Larry Ching
Encyclopedia
Larry Ching was a performer at the Forbidden City (nightclub)
in San Francisco. Nearly 40 years after the end of his career there, he recorded a hit record produced by Ben Fong-Torres
.
, at age 17 with his Merchant Marine friends, he convinced the pianist to play while he sang.. The owner was so impressed he hired Ching on the spot as a singing bartender.
In 1938, Charlie Low, who'd been a silent partner in the Chinese Village and had heard Ching, opened the Forbidden City, an Asian-themed burlesque and cabaret supper club in downtown San Francisco, and, soon after opening, asked Ching to join the ensemble of entertainers. By 1942, Ching was a featured performer, promoted in advertisements as the "Chinese Frank Sinatra," in line with Low's marketing ploy, of nicknaming his performers after famous white celebrities. Ching did not approve of his nickname because he preferred Bing Crosby
to Sinatra, and did not sound like Sinatra. He would have preferred to be known under his own name. However, the new name stuck, and Ching is still known by it (although Herb Caen
, to set the record straight, referred to Frank Sinatra as "the Italian Larry Ching"
Ching was an instant success, although his shyness initially got in the way. "To overcome his nervousness with the patrons," says Jane Seid Ching, his widow, "someone taught him to open his eyes and look over their heads, instead of looking at them." Or, as Ching himself joked: "Two drinks and open your eyes!" Hoagy Carmichael
discovered Ching and invited him to work on Carmichael's weekly radio show in Hollywood, but Ching declined.
While at the Forbidden City, Ching, along with other cast members, flirted with female patrons, and he got into fistfights with patrons who would make racial insults. He claimed Duke Ellington
and Bing Crosby as fans, and met many other jazz and pop greats including Bob Hope
and Lena Horne
..
Ching performed three shows a night, six nights a week at Forbidden City for more than twenty years. He left the club in 1961 after it was sold to a new owner, and retired from singing professionally. He raised a family, and took a job driving a delivery truck for local newspapers, where he was known to sing while making rounds. He retired from his truck route in 1985. Through the years, he continued to sing, at weddings, community events and occasional reunions of Forbidden City alumni.
, where he met Ben Fong-Torres
, the former Rolling Stone writer and editor who was co-MCing the event, along with Ching's friend, TV anchor Emerald Yeh. Ching met Fong-Torres again several years later when both performed at Yeh's wedding reception.
Fong-Torres was impressed with Ching's singing and wanted to produce an album with him. Because of Fong-Torres' other commitments as an author and broadcaster, the record was not recorded until 2003, when Ching was 82. The album, Till the End of Time, features twelve songs recorded with a jazz trio led by pianist George Yamasaki, and four remastered songs Ching had recorded as demos in the 1940s. Co-produced by John Barsotti at San Francisco State University's studios, and released in June, 2003, it was a critical and financial success. Ching's story—and music—drew wide attention from local TV and radio stations, and the album made the charts of Amazon.com. Ching and family, along with Forbidden City albumni, celebrated his CD at the Chinese Historical Society of America museum, and mayor Willie Brown
proclaimed June 28, 2003 "Larry Ching Day". A week later, July 5, Ching died suddenly of an aneurysm
.
Mr. Ching married twice, first to Vicki Ching, a dancer at Forbidden City who died in 1979, and second to Jane Seid Ching, who he married in 1991. He had two sons and four stepsons. He is memorialized by a portrait on "Gold Mountain
", a mural depicting Chinese contributions to American history on Romolo Place in North Beach.
Forbidden City (nightclub)
The Forbidden City was a Chinese-themed nightclub and cabaret in business from the late 1930s to the late 1950s, on the second floor of 363 Sutter Street in San Francisco between Chinatown and Union Square...
in San Francisco. Nearly 40 years after the end of his career there, he recorded a hit record produced by Ben Fong-Torres
Ben Fong-Torres
Benjamin Fong-Torres is an American rock journalist, author, and broadcaster best known for his association with Rolling Stone magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle .-Biography:Due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, Fong-Torres' father, Ricardo Fong-Torres Benjamin Fong-Torres (方振豪; Cantonese:...
.
