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{{Short description|American actor (1916–1987)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Benson Fong <br> {{lang|zh-hant|鄺炳雄}}
| image              = The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) Press Photo of Benson Fong and Gregory Peck.jpg
| caption            = Fong (left) and [[Gregory Peck]] in a publicity photo for ''[[The Keys of the Kingdom (film)|The Keys of the Kingdom]]'' (1944)
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1916|10|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Sacramento, California]], US
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1987|08|01|1916|10|10|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles]], California, US
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1936–1986
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Maylia Fong]]|1946|<!--Omission per Template:Marriage instructions-->}}
| children           = 5
}}

{{infobox Chinese
| title = Chinese name
| s = {{linktext|邝|炳|雄}}
| t = {{linktext|鄺|炳|雄}}
| p = Kuànɡ Bǐngxióng
| j = Kwong3 Bing2hung4
| bpmf = ㄎㄨㄤˋ ㄅㄧㄥˇ ㄒㄩㄥˊ
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|k|uang|4|-|b|ing|3|.|x|iong|2}}
}}

'''Benson Fong''' ({{zh|t=鄺炳雄}};<ref name=sa>{{cite web |title=好莱坞黄金年代亚裔演员漫谈（下） |url=https://share.america.gov/zh-hans/asian-american-actors-from-hollywoods-golden-age-part-3/ |website=ShareAmerica |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606160023/https://share.america.gov/zh-hans/asian-american-actors-from-hollywoods-golden-age-part-3/ |archive-date=6 June 2022 |language=zh |date=25 May 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> October 10, 1916 – August 1, 1987) was an American [[character actor]].

Born in [[Sacramento]], California, Fong was from a mercantile family of Chinese extraction. After graduating from high school in Sacramento, he studied briefly in China before returning to Sacramento and opening a grocery store with a cousin.<ref>{{cite news|title= Benson Fong Is Dead at 70; Was in Film and TV 40 Years|work= The New York Times|date=August 4, 1987|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/04/obituaries/benson-fong-is-dead-at-70-was-in-film-and-tv-40-years.html?scp=17&sq=david%20carradine%20kung%20fu&st=cse|accessdate=2010-08-17}}</ref>

==Career==
 {{More citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
Fong's acting career resulted from a chance meeting with a Hollywood talent scout. In 1943, while having dinner with some friends in Sacramento, he was approached by a man from [[Paramount Pictures]], who asked if he would like to be in a movie. Fong ended up with a role in a film called [[China (1943 film)|''China'']] starring [[Loretta Young]] and [[Alan Ladd]]. He was also offered a 10-week contract for $250 a week.

"It looked like a tremendous fortune and I accepted quickly, afraid they might think twice and back out," he told an interviewer. "I couldn't read lines too well, but World War II was under way and all the studios were looking for actors with Oriental features. I bicycled around from one set to another, playing a Japanese here, a Filipino there, a Chinese on still other days."

The next year, he played one of the sons in ''[[Charlie Chan in the Secret Service]]''. Other films in which he appeared included ''[[Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo]]'', ''[[The Keys of the Kingdom (film)|The Keys of the Kingdom]]'', ''[[His Majesty O'Keefe]]'', ''[[Flower Drum Song (film)|Flower Drum Song]]'', ''[[Our Man Flint]]'', and ''[[The Strongest Man in the World]]''.<ref name=lat>{{cite news|title= Benson Fong, Character Actor and Founder of Cafes, Dies|work= The Los Angeles Times|date= August 3, 1987|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-03-mn-549-story.html|access-date=2015-02-06}}</ref>

First appearing onscreen in ''[[Charlie Chan at the Opera]]'' as an extra, he returned to the series and is best remembered playing Number Three Son "Tommy Chan" opposite [[Sidney Toler]] in six ''[[Charlie Chan]]'' movies between 1944 and 1946, replacing [[Victor Sen Yung]]'s Number Two Son, Jimmy.

His later career as an actor included numerous TV appearances in both series and movies. Fong made four guest appearances on ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', seven on ''[[My Three Sons]]'' as Ray Wong, and four on ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]''. Additionally, he played The Old One in the 1986 TV movie ''[[Kung Fu:The Movie]]''.

He played Mr. Tang Wu in Disney's ''[[The Love Bug]]''. Actress [[Michele Lee]] later said that the 52-year-old actor had to have his jet-black hair sprayed bright white to make him look older.<ref>DVD commentary, ''The Love Bug'', 2003</ref>

Later in  life, Fong became a successful restaurateur and opened several Ah Fong (亞方)<ref name=sa /> restaurants in [[California]].<ref name=lat/> His chain of five restaurants, which he built up over a 30-year period, resulted from a casual remark made by actor [[Gregory Peck]]. After appearing together in ''The Keys of the Kingdom'', Fong recalled, Peck suggested they start a restaurant together. "The idea appealed to me," Fong said. By that time, he was dating his future wife Gloria. Wanting to have a predictable income instead of becoming one more struggling actor, he decided the restaurant would have to be done with his own capital, so he began saving. Two years later, he had $11,000, and in 1946, opened his first Ah Fong's on Hollywood's Vine Street.  By 1971, four others had opened. The Ah in the Ah Fong's name is a term of respect in Chinese, but Fong thought up the name while looking at the wrapper of an "Oh Henry!" candy bar. Retiring from the business in 1985, only the Hollywood Ah Fong's remained, owned by a relative, at the time of his death.

