Actor James Hong has been in a number of film and television projects in his life. The 93-year-old is still working today, you have probably seen at least one of his more than 500 projects and, while successful, he now says an early dismissal still stings.
Hong reveals the story in a report published by CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. In a video profile posted to the program’s YouTube channel, he recalls a moment when he forgot a line on The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, which aired from 1957-58, and, as a result of the slight mistake, star J. Carrol Naish fired him and Hong alleges he did so with a racial outburst in addition.
“It’s a very hurtful thing. I was in London, doing the son of Charlie Chan. J. Carrol Naish was Charlie Chan… So, one day, he was on camera, I was off camera. I missed one line. He says, ‘what is this? A school for Chinese actors?’ I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do. He started to advance. I had my fists clenched. I thought he was going to slug me or something. He walked past and had me fired. I went to his dressing room and apologized, ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Naish, I missed the line.’ He wouldn’t forgive me and had me fired. I don’t talk about it; it just hurts too much.”
Hong ultimately recovered from the purported bigoted experience and now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while Naish is comparatively more obscure, so things worked out in the end. Hong has projects lined up and says the key to his longevity has been injecting every role he has had, no matter how small or seemingly one-note, with a humanity others have taken for granted.
“In every role I played, I tried to make it a human being. That’s why I think I kept working. I think not only the studio but the people saw James was portraying a Chinese as a real person. Not just a cliché character.”
Hong will appear next in Wendell & Wild, due for release this September.