Chester Gan
Introduction '''Chester Gan''' (1908-1959) was an American character actor of Chinese descent who worked in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Biography Chester Gan was born in Grass Valley, California, to Wing Hong Gan and Wong Shee. He went to China for university, where he developed an interest in acting. Upon his return to the United States, he headed to Los Angeles, where he worked as an engineer.In 1932, Gan's acting career in Hollywood began as a Chinese guard in ''Secrets of the French Police''. Gan played almost a hundred roles, typically portraying Asian stereotypes, from the Chinese cook or waiter to the Japanese enemy soldier. (He once joked that as an actor, he was responsible for hundreds of on-screen deaths.) He also worked as an interpreter and a consultant on Chinese culture and customs on Hollywood films like ''The Good Earth''.Aside from his acting career, owned a slipper store and a restaurant in Los Angeles's Chinatown neighborhood. World War II put a pause on his career as an actor, as he joined the navy. He died in San Francisco—where he operated a photography business—in 1959 after a brief illness. He was survived by his wife, his four children, and his father.
Selected filmography YearTitleRoleNotes1931 ''Prestige''  Soldier in Indo-China  Uncredited1932 ''War Correspondent''  Bandit  Uncredited1932  ''Secrets of the French Police''  Chinese Guard  Uncredited1933 ''The World Gone Mad''  Alpha Delta - Houston's Servant  Uncredited1933 ''Meet the Baron''  Chinese Man  Uncredited1934 ''Lazy River''  Sam Kee's Henchman  Uncredited1934 ''Monte Carlo Nights''  Larry's Valet  Uncredited1934 ''The Red Rider''  Wing  Serial, Uncredited1934 ''Fighting Through''  Wong 1934 ''Tailspin Tommy''  Flapjack - the Cook  Serial, Ch. 1, Uncredited1934 ''The Mysterious Mr. Wong''  Tung's Secret Service Agent  Uncredited1935 ''The Case of the Curious Bride''  Ping - Perry's Servant at Party  Uncredited1935 ''Vagabond Lady''  Japanese Fisherman  Uncredited1935 ''Shadows of the Orient''  Chinaman at Canton House  Uncredited1935 ''China Seas''  Rickshaw Boy  Uncredited1935 ''Wanderer of the Wasteland''  Ling 1935 ''The Bishop Misbehaves''  Chinese Man Smoking  Uncredited1935 ''Stormy''  Chinaman  Uncredited1935 ''Moonlight on the Prairie''  Chinese Cook  Uncredited1935 ''East of Java''  Crewman  Uncredited1935 ''Last of the Pagans''  Chinese Cook  Uncredited1936 ''The Adventures of Frank Merriwell''  Lumber Camp Cook  Serial, Uncredited1936 ''Drift Fence''  Clarence  Uncredited1936 ''Klondike Annie''  Ship's Cook  Uncredited1936 ''Sutter's Gold''  Charlie - Chinese Waiter  Uncredited1936 ''Small Town Girl''  Wing  Uncredited1936 ''The Country Beyond''  Chinese Cook  Uncredited1936 ''San Francisco''  Jowl Lee  Uncredited1936 ''Sea Spoilers''  Oil 1936 ''Ace Drummond''  Kai-Chek  Serial1936 ''Mad Holiday''  Vendor  Uncredited1936 ''Hideaway Girl''  Chinese cook 1936 ''Arizona Mahoney''  Chinese Man at Sing-a-Long  Uncredited1936 ''Crack-Up''  House Boy  Uncredited1936 ''Stowaway''  Chinese Merchant  Uncredited1936 ''After the Thin Man''  Chinese Waiter  Uncredited1937 ''The Mighty Treve''  Chang 1937 ''The Good Earth''  Teahouse Singer  Uncredited, (credited as Chester Gann)1937 ''China Passage''  Rooftop Marauder  Uncredited1937 ''Slave Ship''  Crew Member  Uncredited1937 ''Wild West Days''  Wong, 1st Cook  Serial, (Ch's. 4-5)1937 ''West of Shanghai''  Kung Nui 1937 ''Mannequin''  Chinese Waiter  Uncredited1937 ''Thank You, Mr. Moto''  Wing  Uncredited1937 ''Wells Fargo''  Chinese Workman  Uncredited1938 ''Love Is a Headache''  Louie, Peter's Butler  Uncredited1938 ''International Settlement''  Green Dragon Proprietor  Uncredited1938 ''Gold Is Where You Find It''  Wong - McCooey's Servant  Uncredited1938 ''Air Devils''  Hotel Waiter  Uncredited1938 ''Speed to Burn''  Chung  Uncredited1938 ''The Mexicali Kid''  Mo Cort - Chinese Cook 1938 ''Too Hot to Handle''  Chinese Sergeant  Uncredited1938 ''Shadows Over Shanghai''  Lun Sat Li 1939 ''North of Shanghai''  Policeman 'C' 1939 ''Blackwell's Island''  Wong, Prison Laundryman  Uncredited1939 ''Nancy Drew... Reporter''  Waiter  Uncredited1939 ''The Mystery of Mr. Wong''  Sing, the Butler 1939 ''King of Chinatown''  Mr. Foo 1939 ''Torchy Runs for Mayor''  Ling - Ward's Assistant  Uncredited1939 ''No Place to Go''  Cheng  Uncredited1939 ''Barricade''  Mongol Bandit Leader  Uncredited1939 ''Westbound Stage''  Charlie 1940 ''My Little Chickadee''  Chinese Train Passenger  Uncredited1940 '''Til We Meet Again''  Hong Kong Policeman  Uncredited1940 ''Pals of the Silver Sage''  Ling 1940 ''The Carson City Kid''  Wong Lee 1940 ''Victory''  Wang 1941 ''Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery''  Henchman  Uncredited1941 ''Man-Made Monster''  Wong 1941 ''Singapore Woman''  Waiter at Crow's Nest  Uncredited1941 ''The Get-Away''  Sam 1941 ''They Met in Bombay''  Woo Tau Woo  Uncredited1941 ''Rawhide Rangers''  Sing Lo - the Cook 1941 ''Passage from Hong Kong''  Chung 1941 ''The Maltese Falcon''  Bit Part  Uncredited1941 ''Burma Convoy''  Keela 1942 ''All Through the Night''  Gloves' Rescuer at Nazi Meeting  Uncredited1942 ''A Yank on the Burma Road''  Doctor  Uncredited1942 ''To the Shores of Tripoli''  Chinese Man Watching Parade  Uncredited1942 ''Moontide''  Henry Hirota 1942 ''The Tuttles of Tahiti''  Emily's servant  Uncredited1942 ''Escape from Hong Kong''  Tamoto 1942 ''Submarine Raider''  Yoshiwara  Uncredited1942 ''Busses Roar''  Yamanito 1942 ''Across the Pacific''  Captain Higoto 1942 ''Flying Tigers''  Mike the Mechanic 1942 ''Heart of the Golden West''  Chinese Cook  Uncredited1942 ''China Girl''  Japanese Officer  Uncredited1943 ''The Amazing Mrs. Holliday''  Young Farmer  Uncredited1943 ''China''  Japanese General 1943 ''Crash Dive''  Lee Wong  Uncredited1943 ''Salute to the Marines''  Japanese Officer  Uncredited1959 ''Blood Alley''  Ferry Boat Captain  Uncredited
References
External links *** *  Asian-American Cinema Part II the 1930s at Amoeba.com (with images)