Robert Lee (British actor)

Robert Lee
Robert Lee
	Lee as Tarō Nagazumi in Mind Your Language
Born	Lee Ya Fu; 30 November 1913; Tianjin, Republic of China
Died	1 December 1986 (aged 73); Hampstead, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1944–1986

Robert Ya Fu Lee (30 November 1913 – 1 December 1986) was a Chinese actor based in the United Kingdom.

Background

Born in Tianjin, he arrived in England as an international student, attaining a BA in history from Trinity College, Cambridge. He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor in 1944. Lee played supporting roles in many films and television programmes throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was frequently called upon whenever a production required an East Asian character. His film appearances include You Only Live Twice (1967) and Half Moon Street (1986), and his television appearances include The Avengers, The Chinese Detective and The Bill, but his best known role is as Tarō Nagazumi, the Japanese business executive and English language student, in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979. He never married, citing marriage in a 1984 interview as "Too much responsibility", and lived in a flat in Hampstead, North London, where he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986, aged 73.^[1]

TV and filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1944	Dragon Seed	Young Farmer	Uncredited
1951	Outcast of the Islands	Extra in Snooker Room scenes	Uncredited
1954	The Desperate Women	Publisher
1960	The World of Suzie Wong	Barman	Uncredited
1961	Visa to Canton (also known as Passport to China in the USA)	Chinese Officer
1961	The Sinister Man	Nam Lee
1962	Satan Never Sleeps	Chung Ren
1967	You Only Live Twice	2nd Chinese VIP	Uncredited
1967	The Mini-Affair	Manager - Chinese Restaurant
1967	Jackanory	Narrator	TV series, 5 episodes - Narrating traditional Chinese tales
1968	Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River	Bruce
1969	The Chairman	Hotel Night Manager
1969	Moon Zero Two	Hotel Employee	Uncredited
1971	The Projectionist	Usher / Henchman
1974–1979	Hawaii Five-O	Airport Guard / Kauai Police Captain / Capt. Tanaka / Lew Kameka / Tas	TV series, 5 episodes
1975	Bakit May Bilanggo Sa Anak Ni Eba
1975	Rollerball	Executive	Uncredited
1976–1978	It Ain't Half Hot Mum	Bandit / Chung Soo	TV series, 2 episodes
1977–1979	Mind Your Language	Tarō Nagazumi	TV series, 29 episodes
1978	Gangsters	Shen Tang	TVseries, 4 episodes
1979	Grange Hill	Ling Ching	TV series, 1 episode
1979	Porridge	Tinkler
1980	The Professionals	Shusai	TV series, 1 episode
1981	The Chinese Detective	Joe Ho	TV series, 4 episodes
1982	Tout feu, tout flamme	aka All Fired Up	Tout feu tout flamme (France: DVD title)
1982	Britannia Hospital	Mr. Banzai
1983	High Road to China	Zura
1983	Reilly: Ace of Spies	Admiral Togo	TV mini-series, 1 episode
1984	Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense	Chong Woy	TV series, 1 episode
1984	The Bill	Chinese Restaurateur	TV series, 1 episode
1984	Tenko	Mr. Ling	TV series, 1 episode
1985	John and Yoko: A Love Story	Eisuke Ono	TV movie
1986	Half Moon Street	Chinese Ambassador
1987	A Cor do seu Destino	The Officer
1987	Ping Pong	Mr. Chen	(final film role)

References

^ Ooi, Teresa (19 February 1984). "Friends told him to act". The Straits Times. p. 15. Retrieved 8 March 2016 – via NewspaperSG.

External links

Robert Lee at IMDb

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[1] Ooi, Teresa (19 February 1984). "Friends told him to act". The Straits Times. p. 15. Retrieved 8 March 2016 – via NewspaperSG.

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