{{short description|Chinese actor (1917– 2008)}} {{for|the Korean footballer|Kim Chan (footballer)}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2009}} {{Infobox person | name = Kim Chan | image = | caption = | other_names = Kim S. Chan | birth_name = Chan Kim Shung | birth_date = December 28, 1917 | birth_place = Shanghai, Republic of China | death_date = {{death date and age|2008|10|5|1917|12|28}} | death_place = New York City, United States | years_active = 1951–2007 | module = {{Infobox Chinese |child=yes | p = Chén Jǐnxiāng | c = 陈锦湘 | j = can4 gam2 soeng1 | toi = cin3 gim3 lhiang1 }} }}

'''Kim Chan''' (born '''Kim Shung Chan'''; {{Langx|zh|陈锦湘}}; December 28, 1917 – October 5, 2008) was a Chinese and American actor and producer. He was most notable for his roles as Lo Si, also known as The Ancient, in ''Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'' and Mr. Kim in ''The Fifth Element''.

==Early life, family and education== Kim Shung Chan was born in Shanghai, to a family originally from Taishan, Guangdong. Together with his father and two sisters, Chan immigrated to the United States in 1928, first living in Rhode Island before settling in the Bronx in New York City in 1938.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |date=2008-10-09 |title=好莱坞电影"专业中国老头"华裔演员陈锦湘去世 |url=https://news.sina.cn/sa/2008-10-09/detail-ikknscsk4148027.d.html |access-date= |website=中国新闻}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Lin |first=Thomas |date=2007-06-19 |title=A Tough Act I, but the Second Has Some Funny Bits |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/nyregion/19ink.html |access-date= |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=陳錦湘美國病逝 |url=http://www.singtao.ca/tor/2008-10-12/1223800139d1353383.html |website=Sing Tao |access-date=2025-06-08 |archive-date=2008-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016124036/http://www.singtao.ca/tor/2008-10-12/1223800139d1353383.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Millis |first=Mike |date=2001-02-21 |title=SAG to Honor Veteran Actor Kim Chan |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/sag-honor-veteran-actor-kim-chan-14849/ |access-date= |website=Backstage |language=en}}</ref> Chan worked as a ''maître d''' at the House of Chan family restaurant in Manhattan. Having held a life-long fascination with the film industry, he left this position in the 1940s to pursue an acting career, which led to his father cutting off ties with him. Although Chan was happy with the higher wages for work as an extra, he had frequent financial difficulties and was homeless for two years, often living in Central Park. He primarily worked as menial jobs in construction, restaurants, and laundries during this time.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 October 2008 |title=好莱坞电影"专业中国老头"华裔演员陈锦湘去世 |url=https://www.chinaqw.com/hqhr/hrdt/200810/09/133217.shtml |access-date= |website=中国侨网}}</ref>

Chan never married, but had romantic relationships with non-Chinese women. He had no biological children, but had an adoptive son, Michael Chandler.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name="nyt" />

==Career== Chan was a familiar character actor, especially when he was elderly. An early role that brought him notice was in the Martin Scorsese film ''The King of Comedy'' with Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, in which he played Lewis' butler.<ref name= nyt>{{cite news | last= Grimes| first= William| date= 2008-10-09| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/arts/television/10chan.html| title = Kim Chan, Who Had Roles in TV and 'King of Comedy,' Is Dead| work =The New York Times| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20180105121536/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/arts/television/10chan.html| archivedate = 2018-01-05| accessdate = 2024-05-31}}</ref>

He played the character Lo Si, also known as The Ancient, in 52 episodes of ''Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'' from 1993 thru 1997. He also played the villainous monk Ping Hai on the TV series.<ref name= nyt /> The series was a revised version of the original 1973 classic, Kung Fu with both series starring David Carradine. He played the recurring villain The Eggman in four episodes of the science fiction TV series ''Now and Again''. He appeared in many guest roles in series, including ''Mad About You'' (1998), ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2002), and ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2004).

