ANNA MAY WONG
Cultural Icon (1905-1961)
YEAR INDUCTED
2024
CATEGORY
Film & Television, In Memoriam
Born Wong Liu Tsong in Los Angeles, 1905, Anna May Wong first showed interest in the motion picture industry at age 11, as film studios began to emerge in Southern California. Her acting career spanned four decades, during which she appeared in more than 70 films, television radio shows, and theater productions.
Growing up near Chinatown, Wong helped out at her father's laundry business. At age 14, she worked as a film extra. By 17 years of age, she was cast in her first leading role in The Toll of the Sea. However, it was her performance in 1924's The Thief of Bagdad that truly catapulted her to fame.
Many roles followed, yet most were stereotypical. In 1937, despite Wong's star status, MGM cast two white actors–Paul Muni and Luise Rainier–to play Chinese farmers in the movie The Good Earth. Discouraged by the American film industry's discriminatory practices, Wong accepted offers to appear in films in France, Germany, and England, thus becoming a sensation throughout Europe.
Shortly thereafter, Wong embarked on her first and only trip to China. When she returned to Hollywood, she was cast in a series of groundbreaking films with Paramount, Daughter of Shanghai and King of Chinatown.
During WWII, Wong worked tirelessly to raise money for China aid hosting fundraisers, auctioning off her wardrobe, presiding over L.A. Chinatown's 1941 Moon Festival, and entertaining American troops stationed in both Canada and Alaska. She donated the proceeds from her two wartime films, Bombs Over Burma (1942) and The Lady from Chungking (1942), and even served as air-raid warden.
As television sets became more commonplace in U.S. homes, Wong became the first Asian American to lead a television program when, in 1951, she debuted in The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, a series following a cosmopolitan gallery owner who travels the world catching art thieves. She also appeared in network television shows, including Climax!, Adventures in Paradise, Mike Hammer, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and The Barbara Stanwyck Show.
She returned to the big screen in Portrait in Black in 1960, a mystery thriller starring Lana Turner. In 1961, just weeks before rehearsals were set to begin for Flower Drum Song, in which she was the play the role of Madame Liang, Wong died in her sleep of a heart attack at the age of 56.
Nearly 100 years since starring in her first feature film, Wong remains a Hollywood legend. As part of the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters program launched in 2022, Wong's face now graces quarters, making her the first Asian American to appear on U.S. currency. In June, Mattel released its first Anna May Wong-inspired Barbie doll. Additionally, Gemma Chan has announced plans to develop a biographical film focusing on Wong's life with a screenplay by David Henry Hwang.
HALL OF FAME ESSAY
A speech from Anna May Wong accepting on behalf of her aunt, Anna May Wong:
I'm thrilled to be accepting this award for my aunt. She would be absolutely amazed that after all this time, she is still making history today. Anna May Wong would have been 119 years old this year, and she's still making history today, as we've seen in recent years. Her face is on the quarter, her image is a Barbie that's part of Mattel's Inspiring Women series, which, by the way, the first pre-sale link sold out in I think it was 3 days and then the second one sold out in 2 days and now they're a limited edition and now they're no longer for sale. You can get one on eBay, though, for like $500, and some of the quarters are selling on eBay for like $100, which I don't understand, but I am truly thrilled.
On a more serious note, I think her strength and her tenacity help pave the road for so many Asians today. We have to remember how hard that road was, and I think what we need to do is to move forward as a group and as Asians, and we need to continue this; we need to keep going; we need to keep going. I am so proud to be Asian and I am thrilled and honored to have you here tonight. Thank you.
Anna May Wong in The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
I was so tired of the parts I had to play.
Why is it that the screen Chinese is nearly always the villain of the piece, and so cruel a villain--murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass. We are not like that.
We have our own virtues. We have our rigid code of behavior, of honor. Why do they never show these on the screen? Why should we always scheme, rob, kill?
– ANNA MAY WONG
