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Warner Oland

Acting 58 (deceased) years old Nyby, Västerbottens län, Sweden ★ 0.6
Born: October 3, 1879
Died: August 6, 1938

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund, October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: the Honolulu Police detective, Lieutenant Charlie Chan; Dr. Fu Manchu; and Henry Chang in Shanghai Express. His family emigrated to the United States when he was 13. He pursued a film career that would include time on Broadway and dozens of film appearances, including 16 Charlie Chan films. After several years in theater, including appearances on Broadway as Warner Oland, in 1912 he made his silent film debut in Pilgrim's Progress, a film based on the John Bunyan novel. As a result of his training as a Shakespearean actor and his easy adoption of a sinister look, he was much in demand as a villain and in ethnic roles. Over the next 15 years, he appeared in more than 30 films, including a major role in The Jazz Singer (1927), one of the first talkies produced. Oland's normal appearance fit the Hollywood expectation of caricatured Asianness of the time, despite his having no definitively proven Asian cultural background. Oland portrayed a variety of Asian characters in several movies before being offered the leading role in the 1929 film, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first onscreen portrayal of the Fu Manchu character in film. Oland continued to appear onscreen as an Asian, probably more often than any other white actor in the history of cinema. In Old San Francisco, Oland played an Asian unsuccessfully impersonating a white man.

Oland was the first actor to play a werewolf in a major Hollywood film, biting the protagonist, played by Henry Hull, in Werewolf of London (1935). Once again, Oland's character was Asian.

A box office success, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu made Oland a star, and during the next two years he portrayed the evil Dr. Fu Manchu in three more films (although the second one was purely a cameo appearance). Firmly locked into such roles, he was cast as Charlie Chan in the international detective mystery film Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) and then in director Josef von Sternberg's 1932 classic film Shanghai Express opposite Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong.

The enormous worldwide box office success of his Charlie Chan film led to more, with Oland starring in 16 Chan films in total. The series, Jill Lepore later wrote, "kept Fox afloat" during the 1930s, while earning Oland $40,000 per movie. Oland took his role seriously, studying the Chinese language and calligraphy.

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

Beatrice Fairfax
Beatrice Fairfax Detective 1916
Shanghai Express
Shanghai Express Mr. Henry Chang 1932
The Faker
The Faker Hadrian 1929
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood Charlie Chan (archive footage) 2019
Twinkletoes
Twinkletoes Roseleaf 1926

Filmography

Acting Credits (99)

Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood Charlie Chan (archive footage) 2019
In Search of Charlie Chan
In Search of Charlie Chan Charlie Chan (archive footage) 2006
Complicated Women
Complicated Women Self (archive footage) 2003
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' Self (archive footage) 1999
The Horror Show
The Horror Show (archive footage) 1979
Days of Thrills and Laughter
Days of Thrills and Laughter Self (archive footage) 1961
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) Self (archive footage) 1942
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Charlie Chan 1937
Charlie Chan on Broadway
Charlie Chan on Broadway Charlie Chan 1937
Charlie Chan at the Olympics
Charlie Chan at the Olympics Charlie Chan 1937
Charlie Chan at the Opera
Charlie Chan at the Opera Charlie Chan 1936
Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Charlie Chan at the Race Track Charlie Chan 1936
Charlie Chan at the Circus
Charlie Chan at the Circus Charlie Chan 1936
Charlie Chan's Secret
Charlie Chan's Secret Charlie Chan 1936
Charlie Chan in Shanghai
Charlie Chan in Shanghai Charlie Chan 1935
Shanghai
Shanghai Ambassador Lun Sing 1935
Charlie Chan in Egypt
Charlie Chan in Egypt Charlie Chan 1935
Werewolf of London
Werewolf of London Dr. Yogami 1935
Charlie Chan in Paris
Charlie Chan in Paris Charlie Chan 1935
Movies on Sundays
Movies on Sundays Charlie Chan (uncredited) 1935
The Painted Veil
The Painted Veil General Yu 1934
Charlie Chan in London
Charlie Chan in London Charlie Chan 1934
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back Prince Achmed 1934
Charlie Chan's Courage
Charlie Chan's Courage Charlie Chan 1934
Mandalay
Mandalay Nick 1934
As Husbands Go
As Husbands Go Hippolitus Lomi 1934
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Charlie Chan 1933
Before Dawn
Before Dawn Dr. Paul Cornelius 1933
How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action
How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action Himself 1933
The Son-Daughter
The Son-Daughter Fen Sha 1932
A Passport to Hell
A Passport to Hell Baron von Sydow, Police Commandant 1932
Shanghai Express
Shanghai Express Mr. Henry Chang 1932
Charlie Chan's Chance
Charlie Chan's Chance Charlie Chan 1932
Daughter of the Dragon
Daughter of the Dragon Fu Manchu 1931
The Big Gamble
The Big Gamble Andrew North 1931
The Black Camel
The Black Camel Charlie Chan 1931
Charlie Chan Carries On
Charlie Chan Carries On Charlie Chan 1931
Dishonored
Dishonored Colonel von Hindau 1931
The Drums of Jeopardy
The Drums of Jeopardy Dr. Boris Karlov 1931
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu 1930
Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade Fu Manchu (Murder Will Out) 1930
The Vagabond King
The Vagabond King Thibault 1930
Dangerous Paradise
Dangerous Paradise Schomberg 1930
The Mighty
The Mighty Sterky 1929
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu 1929
The Studio Murder Mystery
The Studio Murder Mystery Rupert Borka 1929
Chinatown Nights
Chinatown Nights "Boston Charley" Wu 1929
The Faker
The Faker Hadrian 1929
Dream of Love
Dream of Love The Duke 1928
The Scarlet Lady
The Scarlet Lady Ivan Zaneriff 1928
Wheel of Chance
Wheel of Chance Mosher Turkeltaub 1928
Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver Ghika - the Bandit Leader 1928
Good Time Charley
Good Time Charley Good Time Charley Keene 1927
Sailor Izzy Murphy
Sailor Izzy Murphy Perfume Manufacturer 1927
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer Cantor Rabinowitz 1927
Old San Francisco
Old San Francisco Chris Buckwell 1927
When a Man Loves
When a Man Loves André Lescaut 1927
What Happened To Father
What Happened To Father W. Bradberry, Father 1927
A Million Bid
A Million Bid Geoffrey Marsh 1927
Man of the Forest
Man of the Forest Clint Beasley 1926
Tell It to the Marines
Tell It to the Marines Chinese Bandit Chief 1926
Twinkletoes
Twinkletoes Roseleaf 1926
The Marriage Clause
The Marriage Clause Max Ravenal 1926
The Mystery Club
The Mystery Club Eli Sinsabaugh 1926
Don Juan
Don Juan Cesare Borgia 1926
Infatuation
Infatuation Osman Pasha 1925
The Winding Stair
The Winding Stair Petras 1925
Flower of Night
Flower of Night Luke Rand 1925
Don Q Son of Zorro
Don Q Son of Zorro The Archduke Paul 1925
Riders of the Purple Sage
Riders of the Purple Sage Lew Walters aka Judge Dyer 1925
Curlytop
Curlytop Shanghai Dan 1924
So This Is Marriage?
So This Is Marriage? King David 1924
The Fighting American
The Fighting American Fu Shing 1924
His Children's Children
His Children's Children Dr. Dahl 1923
The Pride of Palomar
The Pride of Palomar Okada 1922
East Is West
East Is West Charley Yong 1922
Hurricane Hutch
Hurricane Hutch Clifton Marlow 1921
The Yellow Arm
The Yellow Arm Joel Bain 1921
The Phantom Foe
The Phantom Foe Uncle Leo Sealkirk 1920
The Third Eye
The Third Eye Curtis Steele / Malcolm Graw 1920
The Witness for the Defense
The Witness for the Defense Captain Ballantyne 1919
The Avalanche
The Avalanche Nick Delano 1919
The Twin Pawns
The Twin Pawns John Bent 1919
Mandarin's Gold
Mandarin's Gold Li Hsun 1919
The Lightning Raider
The Lightning Raider Wu Fang 1919
The Yellow Ticket
The Yellow Ticket Baron Andrey 1918
The Naulahka
The Naulahka Maharajah 1918
The Cigarette Girl
The Cigarette Girl Mr. Wilson 1917
The Fatal Ring
The Fatal Ring Richard Carslake 1917
Patria
Patria Baron Huroki 1917
The Rise of Susan
The Rise of Susan Sinclair La Salle 1916
Beatrice Fairfax
Beatrice Fairfax Detective 1916
The Eternal Question
The Eternal Question Pierre Felix 1916
The Eternal Sapho
The Eternal Sapho H. Coudal 1916
The Reapers
The Reapers James Shaw 1916
Destruction
Destruction Mr. Deleveau 1915
Sin
Sin Pietro 1915
The Romance of Elaine
The Romance of Elaine 1915
Pilgrim's Progress
Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyon 1912

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