Robert Lee (British actor)
Robert Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee as Tarō Nagazumi in Mind Your Language | |
| Born | Lee Ya Fu 30 November 1913 |
| Died | 1 December 1986 (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1944–1986 |
| Known for | |
Robert Ya Fu Lee (30 November 1913 – 1 December 1986) was a Chinese actor based in the United Kingdom.
Background
[edit]Born in Tianjin, he arrived in England as an international student, attaining a BA in history from Trinity College, Cambridge. He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor in 1944. Lee played supporting roles in many films and television programmes throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was frequently called upon whenever a production required an East Asian character. His film appearances include You Only Live Twice (1967) and Half Moon Street (1986), and his television appearances include The Avengers, The Chinese Detective and The Bill, but his best known role is as Tarō Nagazumi, the Japanese business executive and English language student, in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979. He never married, citing marriage in a 1984 interview as "Too much responsibility", and lived in a flat in Hampstead, North London, where he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986, aged 73.[1]
TV and filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Dragon Seed | Young Farmer | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Outcast of the Islands | Extra in Snooker Room scenes | |
| 1954 | The Desperate Women | Publisher | |
| 1960 | The World of Suzie Wong | Barman | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Visa to Canton (also known as Passport to China in the USA) | Chinese Officer | |
| The Sinister Man | Nam Lee | ||
| 1962 | Satan Never Sleeps | Chung Ren | |
| 1967 | You Only Live Twice | 2nd Chinese VIP | Uncredited |
| The Mini-Affair | Manager - Chinese Restaurant | ||
| 1968 | Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River | Bruce | |
| 1969 | The Chairman | Hotel Night Manager | |
| Moon Zero Two | Hotel Employee | Uncredited | |
| 1971 | The Projectionist | Usher / Henchman | |
| 1975 | Bakit May Bilanggo Sa Anak Ni Eba | ||
| Rollerball | Executive | Uncredited | |
| 1979 | Porridge | Tinkler | |
| 1982 | Tout feu, tout flamme | aka All Fired Up | Tout feu tout flamme (France: DVD title) |
| Britannia Hospital | Mr. Banzai | ||
| 1983 | High Road to China | Zura | |
| 1986 | Half Moon Street | Chinese Ambassador | |
| 1987 | A Cor do seu Destino | The Officer | |
| Ping Pong | Mr. Chen | (final film role) |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | ITV Television Playhouse | Chinese newsreader | Episode: "Bridge of Sighs" |
| Knight Errant Limited | Po Kong | Episode: "A Touch of the Orient" | |
| 1961 | The Arthur Askey Show | Episode: "Pilbeam, the Journalist" | |
| Edgar Wallace Mysteries (also known as The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre in the USA) | Mr. Nam Lee | Episode: "The Sinister Man" | |
| 1962 | A World Inside | Joseph Yap | TV film |
| 1963 | Compact | Restaurant Proprietor | Episode: "Chicken and Champagne" |
| The Odd Man | Kosugi | Episode: "The Long Wound" | |
| The Sentimental Agent | Ling | Episode: "Finishing School" | |
| The Avengers | Mr. Lo | Episode: "The Golden Fleece" | |
| 1964 | Diary of a Young Man | Buddhist | Episode: "Life, or a Girl Called Fred" |
| 1965 | ITV Play of the Week | Cardinal of Macao | Episode: "The Successor" |
| Danger Man | Chin Lee | Episode: "Loyalty Always Pays" | |
| Dixon of Dock Green | Mr. Ling | Episode: "Witness Summons" | |
| 1966 | Breaking Point | Shoni | |
| 1967 | Hugh and I | Episode: "Chinese Crackers" | |
| Danger Man | Manager of Two-Tailed Dragon | Episode: "Shinda Shima" | |
| Armchair Theatre | Mr. Li | Episode: "Any Number Can Play" | |
| Jackanory | Narrator | 5 episodes - Narrating traditional Chinese tales | |
| Sexton Blake | Kir Tan | 3 episodes | |
| 1974–1979 | Hawaii Five-O | Airport Guard / Kauai Police Captain / Capt. Tanaka / Lew Kameka / Tas | 5 episodes |
| 1976–1978 | It Ain't Half Hot Mum | Bandit / Chung Soo | 2 episodes |
| 1977–1979 | Mind Your Language | Tarō Nagazumi | Series 1–3 |
| 1978 | Gangsters | Shen Tang | 4 episodes |
| 1979 | Grange Hill | Ling Ching | 1 episode |
| 1980 | The Professionals | Shusai | Episode: "Wild Justice" |
| 1981-1982 | The Chinese Detective | Joe Ho | 7 episodes |
| 1983 | Reilly: Ace of Spies | Admiral Togo | Episode: "Prelude to War" |
| 1984 | Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense | Chong Woy | Episode: "Mark of the Devil" |
| The Bill | Chinese Restaurateur | Episode: "A Friend in Need" | |
| Tenko | Mr. Ling | 1 episode | |
| 1985 | John and Yoko: A Love Story | Eisuke Ono | TV film |
References
[edit]- ^ Ooi, Teresa (19 February 1984). "Friends told him to act". The Straits Times. p. 15. Retrieved 8 March 2016 – via NewspaperSG.
External links
[edit]- Robert Lee at IMDb
 | This biographical article related to BBC Television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1913 births
- 1986 deaths
- 20th-century Chinese male actors
- 20th-century British male actors
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- British male film actors
- British male television actors
- Chinese emigrants to England
- Chinese male film actors
- Chinese male television actors
- Male actors from Tianjin
- BBC Television biography stubs