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Charlie Chan
I know that some Asian Americans have protested against Charlie Chan as a stereotype. I think one of the things they object to in him is that he has such nice manners. In America it isn't considered manly to be polite.
I guess Warner Oland belong to the long list of non-Asian actors who have played Asians. Like in the Manchurian Candidate, Henry Silva (a Puerto Rican) is supposed to be a Korean, and Kigh Diegh (a New Yorker of Egyptian parentage) is supposed to be Chinese.
For old film buffs, check out Warner Oland in his brief appearance as a werewolf in Werewolf of London.
And for non-Asian actors who have played Asians, how could I leave out Boris Karloff in "The mask of Fu Manchu." I have read all the Fu Manchu novels, and I am a big Karloff fan, and I haven't seen this movie.
And Myrna Loy (The Thin Man) played Fu Manchu's daughter, as I learned from reading Famous Monsters of Filmland a long time ago.
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