An avid golfer and frequent traveler to Asia, Fong practiced meditation and once described himself as "a split personality – half a pound Oriental and eight ounces Yankee". He stated in one interview that he summed up his life this way: "Whatever I am, spiritually speaking, is what I've wanted to be, nothing more and nothing less. Call me a happy man and you call me by my rightful name."<ref name=lat/>

== Personal life and death==
Fong was married to the actress [[Maylia Fong]], with whom he had five children. He died of a stroke in [[Los Angeles, California]], in 1987.<ref name="nst">{{cite news |title=Character actor Benson Fong dies |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PntPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YpADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3599,1007194&dq=benson+fong+dies&hl=en |accessdate=5 July 2019 |work=New Straits Times |date=August 5, 1987 |page=14}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Charlie Chan at the Opera]]'' (1936) .... Opera Supernumerary (uncredited)
*''[[The Fighting Devil Dogs]]'' (1938, Serial) .... Gehorda outlaw (Ch. 9 Attack from the Skies) (uncredited)
*''[[China (1943 film)|China]]'' (1943) .... Guerilla (uncredited)
*''[[Behind the Rising Sun (film)|Behind the Rising Sun]]'' (1943) .... Japanese Officer with message (uncredited)
*''[[Destroyer (1943 film)|Destroyer]]'' (1943) Japanese sonar operator (uncredited)
*''[[Destination Tokyo]]'' (1943) .... Japanese (uncredited)
*''[[Charlie Chan in the Secret Service]]'' (1944) .... Tommy Chan
*''[[Up in Arms]]'' (1944) .... Japanese sentry (uncredited)
*''[[The Purple Heart]]'' (1944) .... Moy Ling (uncredited)
*''[[Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat]]'' (1944) .... Tommy Chan 
*''[[Dragon Seed (film)|Dragon Seed]]'' (1944) .... Student (uncredited)
*''[[Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo]]'' (1944) .... Young Dr. Chung
*''[[The Keys of the Kingdom (film)|The Keys of the Kingdom]]'' (1944) .... Joseph
*''[[China Sky (film)|China Sky]]'' (1945) .... Chung
*''[[The Scarlet Clue]]'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan
*''[[Back to Bataan]]'' (1945) .... Officer making broadcast (uncredited)
*''[[Nob Hill (1945 film)|Nob Hill]]'' (1945) .... Chinese servant (uncredited)
*''[[Secret Agent X-9 (1945 serial)|Secret Agent X-9]]'' (1945 serial) .... Dr. Hakahima
*''[[The Shanghai Cobra]]'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan
*''[[First Yank Into Tokyo]]'' (1945) .... Capt. Tanahe
*''[[The Red Dragon (film)|The Red Dragon]]'' (1945) .... Tommy Chan
*''[[Dark Alibi]]'' (1946) .... Tommy Chan
*''[[Deception (1946 film)|Deception]]'' (1946) .... Jimmy – Hollenius' servant
*''[[Calcutta (1947 film)|Calcutta]]'' (1947) .... Young Chinese clerk
*''[[Women in the Night]]'' (1948) .... Chang
*''[[Hazard (1948 film)|Hazard]]'' (1948) .... Houseboy (uncredited)
*''[[Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture]]'' (1949) .... Ah Hing – Wong's salesclerk (uncredited)
*''[[Chinatown at Midnight]]'' (1949) .... Joe Wing
*''[[Three Husbands (1951 film)|Three Husbands]]'' (1951) .... George the butler (uncredited)
*''[[Korea Patrol]]'' (1951) .... Kim – South Korean scout
*''[[Peking Express (film)|Peking Express]]'' (1951) .... Wong
*''[[Katie Did It]]'' (1951) .... Lahoo (uncredited)
*''[[Submarine Command]]'' (1952) .... Major Kim (uncredited)
*''[[Back at the Front]]'' (1952) .... Rickshaw boy
*''[[His Majesty O'Keefe]]'' (1954) .... Mr. Chou
*''[[Dragonfly Squadron]]'' (1954) .... Capt. Liehtse
*''[[The Left Hand of God]]'' (1955) .... Chun Tien (husband of dying woman)
*''[[Conquest of Space]]'' (1955) .... Imoto
*''[[The Scarlet Hour]]'' (1956)....Benson (uncredited)
*''[[Five Gates to Hell]]'' (1959) .... Gung Sa
*''[[Walk Like a Dragon]]'' (1960) .... Wu
*''[[Flower Drum Song (film)|Flower Drum Song]]'' (1961) .... Wang Chi-Yang
*''[[Girls! Girls! Girls!]]'' (1962) .... Kin Yung
*''[[Our Man Flint]]'' (1966) .... Dr. Schneider
*''[[The Love Bug]]'' (1968) .... Mr. Tang Wu
*''[[Charley Varrick]]'' (1973) .... Honest John
*''[[A Time for Love (1974 film)|A Time for Love]]'' (1974)
*''[[He Is My Brother]]'' (1975) .... Kiko
*''[[The Strongest Man in the World]]'' (1975) .... Ah Fong
*''[[Oliver's Story]]'' (1978) .... John Hsiang
*''[[S.O.B. (film)|S.O.B.]]'' (1981) .... Chef
*''[[Jinxed!]]'' (1982) .... Dr. Wing
{{div col end}}

