36 Facts About Philip Ahn

Philip Ahn was an American actor and activist of Korean descent.

Philip Ahn is widely regarded as the first Korean American film actor in Hollywood.

The son of Korean independence activist Ahn Changho, Philip Ahn was a longtime advocate for his father's legacy and the Korean-American community, helping to establish memorials to his father in his native Seoul and later arranging for his remains to be buried there.

Philip Ahn's parents, Ahn Changho and Yi Hyeryon, were both Korean emigrants who had moved to the United States in 1902, making him the first American citizen born to two Korean parents in the United States.

Philip Ahn's father Dosan was a well-known educator and an activist for Korean independence while Korea was under Japanese rule; he moved to the US to seek better educational opportunities.

Philip Ahn became an informal ambassador to the Korean-American immigrant community in California and became one of its first leaders, founding the Mutual Assistance Society, the first Korean political organization in America.

When he was in high school, Philip Ahn visited the set of the film The Thief of Bagdad where he met Douglas Fairbanks.

Philip Ahn graduated from high school in 1923 and went to work in the rice fields around Colusa, California.

Unfortunately, the rice crops failed because of heavy rains, and Philip Ahn found himself deeply in debt.

Philip Ahn went to work as an elevator operator in Los Angeles to pay back the debt and help support his family.

Philip Ahn's father told him if he really wanted to be an actor, he had to be the best actor he could and convinced him to take acting and cinematography courses.

Philip Ahn served as president of the USC Cosmopolitan Club, was chairman of the All University Committee on International Relations and was assistant to the dean of male students as advisor for foreign student affairs.

Philip Ahn organized visits by foreign dignitaries, including Princess Der Ling of China, Indian journalist Chaman Lal and archeologist-explorer Robert B Stacey-Judd.

Philip Ahn's first film was A Scream in the Night in 1935.

Philip Ahn appeared in the Bing Crosby film Anything Goes, though the director Lewis Milestone initially rejected him because his English was too good for the part.

Philip Ahn's first credited roles came in 1936 in The General Died at Dawn and Stowaway, opposite Shirley Temple.

Philip Ahn was frequently cast in these roles opposite Chinese-American actor Richard Loo.

Philip Ahn enlisted in the US Army and served in the Special Services division as an entertainer.

Philip Ahn was discharged early because of an injured ankle and returned to making films.

Philip Ahn appeared in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Around the World in Eighty Days, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Paradise, Hawaiian Style, with Elvis Presley.

Philip Ahn played Korean characters in Korean War movies such as Battle Circus and Battle Hymn.

In 1952, Philip Ahn made his television debut on the Schlitz Playhouse, a series he would make three additional appearances on.

In 1954, Philip Ahn opened a Chinese restaurant with his sister Soorah.

Philip Ahn was actively involved in the Korean community of Los Angeles.

Philip Ahn worked to make Los Angeles a sister city of Busan, South Korea.

Philip Ahn helped to bring the Korean Bell of Friendship to San Pedro, California, which went on to appear in many films.

Philip Ahn lived at a house that was later lived in by Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.

Philip Ahn worked to have his father and mother buried together in Seoul.

Philip Ahn's father had been buried far from the city because the Japanese hoped to downplay his independence work.

Philip Ahn worked with the South Korean government to establish a park to honor his father and was able to have his parents buried there.

In 1968, Philip Ahn made a USO tour of South Vietnam, visiting both American and South Korean troops in the Vietnam War.

Philip Ahn died on February 28,1978, due to complications from surgery.

Philip Ahn is buried in the Courts of Remembrance, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.

Philip Ahn remains a seminal figure in Asian-American and Korean-American representation in Hollywood.

In 1984, Philip Ahn was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star for his contributions to the film industry.

Philip Ahn was the first Korean American film actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.