person

Victor Sen Yung

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1915-10-18

Place of Birth

San Francisco, California, USA

Victor Sen Yung

Biography

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.

Also Known For

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65

The Movie Orgy

Jan 01, 1968

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56

Chinatown at Midnight

Nov 17, 1949

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61

Flower Drum Song

Nov 09, 1961

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66

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

Aug 31, 1939

poster

64

Charlie Chan in Honolulu

Dec 30, 1938

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62

Charlie Chan in Reno

Jun 16, 1939

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60

Forbidden

Dec 02, 1953

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68

Woman on the Run

Nov 10, 1950

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68

Castle in the Desert

Feb 02, 1942

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64

Moontide

May 29, 1942

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58

Betrayal from the East

Apr 24, 1945

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46

She Demons

Jan 03, 1958

poster

63

The Left Hand of God

Sep 02, 1955

poster

71

The Breaking Point

Oct 06, 1950

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67

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

May 02, 1940

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77

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

Sep 06, 1940

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68

Charlie Chan in Panama

Mar 01, 1940

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61

Murder Over New York

Dec 13, 1940

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63

Dead Men Tell

Mar 28, 1941

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62

Charlie Chan in Rio

Sep 05, 1941

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58

Shadows Over Chinatown

Jun 27, 1946

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57

Dangerous Money

Oct 12, 1946

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67

The Trap

Nov 30, 1946

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57

The Hunters

Sep 01, 1958

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56

The Flame

Nov 24, 1947

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51

Jet Attack

Feb 15, 1958

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73

The Letter

Nov 21, 1940

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66

Across the Pacific

Sep 04, 1942

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59

Docks of New Orleans

Mar 21, 1948

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49

The Chinese Ring

Dec 06, 1947

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61

The Shanghai Chest

Jul 11, 1948

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58

The Feathered Serpent

Dec 19, 1948

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54

The Golden Eye

Aug 29, 1948

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40

A Yank on the Burma Road

Jan 29, 1942

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68

China

Apr 21, 1943

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48

The Shanghai Story

Sep 01, 1954

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65

Tuna Clipper

Apr 11, 1949

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60

Night Plane from Chungking

May 31, 1943

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48

Shadows Over Shanghai

Oct 14, 1938

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43

The Crimson Key

Jul 02, 1947

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58

Mr. Moto Takes a Chance

Jun 11, 1938

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60

The Sickle or the Cross

Jul 01, 1949

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71

Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon

Feb 22, 1972

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57

The Killer Elite

Dec 19, 1975

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48

Web of Danger

Jun 10, 1947

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45

Secret Agent of Japan

Apr 03, 1942

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42

Escape to Paradise

Dec 22, 1939

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56

Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture

Mar 02, 1949

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61

Thank You, Mr. Moto

Dec 24, 1937

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63

The Good Earth

Jun 02, 1937

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66

Double or Nothing

Sep 17, 1937

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NA

Little Tokyo, U.S.A.

