Lotus Long
Encyclopedia
Born Lotus Pearl Shibata in New Jersey, Lotus Long was an American actor born to a father of Japanese ancestry and a mother of Hawai'ian ancestry. She came to Southern California during the 1920s to act in Hollywood films, and usually portrayed ethnic Asian female characters in supporting roles. She used the name "Lotus Long" for stage and film. Because of her adopted surname, people generally assumed that she was of Chinese ancestry – something she later relied on to avoid mass incarceration in American concentration camps
with other persons of Japanese ancestry, both legal permanent residents and American citizens, during World War II.
She was also credited under the name "Karen Sorrell" in the 1938 films Flight to Nowhere
starring (Jack Holt
), Mysterious Mr. Moto
starring (Peter Lorre
), as Moonflower, Wong's niece. She was uncredited as a "native girl" in the 1939 film The Real Glory
starring (Gary Cooper
and David Niven
). In 1939, she was credited again as Lotus Long in Mr. Wong in Chinatown
as the murder victim, Princess Lin Hwa.
One of the more infamous roles would be as Tokyo Rose
in 1945. She portrays an American educated Japanese woman broadcasting propaganda to the American troops.
Lotus Long had one writing and producing credit for the 1956 film, The Tahitian, made with her husband, James Knott. It was filmed on location with a largely native cast.
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
with other persons of Japanese ancestry, both legal permanent residents and American citizens, during World War II.
She was also credited under the name "Karen Sorrell" in the 1938 films Flight to Nowhere
Flight to Nowhere
- Cast :*Alan Curtis as Hobe Carrington*Evelyn Ankers as Catherine Forrest*Micheline Cheirel as Dolly Lorraine, aka Countess Maria de Fresca*Jack Holt as FBI Agent Bob Donovan*Jerome Cowan as Gerald Porter*John Craven as Claude Forrest...
starring (Jack Holt
Jack Holt (actor)
Jack Holt was an American motion picture actor. He was a leading man of silent and sound films, and was known for his many roles in Westerns.-Early life:...
), Mysterious Mr. Moto
Mysterious Mr. Moto
Mysterious Mr. Moto is the fifth in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto produced in 1938 by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is based on the character of Mr. Moto created by John P. Marquand, and an original screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Norman Foster.-Synopsis:The film...
starring (Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
), as Moonflower, Wong's niece. She was uncredited as a "native girl" in the 1939 film The Real Glory
The Real Glory
The Real Glory is a 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Company action film starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, and Broderick Crawford released by United Artists in the weeks immediately following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Based on a 1937 novel of the same name by Charles L...
starring (Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
). In 1939, she was credited again as Lotus Long in Mr. Wong in Chinatown
Mr. Wong in Chinatown
Mr. Wong in Chinatown is a 1939 American mystery film directed by William Nigh and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - Mr. James Lee Wong* Marjorie Reynolds - Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan * Grant Withers - Police Capt. Bill Street...
as the murder victim, Princess Lin Hwa.
One of the more infamous roles would be as Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose was a generic name given by Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II to any of approximately a dozen English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The intent of these broadcasts was to disrupt the morale of Allied forces listening to the broadcast...
in 1945. She portrays an American educated Japanese woman broadcasting propaganda to the American troops.
Lotus Long had one writing and producing credit for the 1956 film, The Tahitian, made with her husband, James Knott. It was filmed on location with a largely native cast.