Victor Sen Yung
Acting
Victor Sen Young (born Victor Cheung Young or Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1915 – body discovered November 9, 1980) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the Western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China. His mother died during the flu epidemic of 1919. His father placed Victor and his younger sister, Rosemary, in a children's shelter, and returned to his homeland to seek another wife. He returned in 1922 with his new wife, Lovi Shee, forming a household with his two children. Sen Yung made his first significant acting debut in the 1938 film Charlie Chan in Honolulu, as the Chinese detective's "number two son", Jimmy Chan. Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan in 11 Charlie Chan films between 1938 and 1942. Moonlighting from the popular Chan series, Sen Yung won critical acclaim playing the nuanced role of Ong Chi Seng, a young attorney assisting Howard Joyce, in defending Leslie Crosbie, in The Letter. Like other Chinese-American actors, he was cast in Japanese parts during World War II, like his role as the treacherous Japanese-American Joe Totsuiko in the 1942 Humphrey Bogart film Across the Pacific. During World War II he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces just as his erstwhile co-star Sidney Toler was set to revive the dormant Charlie Chan series at Monogram Pictures. Sen Yung's military obligations forced him to decline rejoining the series immediately, but Monogram gave him a standing invitation to work there after his tour of duty. Sen Yung's military service included work in training films at the First Motion Picture Unit and a role in the Army Air Forces' play and film Winged Victory. In 1946 Sen Yung resumed his Hollywood career at Monogram, now billed as Victor Sen Young, and reunited with Sidney Toler. Toler's health was failing; Monogram was conserving Toler's waning energy, limiting his scenes and giving him long rest periods during filming. To relieve the burden on Toler, Monogram entrusted much of the action to Victor Sen Young; he and either Mantan Moreland or Willie Best shared much of the footage in Toler's final three films, Dangerous Money, Shadows Over Chinatown, and The Trap. The addition of Moreland as Chan's black chauffeur, Birmingham Brown, reflected the fact that by this time the Chan pictures had a significant following among black Americans, who liked a film series that for once did not feature a white hero. Moreland's popularity in the Chan pictures was so great that he was booked for a nationwide vaudeville tour. Following Toler's death in 1947, Victor Sen Young appeared in five of the remaining six Charlie Chan features. His character "Jimmy" was renamed "Tommy". Victor Sen Young continued to work in motion pictures and television in roles ranging from featured players (affable or earnest Asian characters) to bit roles (clerks, houseboys, waiters, etc.). Arguably even more than for his work in the Charlie Chan films, Victor Sen Yung is remembered as "Hop Sing," the irascible cook and general factotum on the iconic television series Bonanza, appearing in 107 episodes between 1959 and 1973. Sen Yung was also an accomplished and talented chef. He frequently appeared on cooking programs and authored The Great Wok Cookbook in 1974.
TV Shows(36)
How the West Was Won
Hospital Attendant
1977
Barbary Coast
Soong
1975
Isis
Mr. Chen
1975
Police Woman
Ah Choy
1974
Kung Fu
Old Mandarin
1972
The Paul Lynde Show
1972
Night Gallery
Joseph the Butler
1970
Here's Lucy
Headwaiter
1968
Hawaii Five-O
Dr. Leo Kuh
1968
The F.B.I.
Mayor Eto
1965
Get Smart
Yamasaki
1965
The Wild Wild West
Baron Kyosai
1965
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
1964
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Servant
1964
Mickey
1964
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
87th Precinct
Charlie, 1st Tattoo Parlor Owner
1961
Mister Ed
1961
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Dr. Wing Chin-Ni
1960
Thriller
Bartender
1960
Hong Kong
Yang
1960
Hawaiian Eye
1959
Bonanza
Hop Sing
1959
Yancy Derringer
Hon Lee
1958
The Rifleman
1958
Perry Mason
Mickey Fong
1957
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Magan
1957
Broken Arrow
Ling Tang
1956
Dr. Fu Manchu
Broadcaster (uncredited)
1956
Navy Log
1955
Captain Midnight
1954
The Lone Wolf
Jack Wong
1954
Terry and the Pirates
1952
