The Art of Keye Luke

Keye Luke, who is best known for his portrayal of Number One son Lee Chan in the 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan series, was one of the first Asian film stars to have a successful career in Hollywood, a career which lasted for over 50 years. Becoming an actor, however, was something Keye Luke had not intended on doing. His ambition in life was to pursue a career as an artist. This he accomplished with great success and even when he was busy with film work he always found time to practice his artistic ability. 

Luke was born in Canton, China ( now known as Guangzhou ) in 1904 while his parents were on vacation in the capital city. Luke's father operated an art store in Seattle, Washington and while at a young age Keye decided that becoming an artist was something he wanted to do. 

He attended the Chouinard Institute, studying under Richard Munsell and Carl Beetz, and while in his early twenties became a commercial artist, receiving a large commission from Graumann's Chinese Theatre. It was Keye Luke who painted the fairy tale gardens and the massive ceiling mural inside the legendary Hollywood theatre. 

Illustrations for the Franklin High School yearbook

Private commissions like this led to Luke building a name for himself doing press work for newspapers promoting current and upcoming film releases, one of which was RKO's King Kong. Luke drew many of the ape drawings that appeared in the newspaper ads for the film. 

In 1934, Luke received a call from a good friend working in the publicity department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and before he knew what he was called for he was appearing in the Greta Garbo film The Painted Veil....not as an illustrator, but as an actor! Luke received positive reviews for his performance and this brief uncredited appearance led to a prominent role in Charlie Chan in Paris, released just a year later. 

One of the murals at Graumann's Chinese Theatre

Keye Luke was cast as Detective Chan's Number One Son "Lee" in this highly entertaining film. Luke brought his youthful American optimism to the role, making Lee an indispensable character in the series.  He got on admirably with Warner Oland, the actor who portrayed the honorable detective, and they teamed up for seven more Charlie Chan films within the next two years. 

Richard Munsell and Keye Luke

Luke was kept extremely busy at many of the studios appearing in just about any role that called for a Chinese man. In 1935 alone he appeared in nine different films. During the outbreak of war in the 1940s Luke was cast in not only Chinese roles, but that of Japanese as well. Some of these films included : The Good Earth, Mr. Moto's Gamble, Mr. and Mrs. North, Across the Pacific, and Lost City of the Jungle. He also co-starred as Kato in The Green Hornet serials of 1940. 

Sketches of Warner Oland and Mark Sandrich

During this time he continued to draw Hollywood caricatures for weekly newspapers and create artwork for books and private commissions. In 1938 he also had his own show and critics from the L.A Times raved that his artwork "formed a bridge between Asian and Western art"

Luke's style of art was very much influenced by ancient Asian art and philosophy as well as by the art of British painter Aubrey Beardsley. 

Illustrations for Blessed Mother Goose by Frank Scully

After the death of Warner Oland, Keye Luke was given a choice of continuing on with the Charlie Chan series as Lee or backing out. He had looked on Warner Oland as a father-figure and decided that no one could take his place. However, Luke did return to appear in two Charlie Chan films released in 1949. 

During the 1950s Keye Luke tried his hand at acting on Broadway and scored great success in Flower Drum Song. He also appeared in guest roles on television series such as The Ray Milland Show, My Little Margie and December Bride. 

Sheet music art for a 1923 song and Luke painting a swimsuit

Luke was quite a versatile talent and even his voice became as popular as his face : he was heard on many Hanna-Barbera productions of the 1960s and 1970s, one of which was The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan where he voiced Charlie Chan. At Disney World his voice was heard narrating the Wonders of China film.

Self-portraits from The Good Earth and Flower Drum Song

Another one of his more popular roles was that of Master Po in the 1972 Kung Fu television series starring David Carradine. Luke kept active with television guest appearances and movie parts up until his death in 1991. Just a year prior he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a star he justly deserved. 

