Philip Ahn

Spoke a Unique idiolect of Korean because of his particular heritage; his mother was from the Northern region of Korea and emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. As a result, Ahn learned a Dialect of Korean that was both very regional and also quite antiquated, a fact that was noted by many South Koreans when he traveled to the country in his adult life.

Korean-American character actor Philip Ahn played hundreds of Chinese and Japanese characters during a long career. He was born in Los Angeles in 1905 (though 1911 is the year usually given, U. S.

government records confirm that Ahn was born in 1905), the son of a Korean diplomat. He attended the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

Ahn got his first film acting job in 1935 and quickly made a place for himself playing Asians of many ethnicities. Although his kindly demeanor made him perfect for sympathetic roles, he could excel in the occasional villainous "Yellow Peril"-type role. Condemned, like most Asian actors of the period, to stereotypical roles, Ahn nevertheless brought a dignity to even the most subservient of characters.

Considered moving to South Korea in the 1950s due to his popularity there and desire to help the country's film industry, but ultimately decided against it.

In his later years he achieved his greatest fame as the wise Master Kan on the television series Kung Fu (1972). Ahn was also a successful Los Angeles restaurateur.

Philip Ahn passed away on February 28, 1978, a month away from what would have been his 73rd birthday on March 29.

He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6211 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 14, 1984.