| Tetsu Komai | |
| Birth Name: | Japanese: 駒井哲 |
| Birth Date: | 23 April 1894 |
| Birth Place: | Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan |
| Death Place: | Gardena, California, U.S. |
| Other Names: | Tetsuo Komai |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1925–1964 |
[1] (23 April 1894 – 10 August 1970),[2] also known as Tetsuo Komai, was a Japanese-born American actor, known for his minor roles in Hollywood films.
Born in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Komai had small parts in over 50 films from the 1920s until the mid 1960s. In his early films, Tetsu, who was usually called on to play Chinese characters, was often described with derogatory terms such as "Chinaman,".[3] He played the villain in many of his films.[4]
Komai emigrated to the United States in December 1907, arriving at the Port of Seattle; he lived in Seattle for several years after this initial immigration. During the Second World War, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, the actor, his wife, and their children were interned with groups of other Japanese-Americans and Japanese resident aliens at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona from August 27, 1942 to November 3, 1945.[5]
He died on 10 August 1970 at the age of 76 in Gardena, California of congestive heart failure.