Tetsu Komai

Tetsu Komai (駒井哲, Komai Tetsu)[1] (23 April 1894 – 10 August 1970),[2] also known as Tetsuo Komai, was a Japanese-born American actor, known for his minor roles in Hollywood films.

Tetsu Komai
Komai in Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
Born
駒井哲

(1894-04-23)23 April 1894
Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan
Died10 August 1970(1970-08-10) (aged 76)
Gardena, California, U.S.
Other namesTetsuo Komai
OccupationActor
Years active1925–1964

Biography

Born in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Komai had small parts in over 50 films from the 1920s until the mid 1960s. In his early films, Tetsu, who was usually called on to play Chinese characters, was often described with derogatory terms such as "Chinaman,".[3] He played the villain in many of his films.[4]

Komai emigrated to the United States in December 1907, arriving at the Port of Seattle; he lived in Seattle for several years after this initial immigration. During the Second World War, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, the actor, his wife, and their children were interned with groups of other Japanese-Americans and Japanese resident aliens at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona from August 27, 1942 to November 3, 1945.[5]

He died at the age of 76 in Gardena, California, of congestive heart failure.

Partial filmography

References
  1. "謎の俳優 駒井哲 - ケペル先生のブログ". ケペル先生のブログ. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  2. California, Death Index, 1940-1997
  3. Time (August 22, 1932)
  4. Sunday Arts & Leisure Section, The New York Times (December 1, 1940) p. X-4
  5. Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II; U.S., Final Accountability Rosters of Evacuees at Relocation Centers, 1942-1946
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