| Frances Fong | |
| Birth Name: | Frances Chung |
| Birth Date: | September 22, 1927 |
| Birth Place: | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Education: | Roosevelt High School, Honolulu |
| Alma Mater: | Long Beach City College |
| Occupation: | Singer, Actress |
| Years Active: | 1945 - 1999 |
| Children: | 3 |
Frances Fong (born Frances Chung; September 22, 1927 - October 24, 2012)[1] was an American singer and actress whose performing career spanned over fifty years.
She was born Frances Chung[2] in Honolulu, in what was then the Territory of Hawaii.[3] Her parents, Francis Chung and Emma Leong Chung, were both born in Hawaii to immigrants from China. She had one older brother.[4] Her father started as an electrician repairing appliances in a shop, and later became an executive of a lumber company.[5] When the children were old enough for school, her mother worked as a packer in a pineapple cannery. English was Frances Chung's only language growing up.[6]
Frances Chung attended Kalihi-weana Elementary, Kalakaua Junior High, and Roosevelt High School.[7] At Roosevelt she was active in student government, volunteered in the school library, and was a member of the A Cappella Choir and Swim Club.[8] She also belonged to the school's Allied Youth Organization, for which she was vice-president. During high school Frances Chung took part in USO entertainments in Hawaii, and performed in a continuing community variety show called "The Gay Nineties".
After graduating from Roosevelt High School in June 1945,[9] she attended Long Beach City College (LBCC) on the mainland, studying Dramatics.
After just a few weeks at LBCC, Frances Chung was in a show for war workers at Douglas Aircraft Corporation.[10] Francis Lederer spotted her and brought her to the attention of MGM scouts, who had her tested for a part in Holiday in Mexico. She got the part and a contract, though her performance wound up on the cutting room floor.[11]
She continued to use Frances Chung as billing for all movies she made while under contract to MGM from 1945 thru 1948, despite having been married in May 1946. She was first loaned to 20th Century for an uncredited bit in Anna and the King of Siam. She was then loaned to Universal for a thirteen part serial, Lost City of the Jungle, her first credited part. Back at MGM in 1947, she was in Dark Delusion (sometimes mistakenly cited as Dark Illusion). For 1948 she was loaned out again, to Paramount for Saigon. Her final film in 1948 may have been done after her MGM contract finished, an independent production titled Women in the Night. A mildly lurid melodrama, it did provide her with screen credit and newspaper publicity.[12] [13]
Following 1948 she had no film roles for seven years. She joined a twelve-piece band called "The Cathayans", doing lead vocals for engagements at the St. Francis Hotel and other San Francisco venues.[14] [15] During winter 1953-54 she entered a contest for Miss Chinese New Year Festival, the winner to be determined by which contestant sold the most festival entry tickets.[16] Though not a beauty contest, a photo of her and two other contestants was widely circulated among newspapers around the country.[17]
The publicity led to Frances Fong (as she now billed herself) obtaining parts in at least four episodes of The New Adventures of China Smith during 1954. Her first television work, this series set in Singapore and nearby locales used her in different roles rather than as a recurring character. This led to her next film, Soldier of Fortune, a Hong Kong-based story starring Clark Gable. She didn't receive screen credit, but was mentioned favorably in newspaper reviews.[18] She had another uncredited role in Hell on Frisco Bay (working title The Darkest Hour) which was filmed in April and May 1955, but not released until 1956.[19] Fong had another uncredited bit part in Around the World in 80 Days, plus appearances on television series Navy Log and Cavalcade of America during 1956.
During 1956 Fong created a nightclub act that played for nineteen months at the New Frontier and seven months at the Thunderbird.[20] The act was built around her singing, with some sultry dance routines and jokes added. She was top billed at San Francisco's Forbidden City during the last quarter of 1958,[21] with local columnists noting whenever she temporarily left to film a show in Hollywood.[22] Fong herself described her routine to an interviewer: "I wear sleek gowns, sing sexy songs. The women don't like it, but the men do." An example of her repartee between the songs and dances: "All I ever meet are Cads driving Jags".[23]
For all her engagements, Fong's contract allowed her time off for television work. Her nightclub wardrobe enhanced her value for television roles in which she played an entertainer.[24] While still at Forbidden City she started working for Warner Brothers Television, doing episodes of 77 Sunset Strip and Lawman. For the former, she was required to speak Chinese over the phone. Since she didn't know the language she started taking lessons, to which fact publicity agents tipped reporters.
By January 1959 Fong had quit nightclub work in favor of television. For the next three years she had parts in a dozen different TV series, some of them for multiple episodes. She had been cast for recurring roles in two series, Shark Street and Brady, but after filming the pilot episodes both shows remained unsold. Some of the shows she did appear in such as Peter Gunn, Hawaiian Eye, Bachelor Father, and Perry Mason were quite popular, so that she felt it worthwhile to purchase a modest second home in Van Nuys instead of commuting from San Francisco and staying in hotels.
However, she also did a number of short-lived and single season shows: Yancy Derringer, 21 Beacon Street, Johnny Midnight, The Case of the Dangerous Robin, and Mr. Garlund which only lasted seven episodes. With no series regular or recurring roles on the horizon, Fong decided to take a chance on performing live again, this time in theatre.