Other film roles include Uncle Benny Chan in ''Lethal Weapon 4''(1998), the father of Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) in ''Shanghai Knights'' (2003), Mr. Kim in ''The Fifth Element'' (1997),<ref name= nyt /> Fuji in ''Who's the Man?'' (1993), Benny Wong in ''The Corruptor'' (1999), The Master in ''Zen Noir'' (2004), and a cameo appearance as a waiter in ''Private Parts'' (1997). He was also a producer on ''Zen Noir.''<ref name= nyt />

Chan retired from acting in 2007, subsequently moving from his long-time residence in the Bronx to an assisted living facility in Brooklyn.<ref name=":3" />

== Death == Chan died on October 5, 2008, after being hospitalized for respiratory disease. His age at death is most commonly reported as 90, although he had reportedly told Linda Wang that he was 93 shortly before he died.<ref name=":0" /> His niece Judy Gee also claimed that he was likely 93 or 94 years old.<ref name="nyt" />

He was featured in a photography exhibit when he was in his 90s. In October 2009, a year after his death, Chan appeared on the cover of the journal ''The Gerontologist'' beside his photography portrait.<ref>{{cite web|last= Levine|first=Jeffrey| work=The Gerontologist| url=http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/49/5.cover-expansion| title= Cover Photo|publisher=Oxford Journals|accessdate=16 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl= https://archive.today/20140116215636/http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/49/5.cover-expansion|archivedate= 16 January 2014}}</ref>

==Honors and awards== In November 1999, the Screen Actors Guild presented Chan with an award for lifetime achievement.<ref>{{cite news|last=Millis|first=Mike|title=SAG to Honor Veteran Actor Kim Chan|url=http://business.highbeam.com/3907/article-1G1-57764422/sag-honor-veteran-actor-kim-chan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117155719/http://business.highbeam.com/3907/article-1G1-57764422/sag-honor-veteran-actor-kim-chan|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 January 2014|accessdate=16 January 2014|newspaper=Back Stage|date=5 November 1999}}</ref> He received another award for lifetime achievement in August 2004 at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite press release|title=RIIFF Awards|url=http://www.film-festival.org/awardswin04.php|work=film-festival.org|accessdate=16 January 2014|archive-date=23 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923052634/http://www.film-festival.org/awardswin04.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Film===

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ {{Screen reader-only| Kim Chan film credits}}<!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION --> |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 1957 | ''A Face in the Crowd'' | Commercial Spokesperson | No Dialogue / Uncredited |- | 1970 | ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' | Theatre Cashier | |- | 1979 | ''Squadra antigangsters'' | Chan Chu Kai | Uncredited |- | 1982 | ''Soup for One'' | Harold The Cook | |- | 1983 | ''The King of Comedy'' | Jonno | |- | 1984 | ''Over the Brooklyn Bridge'' | Japanese Buyer #2 | |- | 1984 | ''Moscow on the Hudson'' | Chinese Customer | |- | 1984 | ''The Cotton Club'' | Ling | |- | 1985 | ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' | Park Bum | |- | 1985 | ''Streetwalkin''' | Desk Clerk | |- | 1986 | ''9½ Weeks'' | Chinatown Butcher | |- | 1986 | ''Gung Ho'' | Member of Board | |- | 1986 | ''Jumpin' Jack Flash'' | Korean Flower Vendor | |- | 1986 | ''No Mercy'' | Old Asian Man | |- | 1987 | ''Fatal Attraction'' | Party Guest | Uncredited |- | 1989 | ''Cookie'' | Hong Kong Tailor | |- | 1989 | ''Second Sight'' | Chinese Store Owner | |- | 1990 | ''Cadillac Man'' | Dim Sum Cook | |- | 1990 | ''Alice'' | Dr. Yang's Patient | |- | 1991 | ''Thousand Pieces of Gold'' | Li Ping | |- | 1991 | ''American Shaolin'' | Master Kwan | |- | 1993 | ''Who's the Man?'' | Fuji | |- | 1994 | ''Robot in the Family'' | Massage Parlor Patron #1 | |- | 1996 | ''Breathing Room'' | Meditation Teacher | |- | 1997 | ''Private Parts'' | Waiter | |- | 1997 | ''The Fifth Element'' | Mr. Kim | |- | 1997 | ''The Devil's Advocate'' | Chinese Man | |- | 1997 | ''Kundun'' | Second Chinese General | |- | 1998 | ''Lethal Weapon 4'' | Benny 'Uncle Benny' Chan | |- | 1999 | ''A Fish in the Bathtub'' | Medicine Shop Owner | |- | 1999 | ''The Corruptor'' | Benny 'Uncle Benny' Wong | |- | 1999 | ''On the Q.T.'' | Asian Busker | |- | 2002 | ''High Times' Potluck'' | Saki | |- |2002 | ''Rollerball'' | | Uncredited | |- | 2003 | ''Shanghai Knights'' | Chon Wang's Father | |- | 2004 | ''Zen Noir'' | The Master | |- | 2005 | ''The Honeymooners'' | Quinn | |- | 2006 | ''16 Blocks'' | Sam | |}

