Yee Keung Victor Wong (July 30, 1927 – September 12, 2001) was an American actor, artist, and journalist. A fourth-generation Chinese-American, he appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He portrayed Chinese sorcerer Egg Shen in John Carpenter’s 1986 cult film Big Trouble in Little China, royal adviser Chen Bao Shen in the Best Picture–winning The Last Emperor, rural storekeeper Walter Chang in the comedy horror film Tremors, and Grandpa Mori Tanaka in the 3 Ninjas tetralogy.
Although he had acted in and staged productions with his first wife, Olive, who he had met after his return from Chicago, Wong was inspired by the assassination of John F. Kennedy to pursue a career in journalism, landing an on-air role for KQED’s Newsroom from 1968 until 1974, when he was stricken with Bell’s palsy. During his tenure on Newsroom, Wong is credited with inventing the photojournalistic essay, covering stories with his still camera and returning to narrate them in the studio. The palsy would give him his later distinctive appearance, but at the time, he felt his roles had diminished because he wasn’t “pretty looking”.
After his news career ended, Wong turned to acting, starting in the local Asian American theatre and later landing larger roles on the stages of New York City. In October 1980, Wong made his Asian American Theater Company (AATC) debut in San Francisco by appearing in their production of Paper Angels by Genny Lim. He was on Social Security Disability Insurance at the time due to his palsy. In New York, he acted in the plays Family Devotions and Sound and Beauty, written by David Henry Hwang. –Wikipedia
| Credit Type | Production | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Actor | Paper Angels | 1981-82 Season |