Abstract

These interviews with Chinese American performers take an intimate look at the popular nightclub era of the 1930s through 1950s. The Chinese American performers talk about their personal experiences during the era and the role that race played in entertainment.

Scope and Contents

351 photographs digitized in 600dpi. The photographs depict pictures of the donor's family.

Abstract This combined interview includes conversations with Alice Young, Joseph Eng Young, Tom Wong, and Helen Wong. The topics covered include their immigration story coming to the United States from China, family life, their education, and careers. Joseph and Tom provide insights into the Chinese restaurant industry in New York Chinatown during the 1920s and 30s. Helen describes the types of discrimination she and her family faced as Chinese living and working in the United States. Alice shares...

Abstract In this interview, husband and wife, George and Ruth Wong, talk about how they were both performers at the China Doll Night Club. George Wong describes how he was born in China and trained in acrobatics there. When he was 9, he was in an acrobatic troupe that toured Europe. Ruth Wong was born in the United States but was sent back to China with her mother and siblings to get an education during the Depression Era. She talks about growing up in a neighborhood where she was picked on for being...

Abstract In this interview, Huan Reng "Benson" Chin discusses his involvement in the Sino-Japanese war; conducting espionage for the Chinese Communist Party. He recalls his military education in Marxism/ Leninism and fighting in World War II. Chin speaks of the Chinese Cultural Revolution; including detention in labor camps, mass starvation, and numerous civilian suicides. Chin evaluates life after his 1984 immigration to New York City; Chinatowns of the boroughs, Sunset Park street crime, and...

Abstract Jadin Wong grew up in a little town in a musical family where she had an interest in movies and stage performance at a young age. She left home at 14 and went to Hollywood to pursue a performance career. After being in films, she trained in ballet and became a professional dancer. She explains the different types of dance she did and their influences on her style. She talks about her experiences at the China Doll Night Club and what it was like to perform there. She reflects on changing body...

Abstract Ming Chu describes her experiences as a young performer in New York City. At the age of 15 she began dancing at a club and eventually got the opportunity to tour Europe. While in Europe she performed through WWII for troupes and was in several films. She discusses growing up and how her father died when she was two and her mother died when she was a young adult. She was raised in Florida but lived in NYC to train at Carnegie Hall in dance. She shares her motivations for entering show...

Abstract Stanley Toy talks about immigrating to United States alone when he was 14 or 15 as a paper son. Toy first began work in a laundry and went on to farm-work before getting an article published in a Chinese American newspaper. Later on he learned to dance and was able to begin performing in his 20s. After getting drafted in the 1940s, Toy continued to dance and eventually was balancing several jobs including performing. He speaks briefly about his relationship with family and how his...

Abstract In this interview with MOCA, four siblings from the Lui Family sit down to discuss their childhood in early 20th century Chinatown. Sisters, Effie and Fannie, begin with a description of their family members and their life in a tenement apartment. They also explain the root of their Christian faith and the role of ministers as community social workers. The sisters then examine the tensions between the Chinese and Italians in the neighborhood and the development of their Chinese American...