Luke was born in Canton (Guangzhou), China, then in the Qing Dynasty. His father, Lee Luke, was born in San Francisco in 1880, traveled to China several times where he married Keye's mother, Down Cook. Lee Luke established an art/import shop in Seattle Chinatown. Luke was raised in Seattle.[3] They were part of the Luke family, which included Washington assistant attorney-general Wing Luke, for whom Seattle's Wing Luke Asian Museum was named. He had four siblings who all emigrated from Seattle to California during the Great Depression. His younger brother Edwin Luke also became an actor in the Charlie Chan series.
Before becoming an actor, he was an artist in Seattle and, later, Hollywood. Luke worked on several of the murals inside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He did some of the original artwork for the pressbook of the original King Kong (1933). Luke also painted a mural for the casino set in The Shanghai Gesture (1941).
He published a limited edition set of pen and ink drawings of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in the 1950s. He also created illustrations for the books The Unfinished Song of Achmed Mohammed by Earle Liederman, Blessed Mother Goose by Frank Scully and an edition of Messer Marco Polo by Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne (unpublished).[4] Other artwork completed by Luke included the dust jackets for books published in the 1950s and 1960s. It was through his studio art work that he was recruited for his earliest movie roles.
Acting career
Luke made his film debut for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in The Painted Veil (1934), and the following year gained his first big role, as Charlie Chan's eldest son, Lee Chan, in Charlie Chan in Paris (1935). He worked so well with Warner Oland, the actor playing Chan, that "Number One Son" became a regular character in the series, alternately helping and distracting 'Pop' Chan in each of his murder cases. Lee is depicted as an enthusiastic American youth of some accomplishment, including becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist in 100-metre swimming in Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937).[5] Luke appeared seven times as Lee Chan opposite Oland's Chan. Keye Luke left the Charlie Chan series in 1938, shortly after Oland died. The unfinished Oland-Luke film Charlie Chan at the Ringside was completed as Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938), with Luke now opposite Peter Lorre.
Luke worked prolifically in at several Hollywood studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast him in a recurring role in its Dr. Kildare film series, and Monogram Pictures featured him in its Frankie Darro comedies and starred him as Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown. Unlike Boris Karloff, who had preceded him in the Mr. Wong role, Luke played the detective without any exotic touches. Though his Mr. Wong was of Chinese descent and able to speak Chinese, he was otherwise an ordinary American detective, with no trace of a foreign accent, though he was just at home with Chinatown residents or those from China.
Luke returned to the Chan mysteries, which were now being produced by Monogram and starred Roland Winters as Chan. "Number One Son" appeared in the last two Chan features, The Feathered Serpent (1948), along with "Number Two Son" Tommy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) in their only appearance together, and Sky Dragon (1949). In both of these films, Luke was older than the actor playing his father. Luke had a featured Broadway role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly in 1958. The original cast album captures his singing of the part of Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.
Luke continued to play character parts in motion pictures. He had a featured role in The Chairman (1969) starring Gregory Peck. He dubbed the voice of the evil Mr. Han (played by Shih Kien) in Enter the Dragon (1973) starring Bruce Lee. Luke played the mysterious old Chinatown shopowner Mr. Wing in the two Gremlins movies and he had a significant role in Woody Allen's movie Alice (1990).
Luke also worked extensively in television, making numerous guest appearances, including four on The F.B.I. and seven TV movies. He was a regular cast member in two short lived sitcoms, Anna and the King (1972) starring Yul Brynner and Sidekicks (TV 1986–87). He appeared as Lin Fong (a jade merchant) in an episode of Dragnet 1967.
In 1972, the "Number One Son" ascended to the role of Charlie Chan himself, supplying the voice of the leading role in the animated television seriesThe Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972-73), thus becoming the first actor of Chinese descent to play the role. He also voiced several other animated characters including Brak in Space Ghost (1966-68) and Zoltar/The Great Spirit/Colonel Cronus in Battle of the Planets (1978-80).
Luke was also known for his portrayal of Master Po in the television series Kung Fu (1972–1975). In 1985, Luke appeared as "The Ancient One" in the popular ABC soap operaGeneral Hospital, for the Asian Quarter storyline, which showcased strong chemistry between Luke and young actress Kimberly McCullough, whom he mentored. In 1986, Luke appeared in season two of The Golden Girls as Sophia's love interest. He played two separate roles in the sitcom Night Court — first as a defendant and later as Mac Robinson's grandfather-in-law.
In the Fractured Fairy Tales episode "The Enchanted Fly," one of the rewards offered to the man who would rescue and marry the princess is "an autographed picture of Keye Luke."
Honors
He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Asian/Pacific American Artists in 1986. For his contribution to show business, Luke was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on the sidewalk in front of 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Fireside Theatre 2 episodes (The Traitor) (1953) (The Reign of Amelika Joe) (1954)
The New Adventures of China Smith 4 episodes (Aban in The Sign of the Scorpion) (Tony Wan in The Talons of Tongking) (Wong in Plane to Tainan) (The Proverbs of Shen-Tze) (1954)
Studio 57 1 episode (Sam Kee in Ring Once for Death) (1954)
December Bride 1 episode (Waiter in The Chinese Dinner) (1954)
The Ray Milland Show 1 episode (Professor Wong in Chinese Luck) (1954)
My Little Margie 1 episode (Mr. Chang/Fake Mr. Lee in San Francisco Story) (1954)
Space Ghost (animated) 3 episodes (voice) (Brak in The Lure (1966), The Looters (1967), and The Two Faces of Doom (1967))
The Green Hornet 1 episode (Mr. Chang in The Preying Mantis) (uncredited) (1966)
The F.B.I. 4 episodes (General How in The Spy-Master) (1966) (Ken Torii in The Hiding Place) (1966) (Captain Cheiu in The Courier) (1967) (Mr. Seito in Memory of a Legend) (1973)
Coronet Blue 1 episode (Yasito Omaki in Tomoyo) (1967)
Thundarr the Barbarian (animated) 2 episodes (voice) (Additional voices in Secret of the Black Pearl) (1980) (Zevon in The Brotherhood of Night) (1980)
Hanke, Ken (14 January 2011). Charlie Chan at the Movies. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN978-0786486618.. (Examination of the Charlie Chan feature films, with firsthand commentary by Keye Luke)
Pilato, Herbie J. (1993). The Kung Fu Book of Caine: The Complete Guide to TV's First Mystical Eastern Western. Boston: Charles A. Tuttle. ISBN978-0804818261.
Sporn, David (2017) "Keye Luke: An American Son" TGNR. retrieved 12/20 from: https://tgnreview.com/2017/08/21/keye-luke-american-son/ is a comprehensive overview of Luke's career that discusses issues of race, cinema and representation.
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