Lotus Long

Lotus Long

Born: July 18, 1909
Died: September 14, 1990
in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lotus Long (born Lotus Pearl Shibata, July 18, 1909 – September 14, 1990) was an American actress.

Long was born in New Jersey to a father of Japanese ancestry and a mother of Hawaiian ancestry. She came to Southern California during the 1920s to act in Hollywood films, and usually portrayed ethnic Asian female characters in supporting roles. She used the name "Lotus Long" for stage and film. Because of her adopted surname, people generally assumed that she was of Chinese ancestry – something she later relied on to avoid mass incarceration in American internment camps with other persons of Japanese ancestry, both legal permanent residents and American citizens, during World War II.

She appeared in the MGM docudrama Eskimo (1933) as wife of the main character. Under the stage name Lotus Long as Moonflower in the 1934 film The Mysterious Mr. Wong and as the murder victim, Princess Lin Hwa, in 1939's Mr. Wong in Chinatown. She also starred alongside Keye Luke in Phantom of Chinatown as Win Len, Dr. Benton's secretary, whereas Keye Luke played Mr. Wong, this time known as Detective James Lee Wong.

She was also credited under the name Karen Sorrell in the films Flight into Nowhere (1938) starring Jack Holt and Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) starring Peter Lorre. She was uncredited as a "native girl" in the film The Real Glory (1939) starring Gary Cooper and David Niven.

One of her more infamous roles would be as Tokyo Rose in Lew Landers' film, Tokyo Rose (1946), which also starred Keye Luke, Edwin Luke, Richard Loo, Byron Barr, and Osa Massen.

Long had one writing and producing credit, for the film The Tahitian (1956) made with her husband, James Knott. The Tahitian was filmed on location with a largely native cast.

In Timothy Tau's short film bio-pic Keye Luke, Lotus Long is portrayed by Mei Melancon, who is also of mixed ancestry (Japanese, Chinese and French), and who was inspired by the real-life figure of Tokyo Rose (Iva Toguri) to get into acting.

Movies for Lotus Long...

