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IMDbPro

Soon-Tek Oh(1932-2018)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0004233
Soon-Tek Oh in À l'est d'Eden (1981)
Trailer for "Last Mountain (Director's Cut 2017)"
Play trailer1:58
Last Mountain (2005)
7 Videos
10 Photos
A 1960s pioneer of Asian-American theatre, Soon Tek Oh (aka Sun-Taek Oh, Soon-Tek Oh or Soon-Taik Oh) was born on June 29, 1932, in Mokpo, Korea at the time the country was under Imperial Japanese rule. He attended high school at Gwangju, South Korea, and went on to study at Yonsei University in Seoul. His family (including one sister) moved to the United States in 1959, where they settled in Southern California.

Oh studied at USC before attending UCLA and receiving his Masters of Fine Arts in acting and playwriting. Trained in performance at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, his mounting of a California production of "Rashomon" led to his co-founding (along with fellow actors Mako, James Hong , Beulah Quo and five others) of the renowned Los Angeles' East West Players theatre company in 1965.

Breaking into TV that same year with a minor role on "I Spy," Oh resolved to work against the restrictive servile Asian stereotypes he found himself playing on such 60s TV programs as "The Wild, Wild West," "The Invaders" and "It Takes a Thief." Via the stage, he strove to broaden the types of roles available, which included other theatre troupes he founded or guided (i.e., Korean American Theatre Ensemble). As such, his companies went on to produce a variety of plays from Ibsen ("A Doll's House") and Shakespeare ("Twelfth Night") to Tony-winning vehicles ("Pippin," "Equus, "Sweeney Todd") to original contemporary pieces, several written by Oh himself.

Following unbilled parts as secret agent types in such films as Bien joué Matt Helm (1966) and La folle mission du docteur Schaeffer (1967), he achieve a degree of notoriety in the James Bond feature L'Homme au pistolet d'or (1974) as Lt. Hip, an intelligence operative. He continued sporadically in films with featured parts in Le commando des tigres noirs (1978), Nimitz, retour vers l'enfer (1980), Portés disparus 2 - Pourquoi ? (1985), Steele Justice (1987), Le Secret du dragon blanc (1987), Le justicier braque les dealers (1987), Collision Course (1989), Le combat de ma mère (1993), Soleil rouge (1994), Le ninja de Beverly Hills (1997), Yellow (1997) (the first film by and featuring Korean-Americans) and gave voice to Fa Zhou, the father, in the Disney animated classic Mulan (1998). TV roles continued to come his way with several episodes of "Kung Fu," "Hawaii Five-0," "M*A*S*H" and "Magnum P.I.,, as well as a recurring part as a lieutenant on Drôles de dames (1976) and the quality mini-series À l'est d'Eden (1981) and Marco Polo (1982).

Oh and Mako both made their Broadway debuts in Stephen Sondheim's "Pacific Overtures" in 1976. His later stage performances include "The Woman Warrior (1994) and "The Square" (2000). He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 by the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Making his last on-camera appearance featured in the action film Les Formidables (2006), Oh was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and forced to retire. He died of complications in Los Angeles, on April 4, 2018, at age 85.
BornJune 29, 1932
DiedApril 4, 2018(85)
BornJune 29, 1932
DiedApril 4, 2018(85)
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0004233
  • Awards
    • 1 win & 1 nomination total

Photos10

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+ 5
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Known for

Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga, and Frank Welker in Mulan (1998)
Mulan
7.7
  • Fa Zhou(voice)
  • 1998
Chris Farley in Le ninja de Beverly Hills (1997)
Le ninja de Beverly Hills
5.6
  • Sensei
  • 1997
Christopher Lee, Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Britt Ekland, and Hervé Villechaize in L'Homme au pistolet d'or (1974)
L'Homme au pistolet d'or
6.7
  • Hip(as Soon-Taik Oh)
  • 1974
Nimitz, retour vers l'enfer (1980)
Nimitz, retour vers l'enfer
6.7
  • Simura(as Soon-Teck Oh)
  • 1980

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor



  • Les Formidables (2006)
    Les Formidables
    5.9
    • Jong-chae
    • 2006
  • Last Mountain (2005)
    Last Mountain
    7.7
    • Karus
    • 2005
  • Mulan 2 : La Mission de l'Empereur (2004)
    Mulan 2 : La Mission de l'Empereur
    5.6
    Video
    • Fa Zhou (voice)
    • 2004
  • Special Weapons and Tactics
    9.2
    Short
    • Sayonara
    • 2002
  • The Visit
    Short
    • Sujong's Father
    • 2002
  • Tom Berenger, Lori Heuring, and Pamela Gidley in True Blue (2001)
    True Blue
    5.2
    • Tiger
    • 2001
  • Forgotten Valor
    • Colonel
    • 2001
  • Roads and Bridges (2001)
    Roads and Bridges
    6.4
    • Voice Of Father
    • 2001
  • Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese in Les anges du bonheur (1994)
    Les anges du bonheur
    6.1
    TV Series
    • Mr. Aramaki
    • Kim Chyung Kyung
    • 1997–2001
  • Washington Police (2000)
    Washington Police
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Colonel Nguyen Duc Chin
    • 2001
  • L'homme du président (2000)
    L'homme du président
    4.7
    TV Movie
    • General Vinh Tran
    • 2000
  • Kathy Najimy, Breckin Meyer, Brittany Murphy, Ashley Gardner, Beth Grant, Johnny Hardwick, Toby Huss, Jonathan Joss, Mike Judge, Stephen Root, Pamela Adlon, and Lauren Tom in Les rois du Texas (1997)
    Les rois du Texas
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Monk (voice)
    • 2000
  • T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger (1999)
    T'ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger
    7.0
    Video Game
    • Si Fu (Mantis Master) (voice, as Soon Teck Oh)
    • 1999
  • Sept jours pour agir (1998)
    Sept jours pour agir
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Dr. Huan Chow Lee
    • 1998
  • Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga, and Frank Welker in Mulan (1998)
    Mulan
    7.7
    • Fa Zhou (voice)
    • 1998

Soundtrack



  • Pacific Overtures (1976)
    Pacific Overtures
    8.7
    TV Movie
    • performer: "There Is No Other Way", "Chrysanthemum Tea"
    • 1976

Videos7

Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Clip 1:41
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Clip 1:38
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Clip 1:38
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Clip 2:07
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Clip 2:02
Mulan: 2-Movie Collection
Trailer
Trailer 1:36
Trailer
John Steinbeck's East Of Eden
Trailer 1:21
John Steinbeck's East Of Eden

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Soon Taik Oh
  • Height
    • 1.75 m
  • Born
    • June 29, 1932
    • Mokpo, South Korea
  • Died
    • April 4, 2018
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(complications from Alzheimer's disease)
  • Children
    • James

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Guest-starred in 5 episodes on M.A.S.H. (1972) as different characters from 1975 to 1982. Two of those episodes were in 1975 alone.
  • Trademarks
      Playing evil Chinese villains to perfection

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