
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Film · 1938
International Settlement
Film · 1938
The Good Earth
Film · 1937
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Film · 1937
Double or Nothing
Film · 1937