About
Former actor of the stage and screen most fondly remembered for his portrayal of the Hawaiian police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films throughout his career including the widely lauded Charlie Chan at the Opera, in which Boris Karloff also starred. The role was originally adapted from a popular mystery novel series by Earl Derr Biggers. Over the course of his 25-year acting career, he appeared in nearly 100 individual films including a starring role in Don Juan, the first film that utilized synchronized sound. He also had a starring role in The Jazz Singer, the first "talkie" to ever be produced. Despite his purely Swedish heritage, he was almost exclusively cast as Asian characters on screen including supervillain Dr. Fu Manchu and Henry Chang in the Josef von Sternberg-directed classic Shanghai Express.
Before Fame
He grew up in the Swedish village of Nyby and emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was just 13 years old. After completing his primary education, he launched his career on Broadway and performed in a touring acting troupe led by Russian American playwright and actress Alla Nazimova before relocating to California in the early 1910s. He worked various jobs on set and eventually began earning small roles in silent pictures. He made his first appearance as Charlie Chan in the 1931 mystery film Charlie Chan Carries On.
Trivia
His unrivaled success as Charlie Chan became Fox Studios' most profitable asset. In 1935, he was appointed exclusively to films within Fox's Charlie Chan series. According to his frequent co-star Keye Luke, he did not require cosmetic preparation prior to filming. He would simply curl his own mustache downward and his eyebrows upwards.
Family Life
His mother was named Maria Johanna Forsberg. His father Jonas Olund was a shopkeeper. He married playwright and painter Edith Gardener Shearn in 1872. The pair remained together for over 30 years. However, they parted ways in a highly publicized and brutal divorce in 1938. Following his death later that same year, his ashes were interred in the Southborough Rural Cemetery of Massachusetts.
Associated With
His many film roles led him to share the screen with classic actors such as Bela Lugosi, Heather Angel, Marlene Dietrich, Neil Hamilton, Jean Arthur and Anna May Wong. After his death, many actors auditioned to fill his role as Charlie Chan including Walter Connolly and Noah Beery Jr..
