Biography for
James Hong (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 February 1929, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Nickname

Jimmy

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

James Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He studied civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, but at some point along the way became interested in acting. He graduated from the University of Southern California and practiced for 1½ years as a road engineer with the County of Los Angeles. He took sick leaves and vacation time to do films. He finally quit engineering to focus on acting full time.

He is one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian American theater in Los Angeles. He served as president and charter member of the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists.

Hong is one of the most prolific and well-recognized Asian-American character actors of movies and television. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is planning to produce and direct his own films.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Dicker

Spouse

Susan Hong	(20 October 1977 - present) 1 child
Pearl Huang	(9 May 1967 - April 1973) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Gruff, yet softly spoken voice

Trivia

Unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Sulu on "Star Trek" (1966).

Father of April Hong.

Was a contestant on Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life" (1950).

Once worked as an engineer for the city of Los Angeles.

More than 40 years after losing the part of Sulu in "Star Trek" (1966), he faced off against the actor who won the role, George Takei, in an episode of "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" (2010).