James Hong back in spotlight with push for Hollywood star
James Hong is learning to do his first Zoom video chat at the spry age of 91. The actor is finding it “mind-boggling.”
“What is this Zoom thing anyway?” Hong said from his Los Angeles home. “If I live another five years, what are we going to be doing? Talking through our fingernails?”
That sarcastic sense of humor is one of many reasons Hong has remained such an appealing presence on screen for nearly 70 years. With more than 600 acting and voice-over credits to his name, he’s sure to pop up any time of day in any country that airs American films and TV. His movie resume includes “Flower Drum Song,” “Blade Runner” and “Wayne’s World 2.” He’s appeared on a slew of hit TV shows since the 1950s — from “Friends” to “The
Big Bang Theory” and both versions of “Hawaii
Five-0.”
The longtime character actor is now in the spotlight after actor Daniel Dae Kim
launched a campaign Aug. 5 to get Hong a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The nomination process isn’t until spring, but Kim wanted to secure the required $50,000 price tag to create and install a star. While most celebrities have a studio or record label helping to cover costs, Hong does not.
Gearing up for a potentially difficult grassroots fundraiser, Kim and fellow actors Randall Park, MingNa Wen and Ken Jeong promised a joint Zoom call for anyone who donated $5,000 or more.
Turns out, it took all of three days for 1,700 people to donate $55,000 to #StarforJamesHong.
“I thought maybe I should help him raise the money somehow,” Hong said. “But he said ‘We’ve fulfilled it.’ Even my nephew and niece didn’t get a chance to put in any money.”
Hong didn’t know about the campaign beforehand and was more shocked by the donations than anyone.
“It’s hard to scrape up $10, $25 or $50, let alone a thousand or five thousand,”
Hong said. “I owe my public a lot, and I don’t know exactly how to thank them.”
In his GoFundMe pitch, Kim said Hong “epitomizes the term ‘working actor,’ and that’s not even taking into account all he’s done to help further representation for actors of color.”
Arthur Dong, author of “Hollywood Chinese” and a longtime friend, said it’s no surprise these younger Asian American actors revere him. Hong stuck to his ambition in an era when roles available to Asian actors were mostly tropes and stereotypes— a fact the actor acknowledges. What counted is that he worked to change things, Dong said.
“He’s not a victim. He works to conquer the problem and push for progress,” Dong said. “The fact that he survived it is incredible. I think that’s where the younger generations of actors find respect for him.”
Specifically, Hong and eight other Asian American actors fed up with being offered “cliche roles” formed their own acting troupe in 1964. That acting group developed into Los Angeles-based East West Players, which is today arguably the most reputable Asian American theater company in the country.
If Hong were to join the Walk of Fame’s galaxy of nearly 2,700 stars, he’d be one of very few Asian American actors. Hong can’t help but be a little cynical. A couple of people tried to nominate him before, but he was rejected.
Whether or not Kim’s campaign succeeds, the deluge of donations and fan support still feels like plenty of validation.
“They have told me that what I’m doing is worthwhile,” Hong said. “I knew that before anyway, but now there’s hope, there’s a pat on the back.”