View source for Soon-tek Oh

{{Short description|Korean–American actor}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2018}}
{{family name hatnote|Oh||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Soon-tek Oh<br>오순택
| image              = Soon-Tek Oh in Beverly Hills Ninja.jpg
| imagesize          =
| caption            =  Soon-tek Oh as Sensei in ''[[Beverly Hills Ninja]]''
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1932|6|29}}
| birth_place        = [[Mokpo]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|Chōsen]] (now [[South Korea]])
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2018|04|04|1932|06|29}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| other_names        = Soon-taek Oh
| occupation         = Actor
| yearsactive        = 1967–2006
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| hangul  = 오순택
| hanja   =
| rr      = O Sun-taek
| mr      = O Sun-t'aek}}
'''Soon-tek Oh''' ({{langx|ko|오순택}}, ''O Sun-taek'' – also spelled as '''Soon-taek Oh''' or '''Soon-taik Oh''' or '''Soon-teck Oh'''; June 29, 1932 – April 4, 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/soon-tek-oh-dead-mulan-man-with-the-golden-gun-actor-was-85-1100765|title=Soon-tek Oh, 'Mulan' and 'Man With the Golden Gun' Actor, Dies at 85|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=2018}}</ref>) was a [[Korean American|Korean–American]] actor. He was the voice of Fa Zhou in Disney's ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'' and the direct-to-video sequel ''[[Mulan II]]'' and the sadistic Colonel Yin in ''[[Missing in Action 2: The Beginning]]''. He has starred in many films, and also acted in [[television program|television series]], including ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''; ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]''; ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]''; ''[[Charlie's Angels]]''; ''[[Airwolf]]'', ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]''; ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]''; ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung-Fu]]''; ''[[Zorro (1990 TV series)|Zorro]]''; ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]''; ''[[Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)|Baa Baa Black Sheep]]'' and ''[[Touched by an Angel]]''.
==Early life==
Oh was born on June 29, 1932, in [[Mokpo]] during the period when [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea was under Japanese rule]]. He attended high school at [[Gwangju]], [[South Korea]], and attended [[Yonsei University]] in [[Seoul]].
After the end of Japanese rule in August 1945 and before the outbreak of the [[Korean War]] in June 1950, he and his family immigrated to the United States where he attended the [[University of Southern California]]. He later gained an [[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]] from [[UCLA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netv.com/abbey/soontekoh.htm|title=About Soon-tek Oh|accessdate=2007-03-22|publisher=Abbey Entertainment Beverly Hills|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020315160112/http://www.netv.com/abbey/soontekoh.htm|archivedate=2002-03-15}}</ref>
==Acting career==
On Broadway, he appeared in the original cast of the [[Stephen Sondheim]] musical ''[[Pacific Overtures]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/rip-soon-tek-oh-memorable-character-actor-and-mulan-voice-actor|title=R.I.P. Soon-tek Oh, memorable character actor on M*A*S*H, Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O|website=Me-TV Network|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> He was an early member of [[East West Players]], an [[Asian American theatre]] group founded in 1965.{{cn|date=July 2018}}
In 1995 he founded the [[Korean American]] theatre group, Society of Heritage Performers, which later evolved into the present [[Lodestone Theatre Ensemble]]. From 2005, he had been a chair professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts.{{cn|date=July 2018}}
==Death==
Oh died in Los Angeles on April 4, 2018, at age 85 after a lengthy battle with [[Alzheimer's disease]], according to actor Chil Kong.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sung |first=Ji-eun |title=Pioneering actor Oh Soon-tek is dead at 85 |url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3046619 |newspaper=[[Korea Joongang Daily]] |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/soon-tek-oh-dead-dies-mulan-father-asian-american-theater-pioneer-1202746825 |title=Soon-tek Oh, Voice of Mulan's Father and Asian-American Theater Pioneer, Dies at 85 |first=Erin |last=Nyren |date=April 7, 2018 |publisher=[[Penske Business Media, LLC.]] |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>
==Partial filmography==