Jul 08, 1942

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70

Manila Calling

Oct 16, 1942

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75

Lost Angel

Dec 23, 1943

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55

Winged Victory

Dec 22, 1944

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50

Intrigue

Dec 06, 1947

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57

To the Ends of the Earth

Feb 07, 1948

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65

Rogues' Regiment

Dec 28, 1948

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48

Jubilee Trail

May 15, 1954

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65

The Blue Gardenia

Mar 20, 1953

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53

Target Hong Kong

Feb 06, 1953

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57

Cripple Creek

Jun 30, 1952

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45

Hong Kong

Apr 18, 1952

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NA

Valley of Fire

Nov 20, 1951

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61

The Law and the Lady

Jul 20, 1951

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80

Peking Express

Aug 01, 1951

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NA

Secrets of Monte Carlo

Jun 20, 1951

poster

43

Grounds for Marriage

Jan 12, 1951

poster

62

Key to the City

Feb 02, 1950

poster

49

And Baby Makes Three

Dec 02, 1949

poster

40

Jump Into Hell

Apr 01, 1955

poster

63

The Man with Bogart's Face

Oct 03, 1980

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NA

The Red Pony

Mar 17, 1973

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54

The Hawaiians

Jun 17, 1970

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54

Confessions of an Opium Eater

Jun 20, 1962

poster

57

The Saga of Hemp Brown

Oct 01, 1958

poster

45

Accused of Murder

Dec 21, 1956

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66

Flight to Hong Kong

Oct 08, 1956

poster

55

The Rawhide Years

Jul 01, 1956

poster

59

Soldier of Fortune

May 24, 1955

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NA

G.I. War Brides

Aug 12, 1946

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50

International Settlement

Feb 04, 1938

poster

60

Torchy Blane in Chinatown

Feb 02, 1939

poster

66

The Sniper

May 09, 1952

poster

44

The Groom Wore Spurs

Mar 13, 1951

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55

20,000 Men a Year

Oct 26, 1939

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50

Barricade

Dec 08, 1939

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58

Red Light

Sep 30, 1949

poster

58

A Ticket to Tomahawk

May 19, 1950

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66

Men in War

May 03, 1957

poster

50

The Mad Martindales

May 15, 1942

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NA

Port of Hell

Dec 05, 1954

poster

73

They Met in Bombay

Jun 27, 1941

poster

60

Half Past Midnight

Mar 01, 1948

poster

47

Oh, You Beautiful Doll

Nov 11, 1949

poster

43

State Department: File 649

Feb 11, 1949

poster

NA

Trader Tom of the China Seas

Jan 06, 1954

poster

48

Dangerous Millions

Nov 27, 1946

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62

A Flea in Her Ear

Nov 27, 1968

poster

58

Blood Alley

Oct 01, 1955

poster

NA

Dragon by the Tail

Jan 30, 1961

poster

68

Mister Ed

Jan 05, 1961

poster

66

Here's Lucy

Sep 23, 1968

poster

77

Kung Fu

Oct 14, 1972

poster

54

The F.B.I.

Sep 19, 1965

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71

Hawaii Five-O

Sep 20, 1968

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71

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Sep 25, 1964

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77

Perry Mason

Sep 21, 1957

poster

78

Night Gallery

Dec 16, 1970

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52

Hawaiian Eye

Oct 07, 1959

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60

Mickey

Sep 16, 1964

poster

79

Get Smart

Sep 18, 1965

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NA

China Smith

Jan 01, 1952

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75

The Wild Wild West

Sep 17, 1965

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64

Thriller

Sep 13, 1960

poster

56

Yancy Derringer

Oct 02, 1958

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62

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Jul 01, 1957

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66

Adventures of Superman

Sep 19, 1952

poster

50

The Paul Lynde Show

Sep 13, 1972

poster

45

Navy Log

Sep 20, 1955

poster

71

The Rifleman

Sep 30, 1958

poster

30

Terry and the Pirates

Nov 25, 1952

poster

50

Dr. Fu Manchu

Sep 03, 1956

poster

57

Captain Midnight

Sep 04, 1954

poster

62

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

Sep 19, 1960

poster

65

Isis

Sep 06, 1975

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78

The Jack Benny Program

Oct 28, 1950

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75

Bonanza

Sep 12, 1959

poster

79

Get Smart

Sep 18, 1965

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NA

Hong Kong

Mar 01, 1960

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66

Here's Lucy

Sep 23, 1968

poster

53

The Mike Douglas Show

Dec 11, 1961

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75

Bonanza

Sep 12, 1959

poster

77

Perry Mason

Sep 21, 1957

poster

69

How the West Was Won

Feb 06, 1977

poster

77

Kung Fu

Oct 14, 1972

poster

77

Kung Fu

Oct 14, 1972

poster

54

The F.B.I.

Sep 19, 1965

poster

50

Broken Arrow

Sep 25, 1956

poster

50

Barbary Coast

Sep 08, 1975

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75

87th Precinct

Sep 25, 1961

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70

The Lone Wolf

Apr 09, 1954

poster

52

Hawaiian Eye

Oct 07, 1959

poster

54

The F.B.I.

Sep 19, 1965

poster

62

Police Woman

Sep 13, 1974

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52

Hawaiian Eye

Oct 07, 1959

poster

77

Kung Fu

Oct 14, 1972