Out of the 47 Charlie Chan films released in the USA between 1926 and 1949, none of them were nominated and/or won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year.
Of the six actors who portrayed Charlie Chan in the movies (George Kuwa, Sojin Kamiyama, E. L. Park, Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters), none of them were nominated and/or won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. But wait, there is a small light inside the fortune cookie.
One actor, the 7th actor to play Chan, was nominated for the Academy Award. That Oscar-nominated actor did not portray Charlie Chan in the movies, but portrayed him on television.
Mr. J. Carrol Naish (1896-1973) was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The first for his role as Giuseppe in the movie "Sahara" (1943), and the second, for his performance as the title character's Hispanic father in the movie "A Medal for Benny" (1945). [wikipedia]
Also, the 9th actor to play Chan (the 8th actor being Ross Martin) was not only nominated twice for the Academy Award, but won the Oscar twice.
Mr. Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) portrayed retired detective Chan in "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen" (1981). [Currently available for viewing on YouTube.]
In 1952, Mr. Ustinov was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in "Quo Vadis". In 1969, Mr. Ustinov was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for co-writing "Hot Millions" with Ira Wallach. In 1961, Mr. Ustinov won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in "Spartacus". Finally, in 1965, Mr. Ustinov won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in "Topkapi". [wikipedia]
It is ironic to note that this wonderful actor gave what many critics, and fans, consider to be the worst Chan interruption of all the Chan actors in cinema history. Mr. Ustinov's take on Charlie Chan is definitely different from the actors who came before him. Go figure.
Regardless, congratulations to Mr. Naish, Mr. Ustinov, and all the Chan actors, for bringing to life the greatest Chinese-Hawaiian detective in the history of the movies. See you at the Oscars!
