Who was the best Charlie Chan?

[trof]

Warner Oland


Sydney Toler


Roland Winters

Toler was arguably the most famous Chan.
And Winters the lesser known.

The character is based on a real person, Honolulu policeman Chang Opana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_Apana

Lots of interesting stuff at wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chan

7 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	1. Warner Oland
	2 (29%)
	2. Sydney Toler
	5 (71%)
	3. Roland Winters (who?)
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[OriginalGeek]

1. Sydny is the only one I recognize

so I picked him. Number one son should be proud!

[CBGLuthier]

2. I do not know but I bet these guys were big fans

[trof]

4. Let me guess, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll?

Radio's Amos 'N Andy.
Do I get a prize?

[CBGLuthier]

5. You certainly do.

The Green Hornet's Kato (Japanese version) is holding it for you.

[trof]

9. I listened to Amos 'N Andy when I was a kid.

I'd sit on the floor right in front of a radio that was taller than I was.
I think it was a Zenith.

[hifiguy]

18. I remember the Amos & Andy TV show.

The local indie station showed it back in the early-mid 1960s. The radio show was before my time.

[tokenlib]

3. Old movies like the Charlie Chan ones are so relaxing and enjoyable to watch..

[trof]

7. Old Chan movies were my Saturday afternoon soporific.

We lived near Chicago in the late 60s.
A Chicago TV station had "Charlie Chan Theater" on Saturday afternoons.
I'd stretch out on the couch (usually nursing a hangover in those days) and zone out watching Chan's next adventure.
I don't think I made to the end of a single one.

[Moondog]

6. Once one gets past the absurdity of a Caucasian portraying an Asian

it has to be Sydney Toler. He is the definitive version of Charlie Chan.

[trof]

8. Yeah, I knew this would come up.

What can I say?
Different times.

[Moondog]

10. Agreed.

[CBGLuthier]

11. Different Times?

[trof]

12. Depp's standard weirdness.

The guy is amazing.

[Taverner]

14. He is but he is unlike any Native American that ever existed at that time...

Then again, so is the Texas Ranger - - who was really a bounty hunter and often hunted runaway slaves...

But...um...history....

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. Peter Sellers in "Murder By Death"

[bluesbassman]

15. +1

Great movie, what a cast!

[trof]

16. Forgot that one.

[Graybeard]

23. J. Carroll Naish

The New Adventures of Charlie Chan TV series was a half-hour show that ran in 1957 & 1958. J. Carroll Naish played Chan in the 39 episodes.

[dimbear]

17. All the Charlie Chan books are available on line, worth a read if you enjoy Golden Age. n/t

[hifiguy]

22. They're very good murder mysteries.

Lots of twists and turns, and well-written. I read them when I was 12-13 and loved them. It always seemed to me that Charlie Chan was by far the smartest and most quick-witted character in the books and I really admired that.

[cyberswede]

19. There are 6 Charlie Chan movies on Netflix streaming...

I know this because they're all in my queue!

The Chinese Cat (1944)
The Jade Mask (1945)
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)
The Scarlet Clue (1945)
The Shanghai Cobra (1945)

[Graybeard]

20. Here's a great Charlie Chan website.

This fabulous website is loaded with info. Photos, profiles of the actors, trivia and a look behind the scenes at the making of the Charlie Chan films. Great fun.
.

http://www.charliechanfamily.com/
.
.

[Whovian]

21. That's quite a coincidence for me as I was discussing him this past weekend trying to remember

the names of the actors that played him.