Kim Chan, 93 or 94, Had Roles in TV and 'King of Comedy'
Matthew Kruk
Kim Chan, Who Had Roles in TV and 'King of Comedy,' Is Dead
By WILLIAM GRIMES
Kim Chan, an actor who became a familiar face in a variety of Asian roles,
notably as Jerry Lewis's butler in the Martin Scorsese film "The King of
Comedy," a character who did furious battle with an obsessed fan played by
Robert De Niro, died on Sunday in Brooklyn.
His niece Judy Gee, who confirmed his death, said that he was probably 93 or
94.
From bit parts as a houseboy or a Japanese soldier, Mr. Chan worked his way
up to playing dignified old men with access to the wisdom of the East, as he
did in "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," a spinoff of the 1970s television
series "Kung Fu" that ran from 1993 to 1997.
He actually played two roles in that series: the apothecary and martial arts
expert Lo Si, "the Ancient," and the evil monk Ping Hai.
Mr. Chan, who emigrated to the United States from the province of Canton,
China, as a boy, discovered show business while working in his family's
restaurant, the House of Chan, which was in the theater district of
Manhattan.
The outgoing Mr. Chan began picking up walk-on parts on the stage. He made
his film debut in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), playing a radio announcer,
Ms. Gee said. He went on to play a theater cashier in "The Owl and the
Pussycat," a Korean flower vendor in "Jumpin' Jack Flash," a dim sum cook in
"Cadillac Man," the Thai fast-food vendor Mr. Kim in "The Fifth Element,"
Uncle Benny Chan in "Lethal Weapon 4" and Jackie Chan's father in "Shanghai
Knights."
He was a producer of one of his final films, "Zen Noir" (2004), a murder
mystery in which he played a character described on the film's Web site
(zenmovie.com) as "an infuriatingly obscure Zen teacher, who does a lot of
strange things with oranges."
His survivors include a son, Michael Chandler, of Queens.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Brad Ferguson
<Matthe...@Telus.net> wrote:
> The outgoing Mr. Chan began picking up walk-on parts on the stage. He made
> his film debut in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), playing a radio announcer,
> Ms. Gee said. He went on to play a theater cashier in "The Owl and the
> Pussycat," a Korean flower vendor in "Jumpin' Jack Flash," a dim sum cook in
> "Cadillac Man," the Thai fast-food vendor Mr. Kim in "The Fifth Element,"
> Uncle Benny Chan in "Lethal Weapon 4" and Jackie Chan's father in "Shanghai
> Knights."
Oh, sure. Here's a pic:
<http://scifipedia.scifi.com/images/thumb/2/2c/Kim-Chan.jpg/270px-Kim-Ch
an.jpg>
He was very funny as a mob boss in Lethal Weapon 4.