Nancy Hsueh

Nancy Hsueh[lower-alpha 1] (February 25, 1941 – November 24, 1980)[2][3][lower-alpha 2] was an American actress. She was one of the first Asian American actresses to have a leading role in a U.S. television series, Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967),[6] regarded as the first American soap opera to portray an interracial relationship between an Asian woman and a white man.[7][8] She also appeared in films such as War Hunt (1962), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), and Targets (1968).[9][4][10]

Nancy Hsueh
Hsueh in 1967
Born(1941-02-25)February 25, 1941
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 24, 1980(1980-11-24) (aged 39)
Portland, Maine, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1945–1978
Notable workLove is a Many Splendored Thing
Targets

Career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Hsueh made two films as a child actress, China's Little Devils  (1945) and Intrigue (1947), on which her father served as a technical adviser.[11][12]

In the early 1960s, she appeared in the Korean War drama War Hunt (1962)[13] and the John Ford Western Cheyenne Autumn (1964).[14] According to author Jon Abbott, "her exotic appearance kept her busy in the spy shows of the period, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Wild, Wild West."[15]

In 1967, she was cast as the female lead in the CBS soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing. The series was initially intended as a continuation of the 1955 film of the same name, which told the story of an interracial relationship between an American reporter and a Eurasian doctor. Hsueh portrayed Mia Elliott, the daughter of the couple in the original film.[7] However, CBS censors became uncomfortable with the series' portrayal of an interracial romance between a Eurasian woman (Hsueh) and a white American doctor (Robert Milli), and Hsueh's character was written out of the series within one year.[8][10]

Her most prominent film role was as Boris Karloff's personal assistant in Peter Bogdanovich's Targets (1968).[16] She had only a few small parts in film and television in the 1970s; her final acting role was in House Calls (1978).[17]

Personal life

Hsueh was the daughter of Wei Fan Hsueh, who was born in Nanking, China, and Evelyn Postal, who was of Native American and Scottish-Irish descent.[6][11][18] She majored in education at the University of California, Los Angeles.[19]

On January 16, 1965, she married Daniel Carr, whom she had met during filming of Cheyenne Autumn.[1]

She died of atherosclerosis in Portland, Maine on November 24, 1980, aged 39.[lower-alpha 2]

Filmography

Notes
  1. Hsueh's preferred pronunciation of her surname was /ʃeɪ/, SHAY.[1]
  2. A few sources state she lived from 1939–1991,[4][5] but those dates are contradicted by vital records.

References
  1. "This Month Meet Nancy Hsueh". The Messenger. Madisonville, Kentucky. December 23, 1967. p. 8.
  2. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995". Retrieved 17 August 2019 – via Ancestry.com.
  3. "U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014". Retrieved 17 August 2019 – via Ancestry.com.
  4. Ragan, David (1992). Who's Who in Hollywood. New York: Facts on File. p. 783.
  5. "Nancy Hsueh: Movies and Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  6. "Mia Cast in Daytime Serial". Daily Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, PA. September 12, 1967 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Du Brow, Rick (September 27, 1967). "Latest Soap Opera Cracking New Ground". The Press Democrat – via Newspapers.com.
  8. McNeil, Alex (1991). Total Television: a comprehensive guide to programming from 1948 to the present. Penguin Books. p. 450. ISBN 9780140157369.
  9. "Add Short Shots". The Pittsburgh Press. September 1, 1967 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Bernardi, Daniel; Green, Michael, eds. (2017). Race in American Film: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313398407.
  11. "Films Discover Seven Year Old Chinese Child". South Bend Tribune. June 24, 1947 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "'China's Little Devils' and 'Saddle Serenade' will open showing tomorrow". Shamokin News-Dispatch. December 5, 1945 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Lentz, Robert J. (2016). Korean War Filmography: 91 English Language Features through 2000. McFarland. p. 408. ISBN 9781476621548.
  14. Newell, Maxine (November 21, 1963). "Cheyenne Autumn Company Enjoys Weekend in Moab". The Times-Independent.
  15. Abbott, Jon (2015). Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970: A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. McFarland. p. 53. ISBN 9780786486625.
  16. Adams, Marjory (January 2, 1969). "'Targets' at Center Theater, plea against U.S. gun laws". The Boston Globe. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Champlin, Charles (March 12, 1978). "Matthau Hits The Double". Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940". Retrieved 17 August 2019 – via FamilySearch.org. (registration required)
  19. "Working Through School". The News-Messenger. Freemont, Ohio. January 5, 1962 – via Newspapers.com.
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