Victor Sen Yung

Victor Sen Yung

Biography: 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.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: October 18, 1915

Deathday: November 01, 1980

Popularity:

6.234

Known For

The Movie Orgy
The Movie Orgy

1968-01-01

Chinatown at Midnight
Chinatown at Midnight

1949-11-17

Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song

1961-11-09

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

1939-08-31

Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Charlie Chan in Honolulu

1938-12-30

Charlie Chan in Reno
Charlie Chan in Reno

1939-06-16

Forbidden
Forbidden

1953-12-02

Woman on the Run
Woman on the Run

1950-11-10

Castle in the Desert
Castle in the Desert

1942-02-02

Moontide
Moontide

1942-05-29

Betrayal from the East
Betrayal from the East

1945-04-24

She Demons
She Demons

1958-01-03

The Left Hand of God
The Left Hand of God

1955-09-02

The Breaking Point
The Breaking Point

1950-10-06

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

1940-05-02

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

1940-09-06

Charlie Chan in Panama
Charlie Chan in Panama

1940-03-01

Murder Over New York
Murder Over New York

1940-12-13

Dead Men Tell
Dead Men Tell

1941-03-28

Charlie Chan in Rio
Charlie Chan in Rio

1941-09-05

Shadows Over Chinatown
Shadows Over Chinatown

1946-06-27

Dangerous Money
Dangerous Money

1946-10-12

The Trap
The Trap

1946-11-30

The Hunters
The Hunters

1958-09-01

The Flame
The Flame

1947-11-24

Jet Attack
Jet Attack

1958-02-15

The Letter
The Letter

1940-11-21

Across the Pacific
Across the Pacific

1942-09-04

Docks of New Orleans
Docks of New Orleans

1948-03-21

The Chinese Ring
The Chinese Ring

1947-12-06

The Shanghai Chest
The Shanghai Chest

1948-07-11

The Feathered Serpent
The Feathered Serpent

1948-12-19

The Golden Eye
The Golden Eye

1948-08-29

A Yank on the Burma Road
A Yank on the Burma Road

1942-01-29

China
China

1943-04-21

The Shanghai Story
The Shanghai Story

1954-09-01

Tuna Clipper
Tuna Clipper

1949-04-11

Night Plane from Chungking
Night Plane from Chungking

1943-05-31

Shadows Over Shanghai
Shadows Over Shanghai

1938-10-14

The Crimson Key
The Crimson Key

1947-07-02

Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance

1938-06-11

The Sickle or the Cross
The Sickle or the Cross

1949-07-01

Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon
Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon

1972-02-22

The Killer Elite
The Killer Elite

1975-12-19

Web of Danger
Web of Danger

1947-06-10

Secret Agent of Japan
Secret Agent of Japan

1942-04-03

Escape to Paradise
Escape to Paradise

1939-12-22

Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture

1949-03-02

Thank You, Mr. Moto
Thank You, Mr. Moto

1937-12-24

The Good Earth
The Good Earth

1937-06-02

Double or Nothing
Double or Nothing

1937-09-17

Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
Little Tokyo, U.S.A.

1942-07-08

Manila Calling
Manila Calling

1942-10-16

Lost Angel
Lost Angel

1943-12-23

Winged Victory
Winged Victory

1944-12-22

Intrigue
Intrigue

1947-12-06

To the Ends of the Earth
To the Ends of the Earth

1948-02-07

Rogues' Regiment
Rogues' Regiment

1948-12-28

Jubilee Trail
Jubilee Trail

1954-05-15

The Blue Gardenia
The Blue Gardenia

1953-03-20

Target Hong Kong
Target Hong Kong

1953-02-06

Cripple Creek
Cripple Creek

1952-06-30

Hong Kong
Hong Kong

1952-04-18

Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire

1951-11-20

The Law and the Lady
The Law and the Lady

1951-07-20

Peking Express
Peking Express

1951-08-01

Secrets of Monte Carlo
Secrets of Monte Carlo

1951-06-20

Grounds for Marriage
Grounds for Marriage

1951-01-12

Key to the City
Key to the City

1950-02-02

And Baby Makes Three
And Baby Makes Three

1949-12-02

Jump Into Hell
Jump Into Hell

1955-04-01

The Man with Bogart's Face
The Man with Bogart's Face

1980-10-03

The Red Pony
The Red Pony

1973-03-17

The Hawaiians
The Hawaiians

1970-06-17

Confessions of an Opium Eater
Confessions of an Opium Eater

1962-06-20

The Saga of Hemp Brown
The Saga of Hemp Brown

1958-10-01

Accused of Murder
Accused of Murder

1956-12-21

Flight to Hong Kong
Flight to Hong Kong

1956-10-08

The Rawhide Years
The Rawhide Years

1956-07-01

Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune

1955-05-24

G.I. War Brides
G.I. War Brides

1946-08-12

International Settlement
International Settlement

1938-02-04

Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Torchy Blane in Chinatown

1939-02-02

The Sniper
The Sniper

1952-05-09

The Groom Wore Spurs
The Groom Wore Spurs

1951-03-13

20,000 Men a Year
20,000 Men a Year

1939-10-26

Barricade
Barricade

1939-12-08

Red Light
Red Light

1949-09-30

A Ticket to Tomahawk
A Ticket to Tomahawk

1950-05-19

Men in War
Men in War

1957-05-03

The Mad Martindales
The Mad Martindales

1942-05-15

Port of Hell
Port of Hell

1954-12-05

They Met in Bombay
They Met in Bombay

1941-06-27

Half Past Midnight
Half Past Midnight

1948-03-01

Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Oh, You Beautiful Doll

1949-11-11

State Department: File 649
State Department: File 649

1949-02-11

Trader Tom of the China Seas
Trader Tom of the China Seas

1954-01-06

Dangerous Millions
Dangerous Millions

1946-11-27

A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear

1968-11-27

Blood Alley
Blood Alley

1955-10-01