Soon-tek Oh

Soon-tek Oh (Korean: 오순택, O Sun-taek – also spelled as Soon-taek Oh or Soon-taik Oh or Soon-teck Oh; June 29, 1932 – April 4, 2018[1]) was a Korean–American actor. He was the voice of Fa Zhou in Disney's Mulan and the direct-to-video sequel Mulan II and the sadistic Colonel Yin in Missing in Action 2: The Beginning. He has starred in many films, and also acted in television series, including Stargate SG-1; MacGyver; M*A*S*H; Charlie's Angels; Airwolf, Magnum, P.I.; Hawaii Five-O; Kung-Fu; Zorro; The Man with the Golden Gun; Baa Baa Black Sheep and Touched by an Angel.

In this Korean name, the family name is Oh.
Soon-tek Oh
오순택
Soon-tek Oh as Sensei in Beverly Hills Ninja
Born(1932-06-29)June 29, 1932
Mokpo, Chōsen (now South Korea)
DiedApril 4, 2018(2018-04-04) (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesSoon-taek Oh
OccupationActor
Years active1967–2006
Soon-tek Oh
Hangul
오순택
Revised RomanizationO Sun-taek
McCune–ReischauerO Sun-t'aek

Early life

Oh was born on June 29, 1932, in Mokpo during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule. He attended high school at Gwangju, South Korea, and attended Yonsei University in Seoul.

After the end of Japanese rule in August 1945 and before the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, he and his family immigrated to the United States where he attended the University of Southern California. He later gained an MFA from UCLA.[2]

Acting career

On Broadway, he appeared in the original cast of the Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures.[3] He was an early member of East West Players, an Asian American theatre group founded in 1965.

In 1995 he founded the Korean American theatre group, Society of Heritage Performers, which later evolved into the present Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. From 2005, he had been a chair professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts.

Death

Oh died in Los Angeles on April 4, 2018, at age 85 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease, according to actor Chil Kong.[4][5]

Partial filmography

Films
  • 1966 Murderers' Row as Tempura, Japanese Secret Agent (uncredited)
  • 1967 Yongary, Monster From The Deep as Chinese Agent (uncredited)
  • 1971 Earth II as Chinese Diplomat (uncredited)
  • 1971 One More Train to Rob as Yung
  • 1974 The Man with the Golden Gun as Lieutenant Hip (as Soon-taik Oh)
  • 1978 Good Guys Wear Black as Major Mhin Van Thieu, The Black Tigers
  • 1980 The Final Countdown as Simura, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Pilot
  • 1982 The Letter as Ong
  • 1985 Bialy smok as Tai Ching
  • 1985 Missing in Action 2 as Colonel Yin
  • 1985 Yuki Shimoda as Himself (interviewed)
  • 1987 Steele Justice as General Bon-soong Kwan
  • 1987 Biały smok as Tai-ching
  • 1987 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown as Detective Phil Nozaki
  • 1989 Soursweet as "Red" Cudgel
  • 1989 Collision Course as Chief Inspector Kitao
  • 1993 A Home of Our Own as Mr. Munimura
  • 1994 Red Sun Rising as Yamata
  • 1994 S.F.W. as Milt Morris
  • 1996 Street Corner Justice as Kwong-chuck Lee
  • 1997 Beverly Hills Ninja as Sensei
  • 1998 Yellow as Woon Lee
  • 1998 Mulan as Fa Zhou (voice)
  • 2000 The President's Man as General Vinh Tran
  • 2001 Roads and Bridges as Father (voice)
  • 2001 Forgotten Valor as Colonel
  • 2001 True Blue as "Tiger"
  • 2002 The Visit as Sujong's Father
  • 2002 SWAT as Sayonara
  • 2004 Mulan II as Fa Zhou (voice)
  • 2005 Last Mountain as Karus
  • 2006 Gang-jeok as Jong-chae (final film role)

Television (partial list)

Accolades

In 2008, Soon-tek Oh was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Asian Film Festival.[6]

References
  1. "Soon-tek Oh, 'Mulan' and 'Man With the Golden Gun' Actor, Dies at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. 2018.
  2. "About Soon-tek Oh". Abbey Entertainment Beverly Hills. Archived from the original on March 15, 2002. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
  3. "R.I.P. Soon-tek Oh, memorable character actor on M*A*S*H, Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O". Me-TV Network. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  4. Sung, Ji-eun. "Pioneering actor Oh Soon-tek is dead at 85". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  5. Nyren, Erin (April 7, 2018). "Soon-tek Oh, Voice of Mulan's Father and Asian-American Theater Pioneer, Dies at 85". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  6. "SDAFF Award Winners | Pacific Arts Movement". pacarts.org. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
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