Dear AJ,

What a wonderful way to keep the Charlie Chan legacy alive! And you are the same rank as Chan was, too..

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Yes, I am Asian and have a Charlie Chan costume. If I wore that on a case it would thow them over the edge.

Dude,
you should at least put on the costume, have your picture taken and and send it to Rush Glick. I'm sure he'd put it on his website. Heck, I feature it on my blog.

Chris M.

I will have to do that. I think I would like to find a little better hat first. The one I have is okay, but a beeter hat would make quite a difference.

I believe the hat was called a panama hat. The hat I have is not quite as tall.

There's a discussion on Panama Hats deeper into the message board. As to where to buy them and how much and so on and so forth. I'd love to own one but I don't have the cash.


Chris M

Dear AJ,

A Panama hat was only one type of a number that we see Charlie Chan wearing during his adventures. Two instances come to my mind at the moment. the first was at the point in "Charlie Chan at the Olympics" where he ans son Charlie, Jr. are on their short-lived fishing trip. Later, in "Charlie Chan in Panama," Mr. Chan is working undercover, appropriately enough, at a Panama hat shop. The style of Panima worn by Charlie Chan was the "Optimo." One of these of GOOD quality is rather pricy, but well worth it, in my humble opinion.

Most of the hats that Charlie Chan is seen wearing are made of felt and were in varying tones from white to grey, to black. These hats had higher, rounded crowns, and the brims were equally sized all the way around (NOT broader at the front). This type of hat is difficult to come by today...but don't give up!

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Thanks, I also noticed that the hat used in Charlie Chan in Panama had a raised edge in the center. It is very slight.