A genial, laid back, slumber-eyed character player especially adept at the relaxed wisecrack or dry comment, Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, his real name being Goro Suzuki. In the post-WWII years, he entertained as a stand-up performer in nightclubs and had made a reasonable dent on the Midwest circuit by the time he earned his big break playing the club MC/comedian in the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit Broadway musical "Flower Drum Song" in 1958. Three years later, Soo was upgraded to the Sammy Wong character in the film version and decided to settle in Hollywood. Over the next decade, despite a typical lack of roles for Asian-Americans, he managed to find a niche for his hip, deadpan demeanor on TV and a few other films including Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), and John Wayne's controversial pro-Vietnam War film The Green Berets (1968). Soo is probably best remembered for his smart-aleck Detective Sgt. Nick Yemana on Barney Miller (1974), one of the more popular sitcoms of the 1970s alongside Hal Linden and Abe Vigoda. Sadly, he died of cancer during the show's fifth season in 1979 at the height of his popularity.
Birthday: October 28, 1917
Death: January 11, 1979
July 04, 1968
November 09, 1961
March 10, 1978
March 04, 1966
September 12, 1973
March 15, 2009
December 25, 1963
March 22, 1967
October 22, 1969
September 17, 1972
September 24, 1970
September 20, 1968
January 23, 1975
September 18, 1964
March 28, 1967
September 13, 1974
March 20, 1973
September 17, 1968
September 09, 1967
December 01, 1974
July 22, 1966
January 17, 1977
December 11, 1961