Jack Soo

Last updated

Jack Soo
Jack Soo 1975.jpg
Soo in 1975
Born
Goro Suzuki

(1917-10-28)October 28, 1917
Pacific Ocean
DiedJanuary 11, 1979(1979-01-11) (aged 61)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Nationality
  • Japanese
  • American
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active19581979
SpouseJan Zdelar (m. 1945) [1]

Jack Soo (born Goro Suzuki, October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was an American actor and singer. He was best known for his role as Detective Nick Yemana on the television sitcom Barney Miller .

Contents

Early life, family and education

Jack Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a ship traveling in the Pacific Ocean from the United States to Japan on October 28, 1917. His parents lived in Oakland, California, and they decided that as he was the oldest boy, they wanted to have him born in Japan. [2]

He graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English. [2] He lived in Oakland until ordered into internment along with other Japanese Americans during World War II and the signing of Executive Order 9066. He was sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. [3] His fellow internees recalled him as a "camp favorite," an entertainer singing at dances and numerous events. [2]

Career

Soo's career as an entertainer began in earnest at the end of the war, first as a stand-up nightclub performer primarily in the Midwestern United States. To avoid prejudice against him for being Japanese-American, he used the name Jack Soo while working in nightclubs such as Chin's, a Chinese nightclub in Cleveland, Ohio. [2] [1] [4] He adopted the surname Soo that he had used to leave the internment camp at Topaz. [5]

Jack Soo and Nancy Kwan in Flower Drum Song Nancy Kwan and Jack Soo in Flower Drum Song 2.jpg
Jack Soo and Nancy Kwan in Flower Drum Song

His big break occurred in 1958 when he was cast in the Broadway musical hit Flower Drum Song in the role of the show master of ceremonies and comedian Frankie Wing ("Gliding through my memoree"). Soo had been working in San Francisco at the Forbidden City, a Chinese nightclub and cabaret, where he was discovered by the actor and dancer Gene Kelly who was the director for Flower Drum Song. [2] Soo switched to the Sammy Fong role [6] (Chinatown's "Nathan Detroit") during the run and played the role when the film version (1961) of the musical was made.

Soo was first broadcast across the US by Jack Benny on November 27, 1962, as the tough-talking, street-wise talent agent in "Jack Meets Japanese Agent". [7] In 1964, Soo played a weekly supporting role as Rocky Sin, a poker-playing con artist in Valentine's Day , a comedy television series starring Anthony Franciosa that lasted for one season. [8] During the next decade, he appeared in films such as The Green Berets as a colonel of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the 1967 musical Thoroughly Modern Millie , as well as making guest appearances on TV shows such as Hawaii Five-O , The Odd Couple , and two episodes of M*A*S*H .

Soo joined Motown Records in 1965 as one of their first non-African-American musicians. During his time there, he recorded a slow ballad version of "For Once in My Life" as the first male singer to do so. The record was never released and was shelved in the Motown archives. The song was soon after made famous by Stevie Wonder. [9]

Soo was cast in his most memorable role in 1975 on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller. He had met and befriended the show's producer Danny Arnold years earlier while working the nightclub circuit. Arnold was also a performer at the time. [10] In the series, Soo played the laid-back, but very wry, Detective Nick Yemana, who was responsible for making the dreadful coffee that, in one of the series' running jokes, his fellow detectives had to drink every day. Occasionally, his character played against stereotypes of Asian Americans by emphasizing Yemana's solidly American background.

Soo refused to perform in roles that were demeaning to Asian Americans. He often spoke out against negative ethnic portrayals and was adamant about being a person who was seen as an American. [2] [11]

Personal life

Soo was married to Jan Zdelar, a model, in 1945. The couple had three children: Jayne, Richard, and James. [1]

Death

Jack Soo (far right) with the Barney Miller cast Barney Miller cast 1977.jpg
Jack Soo (far right) with the Barney Miller cast

Soo, a smoker, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer during Barney Miller 's fourth season (1977–1978), missing the last five episodes. He returned for the opening of season five, but the cancer spread quickly, and Soo died on January 11, 1979, at age 61, at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center (now the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center). [12] His last appearance on the show was in the episode entitled "The Vandal", which aired on November 9, 1978,[ citation needed ] delivering the episode's final line, "...I have nothing to add."