Rose of the Yukon
Title: Rose of the Yukon
Character: Eskimo girl
Released: January 5, 1949
Type: Movie
Major Geoffrey Barnett, U. S. Army Intelligence Service, is sent to Alaska, to apprehend a deserter, Tom Clark, who was presumed to be dead as a member of a small force wiped out on Attu in World War II. With the aid of Rose Flambeau, he finds evidence that the now-prosperous Clark killed his own comrades to prevent their reporting of a deposit of uranium, which he is now mining with the intention of selling to a foreign power.
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Tokyo Rose
Title: Tokyo Rose
Character: Tokyo Rose
Released: February 8, 1946
Type: Movie
Lotus Long plays the title role, an American-educated Japanese woman broadcasting enemy propaganda to American troops. Captured GI Pete Sherman is one of a group of POWS slated to be interviewed on Tokyo Rose's radio program. Instead of advising his comrades to surrender (as ordered), Sherman uses his innate Yankee knowhow to hoist the treacherous deejay on her own petard. Managing to make his escape, Sherman hooks up with the Japanese Underground, convincing anti-militarist Charlie Otani to aid in a kidnapping plot aimed at Tokyo Rose.
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Flying Tigers
Title: Flying Tigers
Character: Children's Matron (uncredited)
Released: October 8, 1942
Type: Movie
Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers.
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For Beauty's Sake
Title: For Beauty's Sake
Character: Ann Kuo
Released: June 6, 1941
Type: Movie
A woman-hater who inherits a beauty salon gets a new perspective on females after capturing a gang of thieves.
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Phantom of Chinatown
Title: Phantom of Chinatown
Character: Win Lee, Benton's Secretary
Released: November 18, 1940
Type: Movie
In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton,the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and dies. His last words "Eternal Fire" are the only clue Chinese detective Jimmy Wong and Captain Street of the police department have to work on.
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Mr. Wong in Chinatown
Title: Mr. Wong in Chinatown
Character: Princess Lin Hwa
Released: August 1, 1939
Type: Movie
A pretty Chinese woman, seeking help from San Francisco detective James Lee Wong, is killed by a poisoned dart in his front hall, having time only to scrawl "Captain J" on a sheet of paper. She proves to be Princess Lin Hwa, on a secret military mission for Chinese forces fighting the Japanese invasion. Mr. Wong finds two captains with the intial J in the case, neither being quite what he seems; there's fog on the waterfront and someone still has that poison-dart gun...
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The Mystery of Mr. Wong
Title: The Mystery of Mr. Wong
Character: Drina
Released: March 8, 1939
Type: Movie
Detective James Lee Wong must find the "Eye of the Daughter of the Moon," a priceless but cursed sapphire stolen in China and smuggled to America. His search takes him into the heart of Chinatown and to the dreaded "House of Hate" to find the deadly gem before it can kill again.
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Mysterious Mr. Moto
Title: Mysterious Mr. Moto
Character: Lotus Liu
Released: September 17, 1938
Type: Movie
The Japanese detective rounds up a league of assassins for Scotland Yard.
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Flight Into Nowhere
Title: Flight Into Nowhere
Character: L-Ana
Released: April 19, 1938
Type: Movie
When headstrong pilot Bill Kellogg disobeys orders and takes a plane to photograph potential landing fields in uncharted Latin American country, he ends up running out of gas and crashing. The members of a nearby tribal village save Bill from the wreckage, but arent willing to help him get home.
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Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Title: Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Character: Lela Liu
Released: July 23, 1937
Type: Movie
When his import/export business infiltrated by international diamond smugglers, Mr. Moto must follow a trail of clues littered with beautiful women, glittering gems and deadly assassins. Making his way from the mysterious streets of San Francisco's Chinatown to the dark and dangerous alleys of Shanghai, Mr. Moto will stop at nothing to bring the culprits to justice...even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice!
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China Passage
Title: China Passage
Character: Lia Sen
Released: March 12, 1937
Type: Movie
Americans Tommy Baldwin and Joe Dugan are hired to transport a fabulous diamond from Shanghai to San Francisco. They will be paid handsomely on success or killed on failure. The diamond is stolen as they take possession of it.
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Sea Spoilers
Title: Sea Spoilers
Character: Marie
Released: September 30, 1936
Type: Movie
Bob Randall, temporarily in command of the Coast Guard vessel Niobe, expects a promotion and the captaincy of his ship. Instead, he is replaced by Lieutenant Mays, son of the area commander. Mays is afflicted with a fear of the sea, although he has served well in Coast Guard aviation. His father, however, thinks Mays can overcome his fear by taking command of the Niobe. When seal poachers kidnap Bob Randall's girlfriend Connie, Bob and Mays disagree about the proper means of rescuing her and capturing the seal poachers. When Mays's inexperience and phobia foil their attempts at rescue, Bob comes up with his own plan.
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Last of the Pagans
Title: Last of the Pagans
Character: Lilleo
Released: December 20, 1935
Type: Movie
Two South Sea Islanders fall in love, followed by a hurricane.
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The Mysterious Mr. Wong
Title: The Mysterious Mr. Wong
Character: Moonflower
Released: January 25, 1935
Type: Movie
Mr. Wong is a "harmless" Chinatown shopkeeper by day and relentless blood-thirsty pursuer of the Twelve Coins of Confucius by night. With possession of the coins, Mr. Wong will be supreme ruler of the Chinese province of Keelat, and his evil destiny will be fulfilled. A killing spree follows in dark and dangerous Chinatown as Wong gets control of 11 of the 12 coins. Reporter Jason Barton and his girl Peg are hot on his trail, but soon find themselves in serious trouble when they stumble onto Wong's headquarters.
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Sing Sing Nights
Title: Sing Sing Nights
Character: Li Sung
Released: December 14, 1934
Type: Movie
A respected war correspondent is found murdered, with three bullets--from three different guns--in him. Three different men are arrested, convicted and sentenced to death for the murder, but only one can be the actual killer. A criminologist sets out to find who is really guilty.
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Eskimo
Title: Eskimo
Character: Iva (uncredited)
Released: November 14, 1933
Type: Movie
The happy life of an Eskimo is disastrously changed when he mingles with an unscrupulous white trader.
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The Peacock Fan
Title: The Peacock Fan
Character: Feliti--prologue
Released: August 1, 1929
Type: Movie
A bumbling detective sent to investigate a murder at a wealth home is replaced by a sneering second investigator of mixed racial ancestry in this mystery involving an ancient Asian fan.