Biography
James B. Leong (born Leong But-jung and sometimes credited as Jimmy Leong) (November 2, 1889 - December 16, 1967) was a Chinese-American character actor and filmmaker who had a long career in Hollywood beginning during the silent era.
Leong was born in Shanghai, and he moved to the United States with his parents when he was young. He graduated from college in Muncie, Indiana, in 1915 and briefly worked at a newspaper before moving to Hollywood, where he worked at first as a technical director for filmmakers like D. W. Griffith and Wesley Ruggles.By 1919, he had started his own production company β James B. Leong Productions, later known as the Wah Ming Motion Picture Company β to show Chinese life as it really was. He had grown tired of seeing Chinese people portrayed as kidnappers and assassins on the screen. Under this banner, he wrote and directed the 1921 film Lotus Blossom. During that time, he had said he planned to write and direct four films a year, though it never to fruition, with a planned follow-up, The Unbroken Promise, never filmed.He took work as an actor, playing smaller roles in Hollywood films, as well as continuing to work as a technical director and dialect coach. He made money by growing of silk crops in the 1940s.He married Agatha Tarwater in 1934; the pair had a son together. Leong became a U.S. citizen in 1958.
Filmography
all 38
Movies 38
Director 1
Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)
I Was an American Spy (1951)
To the Ends of the Earth (1948)
Deception (1946)
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
Headin' for God's Country (1943)
Behind the Rising Sun (1943)
Lady from Chungking (1942)
Across the Pacific (1942)
Wake Island (1942)
A Yank on the Burma Road (1942)
South of Pago Pago (1940)
Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)
Daughter of the Tong (1939)
North of Shanghai (1939)
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
International Settlement (1938)
Shadows of the Orient (1937)
Midnight Blunders (1936)
Ace Drummond (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
East of Java (1935)
Chinatown Squad (1935)
The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1935)
The Son of Kong (1933)
Tangled Destinies (1932)
The Heart Punch (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
Shanghai Lady (1929)
Welcome Danger (1929)
Come and Get It! (1929)
China Slaver (1929)
The Devil Dancer (1927)
The Silk Bouquet (1926)
The Purple Dawn (1923)
Lotus Blossom (1921)
The Pagan God (1919)
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1889-11-02
Deathday1967-12-16 (78 years old)
Birth NameLeong But-jung
Birth PlaceShanghai, China
CitizenshipsChina, United States of America
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