Today, his artwork is quite scarce with only a handful of the books that he illustrated appearing on online auctions. Hopefully, in the near future someone will compile a printed biography spotlighting Keye Luke's varied talents. 

Nugget Reviews - 11

Another eclectic mix of films, with a generous sprinkling of Brit comedies thrown in :

Blue Murder at St. Trinians ( 1957 ) 14k

The girls of St. Trinians steal their way into winning a UNSECO contest in order to get a free bus trip throughout Europe. One of the girl's fathers, wanted for a diamond robbery, sneaks along as the new "headmistress", while Policewoman Ruby Gates tails them closely. Lionel Jeffries, Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lloyd Lamble. Alastair Sim. John Harvel Productions. Directed by Frank Launder.

An entertaining episode in the St. Trinian's series...although it bears a very misleading title. We didn't see any murder in the whole film. Aside from the diamond robbery the biggest crime was the editor cutting out many of Joyce Grenfell's scenes. Or at least it seems like some of them were cut out. Terry-Thomas is marvelous as Captain Ricketts, the manager of a rickety bus line; Jeffries makes a surprisingly good headmistress; but disappointingly Sim only returns to bookend the film in two brief scenes. Overall, a bumpy beginning leads into a fun romp with the naughty gals of St. Trinians.  

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Judge Hardy and Son ( 1939  ) 14k

Andy gets himself into debt anticipating that he will win the $50 prize in a school essay contest, but finds that his debts amount to very little when Mother Hardy gets ill. Meanwhile, Judge Hardy searches for the lost daughter of a poor Russian couple. Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Ann Rutherford, Martha O'Driscoll, Maria Ospenkaya. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Directed by George B. Seitz.

"Andy Dandy" gets himself into a mess of money and girl trouble in this eighth installment in the Hardy series. Unlike the previous films, Judge Hardy and Son takes on a solemn mood mid-way through when Mrs. Hardy comes near dying. By the end of the film though, Andy's back to his cavalier ways and is whoop-whooping with joy when he gets to take Polly to the Fourth of July fireworks show.

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Good Morning Boys! ( 1937 ) Elct.

A schoolteacher takes his students to Paris and wind up capturing a gang of art thieves who plan on stealing a famous painting at the Louvre museum. Will Hay, Martita Hunt, Graham Moffet, Lilli Palmer, Peter Gawthorne. Gainsborough Pictures. Directed by Marcel Varnel.

Will Hay may have been a big comedian in England but after seeing this film I understand where American and British humor differ. There were some moments of amusement in the scenes themselves but Will Hay did not provide many laughs. I'd take Frankie Howerd over Hay any ol' day. And speaking of Frankie Howerd....

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The Runaway Bus ( 1954 ) 14k

An airport bus gets lost in the fog en route to Blackbush and discovers that a master criminal known as The Banker is hiding on board, with several million pounds in stolen bullion stashed in the boot of the bus. Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford, Petula Clark, Terence Alexander, George Coulouris. Val Guest Productions. Directed by Val Guest. 

It's a lesser known comedy from Val Guest but nevertheless boasts a great Brit cast and a nice little Hitchcockian twist at the end. Great rainy day viewing, and it's nice to see Pet Clark in her post-kiddie-flick-pre-Downtown era. But good luck trying to find a clean copy of the movie.....you'll have to do a lot of squinting to see the actors through the fog. Blimey! 

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Charlie Chan at the Racetrack ( 1936 ) 14k

Charlie Chan takes a sea cruise to the mainland to uncover the murderer of a famous horse breeder. Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Helen Wood, Gavin Muir, Thomas Beck, Alan Dinehart.  20th Century Fox. Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone.

This is the twelfth of sixteen Charlie Chan films that Warner Oland made and we think it's one of the best. There are a lot of really good "Chan" moments in the film as well as some great verbal play between him and number one son, Lee. A slew of Chan regulars have brief roles; there is the swell setting at the track and on board the ship; and the usual suspense thrown in among the comedy ( Chan even gets shot in the leg on this voyage! ).