Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

For other people named Victor Wong, see Victor Wong (disambiguation).
Victor Wong
Wong in 1983
Born
Victor Gee Keung Wong

(1927-07-30)July 30, 1927
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 12, 2001(2001-09-12) (aged 74)
Locke, California, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Journalist
  • Artist
Years active1968–1998
Spouses
  • Olive Thurman
  • Robin Goodfellow
  • Carol Freeland
  • Dawn Rose (m. 19??; his death)
Children5, including Lyon Wong
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese黃自強
Simplified Chinese黄自強
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHuáng Zìqiáng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingWong4 Zi6koeng4

Victor Gee Keung Wong (traditional Chinese: 黃自強; simplified Chinese: 黄自強; pinyin: Huáng Zìqiáng; Jyutping: Wong4 Zi6koeng4; July 30, 1927 – September 12, 2001) was an American actor, artist, and journalist of Chinese descent.

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 (1992-98). 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.[1] His association with Mark Rothko, whom he met during his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, saw him interact with several luminaries of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac, who fictionalized him as "Arthur Ma" in his novel Big Sur.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AW-01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VWongResident-NewsReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).