Dear Steve: Thank you for those very kind words. The thanks goes mostly to Rush, a couple of other sites and online encyclopedia I gleaned my facts from. The bios on the actors who have played Charlie Chan are simply abbreviated versions of those you can read right here on the Charlie Chan Family Home Page. Just click on the individual actor’s name and you can read it all. Rush’s site has most all the pictures I have in the display and more. Simply go to the Chan film section and click on the photo under the titles. I did a little editing, rewriting and added a bit of my own opinion for good measure. Such as the following reworking of Who was Charlie Chan: A master detective who was born in China and immigrated to Hawaii with his honorable parents at an early age?
A faithful husband and proud patriarch of a "multitudinous family" of fourteen children? A courteous, dignified gentleman, who always had appropriate words of wisdom poised at the tip of his tongue? A world traveler, who solved crimes not only in Hawaii, but on the mainland and in Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, and China? An apparent teetotaler, who would, when in a bar, order sarsaparilla? In truth, Charlie Chan was all of these and more... "The fictional detective Charlie Chan has been attacked and vilified as a negative stereotype in recent years. Nothing could be further from the truth. When Charlie first appeared in print and in movies the stereotype was one of inscrutable villainy. The insidious Fu Man Chu, the dreaded Ming of Mongo or one of subservience, the Chinese houseboy, the broken English speaking laundryman. Inspector Chan changed all that. He was in command. An intelligent, thoughtful, amiable, brilliant and respected police detective. His sons and daughters often serving as comic relief also served as examples of typical American children complete with all the slang of era.Charlie Chan was a great step forward and remains today one of the classic great detective of literature and film"." That last part being added by me. I have a short bio of Earl Derr Biggers. A mention of the Radios shows and 1950s TV program and the Ross Martin 1970s TV movie. Now aren't you sorry you asked? I could go on and on about Charlie Chan. And I think I just did. Sincerely yours, Russell
Russell,
I'm curious as to how the crowds reacted to your display. Did many younger people even know who the character was? Did older folks remember? I wish I could have attended.
Dear bradford@nytimes.com: I am sorry I didn't reply straight away, but there is really little answer to your questions. People looked at the display to be sure. Of course the children had no clue. The adults did recognize Chan, but as I said there were many other artifacts in the hall which overshadowed my modest display. I wish I was more agressive in questioning them to see what they thought and felt about the character. I take it as a first step success. I was there and tried. Next time I hope to do better. The more I think about it the more ambitious I get. I might try my hand at creating a fantasty. How does this sound: "Charlie Chan in Norristown". That might get them to sit up and take notice.
