Sammee Tong

Sammee Tong
File:Sammee Tong.jpg
Born	(1901-04-21)April 21, 1901 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	Palms, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Barbiturate overdose
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Nationality	American
Other names	Sammy Tong
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–1963

Sammee Tong (April 21, 1901 — October 27, 1964) was an American film and television character actor. One of Tong's more notable roles was that of Peter Tong on the sitcom Bachelor Father, which aired on all three national networks from 1957 to 1962.

In October 1964, Tong died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 63. At the time of his death, he was appearing in a supporting role on the ABC sitcom, Mickey, starring Mickey Rooney.

Early life and career

Born in San Francisco, Tong was educated in California and Honolulu. Tong attempted to break into acting on the stage during the Depression, but found he could not get parts because he was of Chinese descent. He began working in Chinese nightclubs in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where he sang and performed comedy routines. During his nightclub years, he changed the spelling of his name to "Sammee" because he said it "looked better in print."

In 1934, Tong made his film debut in a bit part in the comedy film The Captain Hates the Sea. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he would continue with small, usually uncredited, roles in films. He found more success in the 1950s on television. Tong made his television debut in 1953 in an episode of You Are There. The following year, he appeared in a recurring role as "George, the cook" in a series of television shorts which aired during The Mickey Mouse Club entitled The Adventures of Spin and Marty. In 1955, he reprised his role as George in the feature-length film Spin and Marty: The Movie. He also had a role in the sequel series The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty.

In 1957, he landed a co-starring role in the sitcom Bachelor Father, starring John Forsythe and Noreen Corcoran. In the series, Tong portrayed "Peter Tong", Bentley Gregg's (Forsythe) live-in houseboy and valet. Although he was playing a servant, Tong enjoyed the role stating, "Houseboys in movies and the theater always bow low, mutter a few sing song words and disappear, but not on this show. I get dialogue and laughs. After Bachelor Father's cancellation in 1962, Tong was cast as Sammy Ling in the ABC sitcom Mickey, starring Mickey Rooney. Due to low ratings, ABC was considering canceling Mickey. The network was hesitant to cancel the series due to the popularity of Tong's character who had a solid fanbase thanks to his role in Bachelor Father. Tong's death effectively ended any chance for the series' survival and ABC canceled Mickey in December 1964.

His final screen appearance was as "Cook" in the 1965 film Fluffy, starring Shirley Jones. The film was released after Tong's death.

Death

On October 27, 1964, Tong was found dead in his Palms, Los Angeles apartment by his close friend, Ben Wong. Tong died of an apparent suicide by barbiturate overdose. Police found an empty bottle of sleeping pills by his body and several notes addressed to his landlady, his attorney and police. In the note addressed to police, he gave no reason why he committed suicide only stating, "I have taken my own life. No one is to blame." Tong is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

In his 1991 autobiography Life Is Too Short, Tong's co-star Mickey Rooney wrote that Tong was upset by the news that Mickey faced cancellation. According to Rooney, Tong was a heavy gambler and owed money to the mafia. Faced with the possibility of not being able to pay off his debts, Rooney claimed that Tong decided to commit suicide.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	The Captain Hates the Sea	Sin Kee	Uncredited
1935	Charlie Chan in Shanghai	Waiter	Uncredited
1936	Love Before Breakfast	Steward	Uncredited
1936	The Accusing Finger	Chinese Man	Uncredited
1936	Happy Go Lucky	Driver	Uncredited
1936	Stowaway	Bing Crosby Imitator	Uncredited
1937	The Good Earth	Chinese Man	Uncredited
1937	Think Fast, Mr. Moto	Cheela - Marloff's Houseboy	Uncredited
1937	Youth on Parole	Chinese Orchestra Leader	Uncredited
1937	West of Shanghai	Messenger	Uncredited
1937	Daughter of Shanghai	Chinese Alien in Airplane	Uncredited
1939	Only Angels Have Wings	Sam the Cook	Uncredited
1943	China	Aide to Japanese General	Uncredited
1945	God Is My Co-Pilot	Chinese Civilian	Uncredited
1945	Out of This World	Chinese Radio Announcer	Uncredited
1950	Woman on the Run	Witness to Suzie's Fall	Uncredited
1955	Spin and Marty: The Movie	George
1955	The Left Hand of God	Servant	Uncredited
1956	Godzilla, King of the Monsters!	Dr. Yamane (Voice)	Uncredited
1957	The Iron Sheriff	Charley Key - Laundry Owner	Uncredited
1957	The Midnight Story	Restaurant Proprietor	Uncredited
1957	Man of a Thousand Faces	Chinese Extra	Uncredited
1957	Slaughter on Tenth Avenue	Sam, Chinese Waiter	Uncredited
1957	Hell Bound	Murdered Seaman	Uncredited
1957	Stopover Tokyo	Diplomat	Uncredited
1958	Suicide Battalion	Papa Lily	Credited as Sammy Tong
1959	Battle Flame	Chinese Prisoner	Uncredited
1963	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	Chinese Laundryman
1964	For Those Who Think Young	Clyde
1965	Fluffy	Cook	Released posthumously

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953-1954	You Are There		2 episodes
1955	The Adventures of Spin and Marty	George, the cook	Unknown episodes
1956	Judge Roy Bean	Ah Sid	Episode: "Ah Sid, Cowboy"
1956	The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty	Sam	Unknown episodes
1956	Matinee Theater	Nurseryman	Episode: "All the Trees In the Field"
1956	Sky King	Ipp	Episode: "Red Tentacles"
1956	The Man Called X		2 episodes
1956	Death Valley Days	Thomas Bottle	Episode: "Bill Bottle's Birthday"
1956	Cavalcade of America		Episode: "Diplomatic Outpost"
1956	My Friend Flicka	Wong	Episode: "Lost River"
1956	Hey, Jeannie!	Lee	Episode: "The Proprietor"
1957	General Electric Theater	Peter Tong	Episode: "A New Girl In His Life"
1959	The Californians	Quon Wei	Episode: "Gold-Tooth Charlie"
1959	Bonanza	Hop Ling	Episode: "A Rose for Lotta"
1960	Hawaiian Eye	Mr. Nishimaka	Episode: "Dead Ringer"
1957-1962	Bachelor Father	Peter Tong	157 episodes
1964	The Jack Benny Program	Maitre d' of Lotus Blosom Inn	Episode: "How Jack Found Dennis"
1964-1965	Mickey	Sammy Ling	17 episodes

External links

• Sammee Tong at the Internet Movie Database
• Sammee Tong at Find a Grave