===Films===
* 1966 ''[[Murderers' Row (film)|Murderers' Row]]'' as Tempura, Japanese Secret Agent (uncredited)
* 1967 ''[[Yongary, Monster From The Deep]]'' as Chinese Agent (uncredited)
* 1971 ''[[Earth II]]'' as Chinese Diplomat (uncredited)
* 1971 ''[[One More Train to Rob]]'' as Yung
* 1974 ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'' as Lieutenant Hip (as Soon-taik Oh)
* 1978 ''[[Good Guys Wear Black]]'' as Major Mhin Van Thieu, The Black Tigers
* 1980 ''[[The Final Countdown (film)|The Final Countdown]]'' as Simura, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Pilot
* 1982 ''[[The Letter (1982 film)|The Letter]]'' as Ong
* 1985 ''[[Bialy smok]]'' as Tai Ching
* 1985 ''[[Missing in Action 2: The Beginning|Missing in Action 2]]'' as Colonel Yin
* 1985 ''[[Yuki Shimoda]]'' as Himself (interviewed)
* 1987 ''[[Steele Justice]]'' as General Bon-soong Kwan
* 1987 ''Biały smok'' as Tai-ching
* 1987 ''[[Death Wish 4: The Crackdown]]'' as Detective Phil Nozaki
* 1989 ''[[Soursweet]]'' as "Red" Cudgel
* 1989 ''[[Collision Course (1989 film)|Collision Course]]'' as Chief Inspector Kitao
* 1993 ''[[A Home of Our Own (1993 film)|A Home of Our Own]]'' as Mr. Munimura
* 1994 ''Red Sun Rising'' as Yamata
* 1994 ''[[S.F.W.]]'' as Milt Morris
* 1996 ''[[Street Corner Justice]]'' as Kwong-chuck Lee
* 1997 ''[[Beverly Hills Ninja]]'' as Sensei
* 1998 ''[[Yellow (1998 film)|Yellow]]'' as Woon Lee
* 1998 ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'' as Fa Zhou (voice)
* 2000 ''[[The President's Man]]'' as General Vinh Tran
* 2001 ''Roads and Bridges'' as Father (voice)
* 2001 ''Forgotten Valor'' as Colonel
* 2001 ''[[True Blue (2001 film)|True Blue]]'' as "Tiger"
* 2002 ''The Visit'' as Sujong's Father
* 2002 ''[[S.W.A.T. (2003 film)|SWAT]]'' as Sayonara
* 2004 ''[[Mulan II]]'' as Fa Zhou (voice)
* 2005 ''Last Mountain'' as Karus
* 2006 ''Gang-jeok'' as Jong-chae (final film role)
===Television (partial list)===
* 1967 ''[[The Invaders]]'' as Houseboy
* 1968–1979 ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'' (8 episodes) as Robert Kwon / David Chung / Chaing / Tom Wong / Vic Tanaka / Lao / Lewis Shen / Wo Fat's Lab Technician
* 1974 ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]'' as Chen Yi
* 1975–1982 ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' (5 episodes) as Joon – Sung / Ralph / Dr. Syn Paik / Korean Soldier / Mr. Kwang
* 1977 ''[[Logan's Run (TV series)|Logan's Run]]'' as Dexter Kim
* 1977 ''[[Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)|Baa Baa Black Sheep]]'' as Lieutenant Miragochi / Colonel Tokura
* 1979 ''[[How the West Was Won (TV series)|How the West Was Won]]'' as Kee
* 1980 ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'' as Mr. Kim
* 1981–1986 ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'' (4 episodes) as General Nguyen Hue / Sato / Dr. Bill Su & Dr. Ling
* 1981 ''[[East of Eden (miniseries)|East of Eden]]'' as Lee
* 1982 ''[[Quincy, M.E.]]'' as Captain Bob Nishimura
* 1983 ''[[Hart to Hart]]'' as Lang Chen-cheng
* 1983 ''[[Girls of the White Orchid]]'' as Hatanaka
* 1983 ''[[Marco Polo (TV miniseries)|Marco Polo]]'' as Wang Zhu
* 1984 ''The Master'' as Lika
* 1984–1987 ''[[Airwolf]]'' (3 episodes) as Minh / Tommy Liu / Hiyashi
* 1985–1986 ''[[T.J. Hooker]]'' (2 episodes) as Ginsu Nabutsu / Nguyen Chi
* 1987 ''[[Sky Commanders]]'' as Kodiak (voice)
* 1988 ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' as Raymond Ling
* 1992 ''[[Highlander: The Series]]'' as Kiem Sun
* 1993 ''[[The Legend of Prince Valiant]]'' as Sing Lu (voice)
* 1994 ''[[Babylon 5]]'' as The Muta-Do
* 1994–1995 ''[[Kung Fu: The Legend Continues]]'' (3 episodes) as Bon-bon Hai
* 1996 ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' as General Yala (voice)
* 1997 ''[[Life with Louie]]'' as Buddhist Monk (voice)
* 1997 ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' as Moughal
* 2000 ''[[King of the Hill]]'' as Monk (voice)
== Accolades ==
In 2008, Soon-tek Oh was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the [[San Diego Asian Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pacarts.org/sdaff-award-winners/|title=SDAFF Award Winners {{!}} Pacific Arts Movement|website=pacarts.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0644902}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oh, Soon-tek}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights of Korean descent]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]
[[Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:UCLA Film School alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from South Jeolla Province]]
[[Category:Actors from Mokpo]]
[[Category:American male actors of Korean descent]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in California]]