Burt Kwouk

At 85 years old, Burt Kwouk has this physical status:

Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk (Chinese: 18 July 1930 to May 2016,) was a British actor best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films. He appeared in many television shows, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Major Yamauchi in the British drama series Tenko and as Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.

Early life

Kwouk was born in Warrington, Lancashire, to Chinese parents on July 18th, 1930; his parents were on a business trip touring Europe. He was brought up in Shanghai; his father, a textile tycoon, descended from a Tang dynasty general. He attended the Shanghai Jesuit Mission School, which he described as "the Far East equivalent" of Eton College between the ages of 12 and 16. When his parents returned to Britain, he left China in 1947 and was sent to the United States to complete his education. He graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1953. In the Chinese communist revolution of the 1940s, the Kwouk family fortune was lost. He returned to Britain in 1954, where a girlfriend "nagged [him] into acting."

Personal life

In 1961, Kwouk married Caroline Tebbs in Wandsworth, London. Christopher, their son, was born in 1974. In the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama, Kwouk was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He lived in Hampstead, London, for many years.

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Career

In Windom's Way (1957), Kwouk made his film debut (1957). In The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) in the role of the leader of a prison revolt who later assists Gladys Aylward (Ingrid Bergman) in heroically leading orphans to safety. In the Pink Panther film film film series, he was best known for his role as Inspector Clouseau's manservant. The character was first introduced in A Shot in the Dark (1964), the second film in the series, and it was a role that Kwouk would reprise on six occasions before the 2006 series revival. Cato was ordered to hit Clouseau when he least wanted to keep him alert, but it ended in a failed romantic encounter or Clouseau's house being completely destroyed, according to the running gag. The phone will ring and Cato will calmly answer it before prostrating the phone to his boss and being thumped by Clouseau.

He was a stalwart of many 1960s ITC television series, including Danger Man, The Saint, and Man of the World, when an oriental character was required. Kwouk appeared in the short-lived film The Sentimental Agent (1963) and played minor roles in three James Bond films. Mr. Ling, a Chinese nuclear fission specialist, appeared in Goldfinger (1964), and he played a general and, in the non-Eon spoof Casino Royale (1967), Kwouk played the role of a Japanese agent of Blofeld, nicknamed Spectre3. In The Shoes of the Fisherman, he appeared alongside Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn.

In the first scene of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980), a reference to Kwouk's appearances in many films with Peter Sellers is found. In the World War II television drama Tenko (1981–84), his next big role was as the definable but misguided Major Yamauchi. In several British television series that called for an oriental actor, Kwouk appeared in many British television series that called for an oriental actor. As a result, he became a well-known celebrity in the United Kingdom and appeared as himself in the Harry Hill Show as well as several of Hill's live tours. In 1985, Burt's cameo in Super Gran.

He appeared in an episode of the syndicated western television series Queen of Swords as Master Kiyomasa, an elderly Japanese warrior-priest. Kami, Sung-Hi Lee's female pupil, was his female tutor. He volunteered voice-overs on Banzai (2001-2004), a parody Japanese betting show, and later appeared in Bet365 ads. He appeared in the long-running series Last of the Summer Wine as Electrical' Entwistle from 2002 to the series's conclusion in 2010. Voice acting for radio drama, video games, and television commercials came later.

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