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Burt Kwouk

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Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk (Kwouk; Template:IPAc-en; Template:Zh; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films. He made appearances in many television programmes, 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 lifeEdit

Kwouk was born on 18 July 1930 in Warrington,<ref name=telegraph_obit>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916–2005: Registration district: Manchester South; Inferred County: Cheshire; Volume Number: 8d; Page Number: 40</ref> Lancashire, to Chinese parents; his parents were on a business trip touring Europe. He was brought up in Shanghai; his father was a textile tycoon descended from a Tang dynasty general.<ref name=telegraph_obit/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Between the ages of 12 and 16, he attended the Shanghai Jesuit Mission School, which he described as "the Far East equivalent" of Eton College.<ref name=telegraph_obit/> He left China in 1947 when his parents returned to Britain, and was sent to the United States to complete his education.<ref name="Not Now, Cato!">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1953, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Kwouk family fortune was lost in the Chinese communist revolution in the 1940s. In 1954, he returned to Britain, where a girlfriend "nagged [him] into acting".<ref name="Not Now, Cato!" />

CareerEdit

Kwouk made his film debut in Windom's Way (1957). One of his earliest film roles was in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) in the role of the leader of a prison revolt who later aids the main character Gladys Aylward (Ingrid Bergman) in heroically leading orphans to safety.<ref name=bfibio/>

He was best known for playing Cato Fong, Inspector Clouseau's manservant, in the Pink Panther film series. The character was first introduced in A Shot in the Dark (1964), the second film in the series, and was a role that Kwouk would reprise on another six occasions until the 2006 series reboot. The running gag was that Cato was ordered to attack Clouseau when he least expected it to keep Clouseau alert, usually resulting in a ruined romantic encounter or Clouseau's flat being completely destroyed. Amid the chaos, the phone would ring and Cato would calmly answer it before dutifully handing the phone to his employer and being thumped again by Clouseau.<ref name=guardobit/>

He was a stalwart of several 1960s ITC television series, such as Danger Man, The Saint and Man of the World, when an oriental character was required. He appeared in the episode Assault Force in Return of the Saint. Kwouk featured as one of the leads in the short-lived series The Sentimental Agent (1963)<ref name=guardpix>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and had minor roles in three James Bond films. In Goldfinger (1964), he played Mr Ling, a Chinese expert in nuclear fission; in the non-Ian Fleming spoof Casino Royale (1967), he played a general and, in You Only Live Twice (also 1967), Kwouk played the part of a Japanese operative of Blofeld, credited as Spectre 3.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He appeared with Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn in The Shoes of the Fisherman.

A reference to Kwouk's appearances in several films with Peter Sellers is found in the opening scene of The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980) where Sellers says to him "your face is familiar."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His next major role was as the honourable but misguided Major Yamauchi in the World War II television drama Tenko (1981–1984). Kwouk featured in many British television productions that called for an Oriental actor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As a result, he became a familiar face in the United Kingdom and appeared as himself in the Harry Hill Show as well as several of Hill's live tours.<ref name=bbcobit>Template:Cite news</ref> Burt also had a cameo in Super Gran in 1985.Template:Citation needed He also appeared in the 1985 RKO film Plenty (film) as a Burmese diplomat at a dinner party.

In 2000, he appeared in an episode of the syndicated western TV series Queen of Swords as Master Kiyomasa, an aged Japanese warrior-priest. Sung-Hi Lee played his female pupil, Kami.<ref name=qos>Template:Cite book</ref> He provided voice-overs on the spoof Japanese betting show Banzai (2001–2004) and subsequently appeared in adverts for the betting company, Bet365.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 2002 to the series's end in 2010, he had a regular role as one of the three main characters in the long-running series Last of the Summer Wine, as 'Electrical' Entwistle. His later work also included voice acting for radio drama, video games,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and television commercials.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Kwouk married Caroline Tebbs in Wandsworth, London, in the summer of 1961.<ref>England & Wales Marriage Index, 1916–2005; Date of Registration: Jul–Aug–Sep 1961; Registration district: Wandsworth; Inferred County: Surrey; Volume Number: 5d; Page Number: 1975</ref> Their son was born in 1974.<ref>England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916–2005; Registration district: St Pancras; Volume 14; Page 2309</ref> Kwouk was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In later years, he lived in Hampstead, London.

DeathEdit

Kwouk died on 24 May 2016 at the age of 85, from cancer, at the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=guardobit>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Selected filmographyEdit

FilmEdit

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TelevisionEdit

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  • Shoestring (1980) as Mr Wing<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Minder (1980) as Sojo<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Lovejoy (1993, "The Peking Gun") as Mr Ying<ref name=guardpix/>
  • Space Precinct (1994, "Protect and Survive") as Slik Ostrasky<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Audio theatreEdit

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Video gamesEdit

MiscellaneousEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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