From June 1962 Fong was involved with a touring company production of the French farce Pajama Tops. So far as is known, this was her only appearance on the stage. The play, adapted from Moumou by Jean de Létraz, had been running steadily for five years in small Los Angeles theaters with an ever-changing cast. Producers Stan Seiden and Zev Buffman decided to take it on tour, beginning with the Moore Theatre in Seattle. That city was then hosting the World's Fair, ensuring large visiting crowds.
The action centered around three "couples" at a Deauville country house, with a diminutive police inspector as odd man out. The touring company cast was small, just seven actors, with John Agar and June Wilkinson as the stars. Fong, as the ambitious maid "Claudine", Cliff Halle, Leslie Vallen, Brad Logan, and Don McArt completed the cast, while Richard Vath directed the action. The broad comedy included many intentional prop mishaps and stage miscues, delighting audiences and appalling critics. After nine SRO weeks in Seattle, the company moved to Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse, where it set performance records with another nine week run.[25] From there it went to Pittsburgh's Nixon Theatre, then to Kingston, Jamaica, St. Louis, Kansas City, Baltimore, and other cities for two and three week runs.[26] [27] [28] [29]
The year-long tour playing what was essentially a burlesque given a veneer of stage legitimacy took its toll on the players. Director Richard Vath had to take over Agar's part and James Winslow replaced Logan as the butler "Jacques". Fong and Wilkinson had reportedly stopped speaking to each other off-stage.[30] Finally, in a reversal of the usual process, the comedy went to Broadway in late May 1963, where it had 4 previews and 52 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre.[31] [32] Towards the end of the run, Wilkinson deliberately upstaged Fong during the latter's big scene, causing a backstage brawl that left the stage manager, who unwisely tried to intervene, with a sore jaw.[33]
Pajama Tops had occupied over a year of Fong's career and given her the cachet of a Broadway production, albeit one that a critic said "may set the theater back a few millenium". It had also taken her away from Hollywood and television; her last two TV episodes had been filmed in 1961[34] and it would be 1965 before she returned to the small screen.
Fong returned to television in 1965, doing two or three series episodes or TV movies each year up to 1982, when her small screen work became much more intermittent. She was now a character actor rather than a leading lady. She had a small part in the John Wayne film Hellfighters during 1968. She was credited with doing three movies in the 1970s and 1980s, Golden Needles, Dragon Force, and Bruce Lee's Dragons Fight Back that may actually have been performed by a much younger Hong Kong based actress with the same name. This may also have been the case with a 1990 episode of a Hong Kong made British television series Yellowthread Street.
Her last film was a bit part in 1998 for Rush Hour, while her last television work was a year later for Martial Law.
Fong died on October 24, 2012; the place and cause of death are not public knowledge.
Growing up in Honolulu, Frances Chung was known as a strong swimmer and body surfer. She also liked fishing and sea diving, both of which she was taught by her father.[35] She was fond of Russian cuisine and became adept at cooking it.[36] She took part in a charity auto race and rally along with other celebrities in 1962.[37]
When Frances Chung was first signed to an MGM contract in 1945, she met actor Leslie Fong, who had just appeared in Tokyo Rose. They were married May 18, 1946 in San Francisco, where Fong's family owned a men's clothing store.[38] [39] The couple had two sons, both of whom went into acting: Leslie Howard Fong Jr and Brian Fong (Chase). While married to Leslie Fong, Frances Chung continued to use her birth name for professional credits. The couple divorced after the birth of their second son.