First singing career, 1938-1962
Ching taught himself to sing by listening to records on board ship while he was in the Merchant Marines. Visiting the Chinese Village, a bar in ChinatownChinatown, San Francisco, California
San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its establishment in 1848, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants to the United States and North America...
, at age 17 with his Merchant Marine friends, he convinced the pianist to play while he sang.. The owner was so impressed he hired Ching on the spot as a singing bartender.
In 1938, Charlie Low, who'd been a silent partner in the Chinese Village and had heard Ching, opened the Forbidden City, an Asian-themed burlesque and cabaret supper club in downtown San Francisco, and, soon after opening, asked Ching to join the ensemble of entertainers. By 1942, Ching was a featured performer, promoted in advertisements as the "Chinese Frank Sinatra," in line with Low's marketing ploy, of nicknaming his performers after famous white celebrities. Ching did not approve of his nickname because he preferred Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
to Sinatra, and did not sound like Sinatra. He would have preferred to be known under his own name. However, the new name stuck, and Ching is still known by it (although Herb Caen
Herb Caen
Herbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
, to set the record straight, referred to Frank Sinatra as "the Italian Larry Ching"
Ching was an instant success, although his shyness initially got in the way. "To overcome his nervousness with the patrons," says Jane Seid Ching, his widow, "someone taught him to open his eyes and look over their heads, instead of looking at them." Or, as Ching himself joked: "Two drinks and open your eyes!" Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
discovered Ching and invited him to work on Carmichael's weekly radio show in Hollywood, but Ching declined.
While at the Forbidden City, Ching, along with other cast members, flirted with female patrons, and he got into fistfights with patrons who would make racial insults. He claimed Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Bing Crosby as fans, and met many other jazz and pop greats including Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
..
Ching performed three shows a night, six nights a week at Forbidden City for more than twenty years. He left the club in 1961 after it was sold to a new owner, and retired from singing professionally. He raised a family, and took a job driving a delivery truck for local newspapers, where he was known to sing while making rounds. He retired from his truck route in 1985. Through the years, he continued to sing, at weddings, community events and occasional reunions of Forbidden City alumni.
Second career, June–July 2003
In 1989 Ching was featured in Forbidden City U.S.A., a documentary film by Arthur Dong about the club. He sang at the premiere of the film at the Palace of Fine ArtsPalace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, is a monumental structure originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in order to exhibit works of art presented there. One of only a few surviving structures from the Exposition, it is the only one still...
, where he met Ben Fong-Torres
Ben Fong-Torres
Benjamin Fong-Torres is an American rock journalist, author, and broadcaster best known for his association with Rolling Stone magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle .-Biography:Due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, Fong-Torres' father, Ricardo Fong-Torres Benjamin Fong-Torres (方振豪; Cantonese:...
, the former Rolling Stone writer and editor who was co-MCing the event, along with Ching's friend, TV anchor Emerald Yeh. Ching met Fong-Torres again several years later when both performed at Yeh's wedding reception.
Fong-Torres was impressed with Ching's singing and wanted to produce an album with him. Because of Fong-Torres' other commitments as an author and broadcaster, the record was not recorded until 2003, when Ching was 82. The album, Till the End of Time, features twelve songs recorded with a jazz trio led by pianist George Yamasaki, and four remastered songs Ching had recorded as demos in the 1940s. Co-produced by John Barsotti at San Francisco State University's studios, and released in June, 2003, it was a critical and financial success. Ching's story—and music—drew wide attention from local TV and radio stations, and the album made the charts of Amazon.com. Ching and family, along with Forbidden City albumni, celebrated his CD at the Chinese Historical Society of America museum, and mayor Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
proclaimed June 28, 2003 "Larry Ching Day". A week later, July 5, Ching died suddenly of an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
.
Mr. Ching married twice, first to Vicki Ching, a dancer at Forbidden City who died in 1979, and second to Jane Seid Ching, who he married in 1991. He had two sons and four stepsons. He is memorialized by a portrait on "Gold Mountain
Gold Mountain
Gold Mountain is the name given by the Chinese to western regions of North America, particularly California, USA and British Columbia, Canada. After gold was first discovered in the state of California in 1848, thousands of Chinese from Toisan in Guangdong , began to travel to California in search...
", a mural depicting Chinese contributions to American history on Romolo Place in North Beach.