Keye Luke in "Phantom of Chinatown"

Object Details

Artist

Unidentified Artist

Sitter

Keye Luke, 18 Jun 1904 - 12 Jan 1991

Lotus Pearl Shibata, 18 Jul 1909 - 14 Sep 1990

Exhibition Label

Born Guangzhou, China

In the early 1930s, Keye Luke sidelined his promising artistic career to become one of Hollywood’s few Asian American actors. Through widely viewed film performances, he hoped to “clear up the debris of misunderstanding and misconception of the Chinese which Americans may have, and vice versa.” Although he resented ethnic stereotyping, Luke benefited from the popularity of movies featuring exotic, pseudo-Asian detectives played by white actors in “yellowface.” Between 1935 and 1949, he appeared in ten films as Lee Chan, “Number One Son” of detective Charlie Chan. In 1940, Luke starred in Phantom of Chinatown (advertised by this poster), becoming the first Asian actor to play an Asian detective in a lead role. Dogged by ethnic typecasting, he went on to originate several iconic roles, including Kato in the Green Hornet serials (1940–41), Mr. Wang in the Broadway musical Flower Drum Song (1958), and Master Po in the television series Kung Fu (1972–75).

Nacido en Cantón, China

A principios de los años treinta, Keye Luke hizo a un lado su prometedora carrera en el mundo del arte para convertirse en uno de los pocos actores asiático-estadounidenses de Hollywood. A través de interpretaciones en películas de gran difusión, esperaba “deshacerse de los malos entendidos e ideas erróneas que todavía pudieran tener los estadounidenses sobre los chinos y viceversa”. Aunque le molestaban los estereotipos étnicos, Luke se benefició de la popularidad de películas protagonizadas por detectives exóticos y pseudoasiáticos interpretados por actores blancos por medio de la práctica del “yellowface” (literalmente, “cara amarilla”). Entre 1935 y 1949, apareció en diez películas como Lee Chan, el “Hijo número uno” del detective Charlie Chan. En 1940, Luke protagonizó Phantom of Chinatown (publicitada por este cartel), convirtiéndose así en el primer actor asiático en interpretar un papel protagonista sobre un detective. Perseguido por el encasillamiento étnico, terminaría por originar varios papeles emblemáticos, incluidos el de Kato en la serie de El Avispón Verde (1940–41), el Sr. Wang en el musical de Broadway Flower Drum Song (1958) y el Maestro Po en la serie de televisión Kung Fu (1972–75).

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

1940

Object number

NPG.2017.113

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Print

Medium

Chromolithograph on paper laid down on linen

Dimensions

Image: 99.6 × 63 cm (39 3/16 × 24 13/16")

Sheet: 105.3 × 68.3 cm (41 7/16 × 26 7/8")

Mount: 109.4 × 72.6 cm (43 1/16 × 28 9/16")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Exhibition

20th Century Americans: 1930-1960

On View

NPG, South Gallery 321

Alternate Title

The Phantom of Chinatown

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Headgear\Hat

Weapon\Gun

Indeterminable

Weapon\Knife

Poster

Container

Keye Luke: Visual Arts\Artist

Keye Luke: Male

Keye Luke: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor

Lotus Pearl Shibata: Female

Lotus Pearl Shibata: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.2017.113

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm46290ecf8-769c-495f-91a3-3fa7a2e54dc3