Sammee Tong
Encyclopedia
Sammee Tong was an American
film
and television
character actor
.
He appeared in more than thirty films and some forty television programs between 1935 and 1965. He first appeared in an uncredited role as a waiter in Charlie Chan in Shanghai
(1934), and later (also uncredited) as Cheela, the houseboy, in Think Fast, Mr. Moto
(1937). In 1956, Tong appeared as Sid in the episode "Ah Sid, Cowboy", with Glenn Strange
as Fallon, in Edgar Buchanan
's syndicated
western
series, Judge Roy Bean
. He appeared too as "Wong" in the episode "Lost River" of the children's western My Friend Flicka
. About this time, he also appeared on Jeannie Carson
's short-lived CBS
situation comedy
Hey, Jeannie!
.
From 1957-1962, he appeared as "Peter Tong" in Bachelor Father with costars John Forsythe
and Noreen Corcoran
. At the time of his suicide, he had appeared as Sammy Ling in the short-lived Mickey
sitcom on ABC
starring Mickey Rooney
. His final screen appearance was posthumously as Cook in the 1965 film Fluffy. He also appeared in such films as the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
(1957), and as a laundry shop owner in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963).
He was a heavy gambler. When the TV series he was on at the time, Mickey
with Mickey Rooney
was cancelled, he committed suicide by drug overdose in 1964, aged 63.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
He appeared in more than thirty films and some forty television programs between 1935 and 1965. He first appeared in an uncredited role as a waiter in Charlie Chan in Shanghai
Charlie Chan in Shanghai
Charlie Chan in Shanghai is the ninth Charlie Chan film produced by Fox with the title character played by Warner Oland.-Plot:Charlie Chan arrives in Shanghai at the behest of the U.S. government to help stop an opium smuggling ring. He receives a warning aboard ship not to stop in Shanghai...
(1934), and later (also uncredited) as Cheela, the houseboy, in Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Think Fast, Mr. Moto is a 1937 film about a mysterious Japanese detective named Mr. Moto. It is the first of eight films in the Mr. Moto series, which are all based on Mr. Moto novels written by John P. Marquand. The film stars Peter Lorre as the title character, as well as Virginia Field and...
(1937). In 1956, Tong appeared as Sid in the episode "Ah Sid, Cowboy", with Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange
Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
as Fallon, in Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan
Edgar Buchanan was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies television sitcoms of the 1960s...
's syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Judge Roy Bean
Judge Roy Bean (TV series)
Judge Roy Bean is a syndicated American Western series starring Edgar Buchanan as the legendary Kentucky-born Judge Roy Bean, a justice of the peace known as "The law west of the Pecos".-Synopsis:...
. He appeared too as "Wong" in the episode "Lost River" of the children's western My Friend Flicka
My Friend Flicka (TV series)
My Friend Flicka is a 39-episode western television series set at the fictitious Goose Bar Ranch in Wyoming at the turn of the 20th century. The program was filmed in color but initially aired in black and white on CBS at 7:30 p.m. Fridays from February 10, 1956, to February 1, 1957. It was a...
. About this time, he also appeared on Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson is a retired English-born United States-based comedienne and musical theatre actress...
's short-lived CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie! is a 32-episode half-hour situation comedy starring Jeannie Carson as a young Scottish woman living in New York City. Twenty-six segments aired on CBS from September 8, 1956 to May 4, 1957 in the Saturday slot following The Gale Storm Show and preceding the western series Gunsmoke.Six...
.
From 1957-1962, he appeared as "Peter Tong" in Bachelor Father with costars John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
and Noreen Corcoran
Noreen Corcoran
Noreen M. Corcoran is a former actress and dancer best known for her costarring role as the teenager Kelly Gregg, the niece of wealthy attorney Bentley Gregg, played by John Forsythe, in the television sitcom Bachelor Father, the only series to have been carried at one time by all three major...
. At the time of his suicide, he had appeared as Sammy Ling in the short-lived Mickey
Mickey (TV series)
Mickey is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 1964 to January 1965. Created and produced by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, the series stars Mickey Rooney.-Synopsis:...
sitcom on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
starring Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
. His final screen appearance was posthumously as Cook in the 1965 film Fluffy. He also appeared in such films as the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed...
(1957), and as a laundry shop owner in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963).
He was a heavy gambler. When the TV series he was on at the time, Mickey
Mickey (TV series)
Mickey is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 1964 to January 1965. Created and produced by Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, the series stars Mickey Rooney.-Synopsis:...
with Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
was cancelled, he committed suicide by drug overdose in 1964, aged 63.