For other people named Charlie Chan, see Charlie Chan (disambiguation).
Fictional character
Charlie Chan
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
First appearance
The House Without a Key
Last appearance
Keeper of the Keys
Created by
Earl Derr Biggers
Portrayed by
George Kuwa
Kamiyama Sojin
E.L. Park
Warner Oland
Manuel Arbó
Sidney Toler
Roland Winters
Ross Martin
Peter Ustinov
Voiced by
Keye Luke
In-universe information
Gender
Male
Occupation
Detective
Children
14
Religion
Buddhist
Nationality
American-Chinese
Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.
Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels and then was featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan were made, beginning in 1926. The character, featured only as a supporting character, was first portrayed by East Asian actors, and the films met with little success. In 1931, for the first film centering on Chan, Charlie Chan Carries On, the Fox Film Corporation cast Swedish actor Warner Oland; the film became popular, and Fox went on to produce 15 more Chan films with Oland in the title role. After Oland's death, American actor Sidney Toler was cast as Chan; Toler made 22 Chan films, first for Fox and then for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, six films were made, starring Roland Winters.
Readers and moviegoers of America greeted Chan warmly. Chan was seen as an attractive character, portrayed as intelligent, heroic, benevolent, and honorable; this contrasted with the common depiction of Asians as evil or conniving which dominated Hollywood and national media in the early 20th century. However, in later decades critics increasingly took a more ambivalent view of the character. Despite his good qualities, Chan was also perceived as reinforcing condescending Asian stereotypes such as an alleged incapacity to speak idiomatic English and a tradition-bound and subservient nature. No Charlie Chan film has been produced since 1981.
The character has also been featured in several radio programs, two television shows, and comics.
CharlieChan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on...
CharlieChan at the Olympics is a 1937 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille and Pauline...
playwright. His novels featuring the fictional Chinese American detective CharlieChan were adapted into popular films made in the United States and China....
CharlieChan Carries On (1930) is the fifth novel in the CharlieChan series by Earl Derr Biggers. Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend...
theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of CharlieChan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American...
CharlieChan in Egypt is the eighth of 16 20th Century Fox CharlieChan films starring Warner Oland in the title role. It was released in 1935. Charlie...
CharlieChan in Honolulu is a 1939 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective...
The New Adventures of CharlieChan is a crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated television from June 1957 to 1958. The first five...
CharlieChan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as CharlieChan. This is the sixth film produced...
CharlieChan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as CharlieChan. Long thought lost, it is available on DVD as part of Twentieth...
in syndication from 1976 to 1982. The show was loosely based on the CharlieChan series of mystery novels and films, which began with the 1925 novel The...
CharlieChan Hock Chye is a graphic novel by Sonny Liew published in 2015 by Epigram Books and 2016 by Pantheon Books. It tells the story of Charlie Chan...
was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the CharlieChan films and Hop Sing in the western series Bonanza. He was born in...
CharlieChan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen is a 1981 comedy–mystery film directed by Clive Donner that stars Peter Ustinov, Angie Dickinson and Lee...
his career.) An updated film version of CharlieChan was planned in the 1990s by Miramax; this new CharlieChan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and...
The Return of CharlieChan (also known as Happiness Is a Warm Clue) is a 1973 American television film. It was directed by Daryl Duke and stars Ross Martin...
CharlieChan in Shanghai is the ninth CharlieChan film produced by Fox Film Corporation with the title character played by Warner Oland. Charlie Chan...
CharlieChan in Rio is a 1941 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and featuring the Asian detective CharlieChan. It was the tenth film to...
CharlieChan in Panama is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler. It is an unaccredited remake of Jacques Deval's novel "Marie Galante", produced by...
CharlieChan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland CharlieChan film, probably due to the presence of Boris Karloff as the principal...
the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the CharlieChan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 Green Hornet...
in films and television but today is best remembered for portraying CharlieChan in six films in the late 1940s. Winters was born Roland Winternitz on...
CharlieChan in Reno is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie...
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