Sammee Tong

Sammee Tong
Born	(1901-04-21)April 21, 1901 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	October 27, 1964(1964-10-27) (aged 63) Palms, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Barbiturate overdose
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Nationality	American
Other names	Sammy Tong
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–1963

Sammee Tong (April 21, 1901 – October 27, 1964) was an American film and television character actor. One of Tong's more notable roles was that of Peter Tong on the sitcom Bachelor Father, which aired on all three national networks from 1957 to 1962.

In October 1964, Tong died of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 63. At the time of his death, he was appearing in a supporting role on the ABC sitcom, Mickey, starring Mickey Rooney.

Early life and career

Born in San Francisco, Tong was educated in California and Honolulu.^[1] Tong attempted to break into acting on the stage during the Depression, but found he could not get parts because he was of Chinese descent. He began working in Chinese nightclubs in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where he sang and performed comedy routines. During his nightclub years, he changed the spelling of his name to "Sammee" because he said it "looked better in print."^[2][3]

In 1934, Tong made his film debut in a bit part in the comedy film The Captain Hates the Sea. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he would continue with small, usually uncredited, roles in films. He found more success in the 1950s on television. Tong made his television debut in 1953 in an episode of You Are There. The following year, he appeared in a recurring role as "George, the cook" in a series of television shorts which aired during The Mickey Mouse Club entitled The Adventures of Spin and Marty. In 1955, he reprised his role as George in the feature-length film Spin and Marty: The Movie. He also had a role in the sequel series The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty.

In 1957, he landed a co-starring role in the sitcom Bachelor Father, starring John Forsythe and Noreen Corcoran. In the series, Tong portrayed "Peter Tong", Bentley Gregg's (Forsythe) live-in houseboy and valet. Although he was playing a servant, Tong enjoyed the role stating, "Houseboys in movies and the theater always bow low, mutter a few sing song words and disappear, but not on this show. I get dialogue and laughs.^[2] After Bachelor Father's cancellation in 1962, Tong was cast as Sammy Ling in the ABC sitcom Mickey, starring Mickey Rooney. Due to low ratings, ABC was considering canceling Mickey. The network was hesitant to cancel the series due to the popularity of Tong's character who had a solid fanbase thanks to his role in Bachelor Father. Tong's death effectively ended any chance for the series' survival and ABC canceled Mickey in December 1964.^[4]

His final screen appearance was as "Cook" in the 1965 film Fluffy, starring Tony Randall and Shirley Jones. The film was released after Tong's death.

Death

On October 27, 1964, Tong was found dead in his Palms, Los Angeles apartment by his close friend, Ben Wong. Tong died of an apparent suicide by barbiturate overdose.^[5][6] Police found an empty bottle of sleeping pills by his body and several notes addressed to his landlady, his attorney and police. In the note addressed to police, he gave no reason why he committed suicide only stating, "I have taken my own life. No one is to blame."^[7] Tong is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.^[8]

In his 1991 autobiography Life Is Too Short, Tong's co-star Mickey Rooney wrote that Tong was upset by the news that Mickey faced cancellation. According to Rooney, Tong was a heavy gambler and owed money to the mafia. Faced with the possibility of not being able to pay off his debts, Rooney claimed that Tong decided to commit suicide.^[4]

Filmography

References

External links

• Sammee Tong at the Internet Movie Database
• Sammee Tong at Find a Grave