A running joke on the show was that Yemana made bad coffee. [13] "It must have been my coffee," Soo joked when he was being wheeled into surgery. [12] A retrospective episode showing clips of Soo aired on the last episode of season 5. The episode included castmates as themselves, giving personal memories of Soo, the actor. It concluded with all raising their coffee cups in a final farewell toast to him.

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1961 Flower Drum Song Samuel Adams 'Sammy' Fong
1963 Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? Yoshimi Hiroti
1966 The Oscar Sam
1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie Ching Ho / Oriental No. 1
1968 The Green Berets Col. Cai
1978 Return from Witch Mountain Mr. "Yo-Yo" Yokomoto
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1962 The Jack Benny Program HimselfEpisode: Jack Meets a Japanese Agent
1964 Valentine's Day Rockwell 'Rocky' SinMain cast (34 episodes)
1965 The Wackiest Ship in the Army ShiruEpisode: Shakedown
1966 Summer Fun SidneyEpisode: Pirates of Flounder Bay
1968–1971 Julia Tree Man
Judge Warren wazaku
Episode: I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas
Episode: Courting Time
1969 The Monk Hip Guy ABC TV-Movie
1970 Hawaii Five-O Sam Quong Episode: The One with the Gun
1971 The Name of the Game Sergeant George KwanEpisode: The Man Who Killed a Ghost
The Jimmy Stewart Show Woodrow YamadaEpisode: Pro Bono Publico
Episode: Cockadoodle Don't
1972 The Odd Couple Chuk Mai Chin Episode: Oscar's Promotion
1972–1975 M*A*S*H Charlie Lee
Quoc
Episode: To Market, to Market
Episode: Payday
1973 She Lives! Dr. Osikawa ABC TV-Movie
1974 Ironside Joe Lee
Joe Lee
Sing-Ho
Episode: Amy Prentiss (1)
Episode: Amy Prentiss (2)
Episode: The Over-the-Hill Blues
1974–1975 Police Story Tai'ske
Bruce Chan
Bruce Chan
Episode: The Hunters
Episode: Year of the Dragon (1)
Episode: Year of the Dragon (2)
1975 Police Woman Red StarEpisode: The Bloody Nose
1975–1979 Barney Miller Detective Sergeant Nick YemanaMain cast (101 episodes), (final appearance)
1977 Busting Loose HoofatEpisode: House of Noodles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Linden</span> American actor (born 1931)

Hal Linden is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician.

<i>Flower Drum Song</i> Musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein premiered in 1958

Flower Drum Song was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the West End and on tour. It was adapted for a 1961 musical film.

<i>Barney Miller</i> American sitcom

Barney Miller is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes. It spawned a spin-off series, Fish, that ran from February 5, 1977, to May 18, 1978, focusing on the character Philip K. Fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Demarest</span> American actor (1892–1983)

Carl William Demarest was an American actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and as Uncle Charley in the sitcom My Three Sons from 1965-72. Demarest, who frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles, was a prolific film and television actor, appearing in over 140 films, beginning in 1926 and ending in the late 1970s. Before his career in movies, he performed in vaudeville for two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Gordon</span> American actor

Barry Gordon is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello and Bebop in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

Todd Susman is an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Shigeta</span> American actor (1929–2014)

James Saburo Shigeta was an American actor and singer of Japanese descent. He was noted for his roles in The Crimson Kimono (1959), Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bridge to the Sun (1961), Midway (1976), Die Hard (1988), and Mulan (1998). In 1960, he won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, along with three other actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Landesberg</span> American actor (1936-2010)

Stephen Landesberg was an American actor and comedian known for his role as the erudite, unflappable police detective Arthur P. Dietrich on the ABC sitcom Barney Miller, for which he was nominated for three Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Gail</span> American actor (born 1943)

Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. Gail also won the 2019 and 2021 Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mike Corbin on the soap opera General Hospital.

