James Hong was born on the 22nd February 1929, in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, and is an award- winning actor best known to the world as Hannibal Chew in the film “Blade Runner” (1982), then as David Lo Pan in “Big Trouble in Little China” (1986), and recognized as the voice of Mr. Ping in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise. His career has been active since the mid- 1950s.
Have you ever wondered how rich James Hong is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Hong’s net worth is as high as $8.5 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry as an actor, during which he has been involved in more than 500 film, TV and voice roles.
James Hong Net Worth $8.5 Million
James is the son of Chinese parents, father Frank W. Hong who emigrated from Hong Kong to Chicago, Illinois and ran and operated a restaurant, and mother Lee Shui Fa. However, James spent his youngster years in Hong Kong, attending primary schools, before he moved back to the USA. He then went to Minneapolis Central High School, and after matriculation enrolled at the University of Southern California to study civil engineering, however, he became interested in acting and also started taking acting lessons under Jeff Corey. However, he worked for several years as a road engineer in the Los Angeles area, but any spare time and vacations he devoted to acting, and eventually decided for acting and left his job.
He also spent time in the US Army during the Korean War, but considering his features, probnably fortuitously at Fort McClellan and Camp Rucker, where he would often entertain his fellow soldiers, which led to him being the entertainer on the camp, and not being in the field.
His professional career began in the mid- ‘50s dubbing voices in many films, such as “Dragonfly Squadron” (1954), “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” (1955), and “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1956), among many others, however, he was left uncredited.
After that, James made numerous one-time appearances in TV series such as “Buckskin” (1958), “Flight” (1958) and “Zorro” (1959), then in 1962 he made an appearance as Dean Chang in “The Case of the Weary Watchdog”, while the following year he featured in the film “The Case of the Floating Stones”. From 1972 until 1975 James appeared frequently as a guest star in the TV series “Kung Fu”, and then starred in the comedy “Airplane!” (1980). In 1982 he appeared as Hannibal Chew in “Blade Runner”, with Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, and in 1986 he had one of his most recognizable roles, as David Lo Pan in John Carpenter’s action comedy “Big Troubles in Little China”, starring Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall, and the following year featured in the film “Black Widow”. Before the ‘80s ended, he appeared in the film “The Vineyard” (1989), which only further increased his wealth.
James’ subsequent roles are many but only a few are worth mentioning, which includes the role of Jeff Wong in the comedy “Wayne’s World 2” (1993), while in 1998 he lent his voice to Chi Fu in the animated film “Mulan”. James started the new millennium with the role of Ambassador Wu in the film “The Art of War”, while from 2002 until 2004 he played Dalong Wong in the TV series “Jackie Chan Adventures”. From 2008 he started giving voice to Mr. Ping from the “Kung Fu Panda” animated franchise, and from 2011 until 2013 played several roles in the Primetime Emmy Award- nominated TV series “Pair of Kings”, meantime in 2012 also a role in the action thriller “Safe” (2012), starring Jason Statham, both of which further increased his wealth.
In recent years, James appeared in the film “Unfallen” (2016) with Michael Madsen, and will feature in “Space Command: Forgiveness”, and “Patriot Act”, which are yet to be released.
Apart from acting, James had other duties in the acting world, including being the president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (AAPAA), and was also one of the founding members of the East West Players, which is an Asian American theatre organization.
Regarding his personal life, James has been married to Susan Hong since 1977; the couple has one child together. Previously, he was married to Pearl Huang, from 1967 until 1973.