==Television==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' – "The Bachelor of Grandby Oaks", 1954 .... Alexander 
*''[[Navy Log]]'' – "Operation Typewriter", 1956 .... Colonel Huam
*''[[Crossroads (1955 TV series)|Crossroads]]'' – "The Inner Light", 1956 .... Po Ling
*''Crusader'' – "Pressure", 1956 .... Dr. Chen
*''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' – Gow Loong in "The Case of the Empty Tin", 1958; James Hing in "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat", 1959; Itsubi Nogata in "The Case of the Blushing Pearls", 1959; Oolong Kim in "The Case of the Waylaid Wolf", 1961
*''[[Death Valley Days]]'' – "Sam Kee and Uncle Sam", 1959 .... Sam Kee
*''[[The Islanders (TV series)|The Islanders]]'' – "The Generous Politician", 1960 .... O'Hara
*''[[Have Gun - Will Travel]]'' – "The Hatchet Man", 1960 .... Det. Joe Tsin
*''[[Hong Kong (TV series)|Hong Kong]]'' – "With Deadly Sorrow", 1961.... Lee-Po
*''[[Bonanza]]'' – uncredited in "Day of the Dragon", 1961; Na Shan in "A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay", 1964
*''[[The Beachcomber (TV series)|The Beachcomber]]'' – "The Brooch", 1962 .... Ah Ling
*''[[Bachelor Father (U.S. TV series)|Bachelor Father]]'' – "The Twain Shall Meet", 1962 .... Mr. Chang
*''[[My Three Sons]]'' – seven episodes, 1963–1969 .... Ray Wong
*''[[Ben Casey]]'' – "No More, Cried the Rooster-There Will be Truth", 1965 .... Mr. Lee
*''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' –  "The Night the Dragon Screamed", 1966 .... Mo Ti
*''[[The F.B.I. (TV series)|The FBI]]'' – "The Hiding Place", 1966 .... Dr. Leonard Shigetsu
*''[[Dundee and the Culhane]]'' – "The Vasquez Brief", 1967
*''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'' – "An American Empress", 1967 .... Cheng
*''[[Family Affair]]'' – Paul Chang in "The Great Kow-Tow", 1968; Eng Ho in "Number One Boy", 1969; and "Eastward Ho", 1970
*''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]'' – "Mad in Japan", 1969 .... Dr. Takita
*''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'' – "Butterfly", 1970 .... Inspector Akita
*''[[Travis Logan, D.A.]]'' 1971, TV movie .... Alfred Ling
*''[[Bewitched]]'' – "Sam's Witchcraft Blows a Fuse", 1972 .... Mr. Fong
*''[[The Smith Family (TV series)|The Smith Family]]'' – "San Francisco Cop", 1972 .... Frank Low
*''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]'' – Han Fei in "Pilot", 1972; Soong in "Blood Brother", 1973; Sorcerer Liu in "The Brujo", 1973; Li Yu in "The Vanishing Image", 1974
*''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'' – "Terror on Grant Avenue", 1974 .... Henry Wing 
*''[[Police Story (1973 TV series)|Police Story]]'' – "Year of the Dragon Parts I & II", 1975 .... William Liu
*''[[Harry O]]'' – "Forbidden City", 1976 .... Soong Kee
*''[[The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)|The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' – "The Chinese Web Parts I & II", 1979 .... Min Lo Chan
*''[[Moonlight (1982 film)|Moonlight]]'' – 1982, TV movie .... Clifford Wu
*''[[TJ Hooker]]'' – "Chinatown", 1983 .... Lee Chan
*''[[The Glitter Dome (film)|The Glitter Dome]]'' – 1984, [[HBO]] movie .... Wing
*''[[Crazy Like a Fox (TV series)|Crazy Like a Fox]]'' – "Year of the Fox", 1985 .... Harry Woo
*''[[Kung Fu:The Movie]]'' – 1986, TV movie .... The Old One (final film role)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Benson}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:American restaurateurs]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male actors of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]