===Television=== {{incomplete list|date=April 2025}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ {{Screen reader-only| Kim Chan television credits}}<!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION --> |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 1985 || ''The Equalizer'' || Man Sitting on Steps (uncredited) || Episode: "China Rain" |- | 1986 | ''Outlaws'' | Mr. Luk | {{Citation needed|date=April 2025|reason=Kim Chan not found in Outlaws (1986 TV series) article, nor at IMDb}} |- | 1990 | ''Law & Order'' | Juror (uncredited) | Episode: "Indifference" |- | 1991 | ''Law & Order'' | Restaurant Manager | Episode: "Heaven" |- | 1993–1997 | ''Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'' | Lo Si (The Ancient) / Ping Hai | 54 episodes |- | 1999–2000 | ''Now and Again'' | The Eggman | 4 episodes |- | 2002 | ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' | Mr. Hsu | Episode: "Chinoiserie" |- | 2004 | ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' | Mr. Zhang | Episode: "Debt" |}

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb name|0150976}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081015070417/http://estate.chinanews.com.cn/hr/hrgs/news/2008/10-09/1406133.shtml Kim Chan's obituary] {{in lang|zh}} * [https://archive.today/20130907171313/http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/thelowrentkimchanfanclub/ The Low Rent Kim Chan Fan Club] * {{cite web|last=Sole|first=Magdalena|title=A Zen Tale|url=http://vimeo.com/40475871|publisher=TransImage|accessdate=7 September 2013}} * {{cite news|last=Lin|first=Thomas|title=A Tough Act I, but the Second Has Some Funny Bits|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/nyregion/19ink.html?_r=0|work=Newspaper Article|date=19 June 2007 |publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=8 September 2013}} * {{cite web |last=Grimes |first=William |title=Kim Chan, Who Had Roles in TV and 'King of Comedy,' Is Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/arts/television/10chan.html |work=The New York Times |date=9 October 2008 |accessdate=2024-07-18}} * {{cite web|last=Lennon|first=Sheila|title=Time Lapse Blog|url=http://blogs.providencejournal.com/arts-entertainment/lifestyles/time-lapse/2013/02/providence-journal-photo.html|work=Blog|publisher=Providence Journal|accessdate=14 September 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910162049/http://blogs.providencejournal.com/arts-entertainment/lifestyles/time-lapse/2013/02/providence-journal-photo.html|archivedate=10 September 2013}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Kim}} Category:1917 births Category:2008 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:American stage actors Category:Chinese emigrants to the United States Category:Male actors from Shanghai Category:Chinese male film actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Male actors from the Bronx