<i>Kiss Me, Stupid</i> 1964 film by Billy Wilder

Kiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American sex comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Adachi</span> American civil rights lawyer (1959–2019)

Jeffrey Gordon Adachi was an American attorney, pension reform advocate, and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019.

Toshihide Wakamatsu is a Japanese actor born in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topaz War Relocation Center</span> United States historic place

The Topaz War Relocation Center, also known as the Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) and briefly as the Abraham Relocation Center, was an American concentration camp in which Americans of Japanese descent and immigrants who had come to the United States from Japan, called Nikkei were incarcerated. President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, ordering people of Japanese ancestry to be incarcerated in what were euphemistically called "relocation centers" like Topaz during World War II. Most of the people incarcerated at Topaz came from the Tanforan Assembly Center and previously lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. The camp was opened in September 1942 and closed in October 1945.

"For Once in My Life" is a song written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Stein & Van Stock publishing company, and first recorded in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burt Mustin</span> American actor (1884–1977)

Burton Hill Mustin was an American character actor who appeared in over 150 film and television productions. He also worked in radio and appeared on the stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Suzuki</span> American singer

Pat Suzuki is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forbidden City (nightclub)</span> Asian-themed cabaret in San Francisco, California

Forbidden City was a Chinese nightclub and cabaret in San Francisco, which was in business from 1938 to 1970, and operated on the second floor of 363 Sutter Street, between Chinatown and Union Square.

<i>Flower Drum Song</i> (film) 1961 musical film by Henry Koster

Flower Drum Song is a 1961 American musical film directed by Henry Koster, adapted from the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, in turn based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author Chin Yang Lee. The film stars Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Benson Fong and Juanita Hall. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

The 1976 New York Jets season was the seventeenth season for the team and the seventh in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 3–11 record from 1975 under new head coach Lou Holtz. The Jets again finished with a record of 3–11, which combined with the resignation of Holtz with one game left in the season to become coach at the University of Arkansas, prompted John Facenda to say about the Jets during the NFL Films highlight film for that season “Perhaps the best thing to say about the 1976 New York Jets season is that it’s over”.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jack Soo, Acted Detective in TV Series". The Washington Post . January 12, 1979. p. C6. ProQuest   147102307.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Guillen, Michael (March 8, 2009). "SFIAAFF 2009: You Don't Know Jack (The Jack Soo Story) — Interview With Jeff Adachi". Screenanarchy.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. Niiya, Brian. "Densho Encyclopedia: Jack Soo". encyclopedia.densho.org. Densho. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  4. "'You Don't Know Jack: The Jack asking Story' to be Screened July 31". janm.org. Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  5. Lee, C. Y. (2006). "Special Features", Flower Drum Song DVD. Universal Pictures. Lee was author of Flower Drum Song.
  6. Coe, Richard L. (December 23, 1961). "Lilting Glow Brightens Tree". The Washington Post. p. B6. ProQuest   141355554.
  7. "'The Jack Benny Program' Jack Meets Japanese Agent (TV Episode 1962)". imdb.com. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  8. "Year of Snake? Ah So! Orientals Mark Season's TV". Desert Sun. UPI. January 7, 1965. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  9. Lom, Michael (November 2, 2011). "'More Stories from Jeff Adachi' on Asian Pacific Arts". asiapacificarts.usc.edu. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  10. "Jack Soo". yahoo.com. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  11. "You Don't Know Jack Soo". pbs.org. fPBS. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2016 via Internet Archive.
  12. 1 2 "Jack Soo, 63, Actor in 'Barney Miller' – He Was Sgt. Yemana in Television Series – Appeared in Movies". The New York Times . United Press International. January 13, 1979. p. 19. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  13. In one episode, Yemena claimed that he used rainwater that dripped through the ceiling of the station house, which "filters out the impurities". (Ron Glass can be seen in the background of the scene, breaking up.)