Trivia / Charlie Chan

• Enforced Method Acting: Warner Oland was an alcoholic; his director, "Lucky" Humberton, at times encouraged his drinking, because he found the actor's slightly slurry speech better conveyed the sense of one struggling with a foreign language.
  • Which is ironic considering that Charlie Chan himself is a confirmed teetotaler.
• Fake Nationality: While remaining Chinese, the character has only once in the Western media been portrayed by a Chinese actor. The animated version was voiced by Keye Luke. Live action versions have been played by Japanese, Korean, and (for the most notable versions) white actors.
• Missing Episode: Four of the Chan movies from the 1930s, Charlie Chan Carries On, Charlie Chan's Chance, Charlie Chan's Greatest Case, and Charlie Chan's Courage, are lost (though Charlie Chan Carries On survives in a Spanish-language version, Eran Trece).
• The Other Darrin: After three films in which Chan was played by George Kuwa, Sôjin, and E.L. Park, Chan was played in a series of 15 films by Warner Oland until his death in 1938. The series continued with Sidney Toler playing Chan in 22 films, and when he died in 1947, Roland Winters took over the role for 6 films.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Late in the film series' life, Monogram Pictures had plans to move production to England to take advantage of funds they had tied up there, but the devaluation of the British Pound killed that idea.
  • William Dozier pitched a show about Number One Son and his mission to solve his father's murder and avenge his death, and the favorite to play the role was a then unknown Bruce Lee. ABC rejected the pitch, however, and the show was scrapped before it could be made. Dozier went on to cast Lee in The Green Hornet, where Kato was his Star-Making Role.

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