Adventures of Superman
Harry Wong
1952
China Smith
1952
The Jack Benny Program
Chinese cafeteria employee
1950
Movies(102)
The Man with Bogart's Face
Mr. Wing
1980
The Killer Elite
Wei Chi
1975
The Red Pony
Mr. Sing / Carni man / Mr. Green
1973
Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon
Chuen
1972
The Hawaiians
Chun Fat (uncredited)
1970
A Flea in Her Ear
Oke Saki
1968
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
1968
Confessions of an Opium Eater
Wing Young
1962
Flower Drum Song
Frankie Wing
1961
Dragon by the Tail
Dr. Wing Chin-Ni
1961
The Saga of Hemp Brown
Chang
1958
The Hunters
Korean farmer
1958
Jet Attack
Capt. Chon
1958
She Demons
Sammy Ching
1958
Men in War
North Korean Sniper Prisoner
1957
Accused of Murder
Hank - Bayliss' Houseboy (uncredited)
1956
The Family Nobody Wanted
1956
Flight to Hong Kong
Airline Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
1956
The Rawhide Years
Chang - Steward (uncredited)
1956
Blood Alley
Cpl. Wang
1955
The Left Hand of God
John Wong
1955
Soldier of Fortune
Goldie - Hotel Waiter (uncredited)
1955
Jump Into Hell
Lt. Thatch
1955
Port of Hell
Detonation Ship Radioman
1954
The Shanghai Story
Sun Lee
1954
Jubilee Trail
Mickey - Chinese Man (uncredited)
1954
Trader Tom of the China Seas
Wang
1954
Forbidden
Allan Chung
1953
The Blue Gardenia
Blue Gardenia Waiter (uncredited)
1953
Target Hong Kong
Johnny Wing (uncredited)
1953
Cripple Creek
Postal Clerk (uncredited)
1952
The Sniper
Tom
1952
Hong Kong
Mr. Howe (uncredited)
1952
Valley of Fire
Ching Moon
1951
Peking Express
Chinese Captain (uncredited)
1951
The Law and the Lady
Chinese Manager (uncredited)
1951
Secrets of Monte Carlo
Chinese Clerk (uncredited)
1951
The Groom Wore Spurs
Ignacio
1951
Grounds for Marriage
Oscar, Chris' Valet
1951
Woman on the Run
Sammy Chung
1950
The Breaking Point
Mr. Sing
1950
A Ticket to Tomahawk
Long Time
1950
Key to the City
MC at the Blue Duck (uncredited)
1950
And Baby Makes Three
Lem Kee
1949
Chinatown at Midnight
Hotel Proprietor
1949
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Houseboy
1949
Red Light
Vincent (uncredited)
1949
The Sickle or the Cross
Major
1949
Tuna Clipper
Oriental Dock Worker
1949
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture
1949
State Department: File 649
Johnny Han
1949
Rogues' Regiment
Rickshaw Boy (uncredited)
1948
The Feathered Serpent
Tommy Chan
1948
The Golden Eye
Tommy Chan (as Victor Sen Young)
1948
The Shanghai Chest
Tommy Chan
1948
Docks of New Orleans
Tommy Chan
1948
Half Past Midnight
Sam
1948
To the Ends of the Earth
Chinese Pilot (uncredited)
1948
The Chinese Ring
Tommy Chan
1947
Intrigue
Western Union Clerk (uncredited)
1947
The Flame
Chang
1947
The Crimson Key
Wing - Houseboy
1947
Web of Danger
Sam
1947
The Trap
Jimmy Chan
1946
Dangerous Millions
Lin Chow
1946
Dangerous Money
Jimmy Chan
1946
G.I. War Brides
Waiter (uncredited)
1946
Shadows Over Chinatown
Jimmy Chan
1946
Betrayal from the East
Omaya
1945
Winged Victory
Lee (uncredited)
1944
Lost Angel
Chinese Man (uncredited)
1943
Night Plane from Chungking
Captain Po
1943
China
Lin Wei
1943
Manila Calling
Armando
1942
Across the Pacific
Joe Totsuiko
1942
Little Tokyo, U.S.A.
1942
Moontide
Jimmy Takeo
1942
The Mad Martindales
Jefferson Gow
1942
Secret Agent of Japan
Fu Yen
1942
Castle in the Desert
Jimmy Chan
1942
A Yank on the Burma Road
Wing
1942
Charlie Chan in Rio
Jimmy Chan
1941
They Met in Bombay
Gin Ling (uncredited)
1941
Dead Men Tell
Jimmy Chan
1941
Murder Over New York
Jimmy Chan
1940
The Letter
Ong Chi Seng
1940
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
Jimmy Chan
1940
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Jimmy Chan
1940
Charlie Chan in Panama
Jimmy Chan
1940
Escape to Paradise
1939
Barricade
Undetermined Role
1939
20,000 Men a Year
Harold Chong
1939
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Jimmy Chan
1939
Charlie Chan in Reno
Jimmy Chan
1939
Torchy Blane in Chinatown
Chinese Entertainer with Sword
1939
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
James Chan
1938
Shadows Over Shanghai
Wang
1938
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Soldier
1938
International Settlement
Bellboy / Onlooker in Street
1938
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Onlooker with Street Acrobats / Elevator Operator (uncredited)
1937
Double or Nothing
Minor Role (uncredited)
1937
The Good Earth
Peasant (uncredited)
1937