Frances Chung then met and married George Kim Fong, a CPA and USAAF veteran from Oakland, California. They had one son together and maintained a primary residence in San Francisco. It was only after this second marriage that she switched to using "Frances Fong" for professional billing. George and Frances Fong shared an interest in Chinese ceramics; they donated their large collection to the Berkeley Art Museum in 1996.[40]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Holiday in Mexico | Chinese Girl | Uncredited bit as daughter of Chinese Ambassador was cut during editing |
| Anna and the King of Siam | Uncredited bit part | ||
| Lost City of the Jungle | Lakana Shan | ||
| 1947 | Dark Delusion | Toots | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Saigon | Chinese Nurse | Uncredited |
| Women in the Night | Li Ling | A feature role as one of six women in Axis captivity | |
| 1955 | Soldier of Fortune | Maxine Chan | Uncredited but publicized role as American-educated Chinese girl |
| 1956 | Hell on Frisco Bay | ||
| Around the World in 80 Days | Uncredited | ||
| 1968 | Hellfighters | Madame Loo | Small part has her as a distraction to John Wayne's marriage[41] |
| 1974 | Golden Needles | Su Lin | |
| 1982 | Dragon Force | Su Lim | |
| 1985 | Bruce Lee's Dragons Fight Back | ||
| 1998 | Rush Hour | Socialite | |
| Year | Series | Episode | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The New Adventures of China Smith | The Yellow Jade Lion | Mai Lin | ||
| The Broken Rice Bowl of Chen Lo | Precious Star | Fong plays a blind girl[42] | |||
| Nightmare in Green | |||||
| Spectacles of Heaven | Takes place in a Siamese province[43] | ||||
| 1956 | Navy Log | Operation Typewriter | Miss Ling | Episode set in China during World War II[44] | |
| Cavalcade of America | Diplomatic Outpost | Miss Lou | |||
| 1958 | Tombstone Territory | Tong War | Mei Long | Fong spurns Tong leader for Lum Chen (James Hong)[45] | |
| State Trooper | The Case of the Happy Dragon | Mei Ling Kam | |||
| The Adventures of McGraw[46] | The Long Aloha | Mrs. Soong | [47] | ||
| 77 Sunset Strip | The Well-Selected Frame | Lotus Wong | Fong gets to show off her swimming for Roger Smith[48] | ||
| Lawman | The Intruders | May Ling | She plays widow of slain man (Philip Ahn)[49] | ||
| 1959 | Peter Gunn | Lady Windbell's Fan | Lillian Quon | [50] | |
| Yancy Derringer | The Quiet Firecracker | Ruby | |||
| 21 Beacon Street | The Trojan Horse | Lao | Fong played a secretary for an import company[51] | ||
| 1960 | Bachelor Father | Bentley and the Bartered Bride | Delores Wong | Peter Fong (Sammee Tong) wants her to be his bride[52] | |
| Bachelor Father | Bentley, the Model Citizen | Anna May | |||
| Johnny Midnight | The Impresario | Mikito | |||
| Bachelor Father | A Man of Importance | Susie | |||
| Mr. Garlund | (Pilot) | This series lasted just six episodes on CBS | |||
| 1961 | Perry Mason | The Case of the Waylaid Wolf | Frances Kim | ||
| Hawaiian Eye | Dragon Road | Poppy Shu | She plays a kidnapped fashion model in Hong Kong[53] | ||
| The Case of the Dangerous Robin | Falling Star | Domenique Chan | Fong plays Eurasian film star murdered in an insurance fraud[54] | ||
| Hawaiian Eye | Thomas Jefferson Chu | Lisa Chu | She plays a Taiwanese night club singer, sister of the title character (George Takei)[55] | ||
| 1962 | The Beachcomber | The Day of the Whale | Kina | ||
| Flight to Freedom | Ilana | ||||
| 1965 | Run for Your Life | The Voice of Gina Milan | Mitzi Kuan | ||
| My Three Sons | The Hong Kong Story | Lucy | Odd casting has Fong play old flame to Uncle Charley (William Demarest)[56] [57] | ||
| 1966 | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | The Abominable Snowman Affair | Baku's Mother | [58] | |
| 1967 | You Bet Your Won Ton | Mrs. Wong | Fong's restaurant conceals a gambling den[59] | ||
| The F.B.I. | By Force and Violence: Part 1 | Becky Lee | Fong plays a secretary[60] | ||
| By Force and Violence: Part 2 | Becky Lee | ||||
| 1968 | It Takes a Thief | When Good Friends Get Together | Madame Chen | Fong plays a diplomat's wife[61] | |
| 1969 | The Name of the Game | The Incomparable Connie Walker | Arlene | ||
| Family Affair | Number One Boy | Batty Ng | |||
| 1970 | Bewitched | Samantha's Better Halves | Mrs. Tanaka | ||
| Mod Squad | A Town Called Sincere | Sergeant Imoto | |||
| 1972 | Anna and the King | The Baby | Kralahome's Wife | ||
| The Chimes | Man-Yah | ||||
| Mod Squad | The Twain | Landlady | |||
| 1974 | Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders | (TV Movie) | Mrs. Pao | ||
| Kung Fu | A Small Beheading | Woman | |||
| 1975 | Harry O | For the Love of Money | Maid | ||
| Kung Fu | One Step to Darkness | Nurse | |||
| 1976 | M*A*S*H | Bug Out | Rosie | Fong plays a Korean tavern owner[62] | |
| All in the Family | Archie's Operation Part 2 | Nurse | |||
| 1977 | Panic in Echo Park | (TV Movie) | This was a pilot for a proposed series[63] | ||
| M*A*S*H | Fallen Idol | Rosie | Fong reprised her character from previous year[64] | ||
| Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night | (TV Movie) | Ivy Chin | |||
| 1979 | CHiPs | Rally 'Round the Bank | 1st Teller | ||
| Breaking Up Is Hard to Do | (TV Movie) | Nurse Grant | Another nurse bit in this four hour two part TV movie[65] | ||
| Hart to Hart | The Man with the Jade Eyes | Shopkeeper | |||
| 1980 | Stone | Deep Sleeper | |||
| 1981 | Twirl | (TV Movie) | Mrs. King | Fong plays mother of baton twirler (Rosalind Chao)[66] | |
| 1982 | Bring 'Em Back Alive | The Best of Enemies | Alice Wong | ||
| 1990 | Yellowthread Street | Fan Tan Man | Mo Fay | This was a British series made in Hong Kong | |
| 1999 | Martial Law | End Game | Kai Lee |