{{Short description|Korean–American actor}} {{family name hatnote|Oh||lang=Korean}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2018}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Use American English|date=May 2017}} {{Infobox person | name = Soon-tek Oh<br>오순택 | image = Soon-Tek Oh in Beverly Hills Ninja.jpg | image_size = | caption = Soon-tek Oh as Sensei in ''Beverly Hills Ninja'' | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|6|29}} | birth_place = Mokpo, Chōsen (now South Korea) | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|04|04|1932|06|29}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | other_names = Soon-taek Oh | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1967–2006 }} {{Infobox Korean name/auto | hangul = %오순택 | hanja = }}
'''Soon-tek Oh''' ({{langx|ko|오순택}}, ''O Sun-taek'' – also spelled as '''Soon-taek Oh''' or '''Soon-taik Oh''' or '''Soon-teck Oh'''; June 29, 1932 – April 4, 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/soon-tek-oh-dead-mulan-man-with-the-golden-gun-actor-was-85-1100765|title=Soon-tek Oh, 'Mulan' and 'Man With the Golden Gun' Actor, Dies at 85|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=2018}}</ref>) was a Korean–American actor. He was the voice of Fa Zhou in Disney's ''Mulan'' and the direct-to-video sequel ''Mulan II'' and the sadistic Colonel Yin in ''Missing in Action 2: The Beginning''. He has starred in many films, and also acted in television series, including ''Stargate SG-1''; ''MacGyver''; ''M*A*S*H''; ''Charlie's Angels''; ''Airwolf'', ''Magnum, P.I.''; ''Hawaii Five-O''; ''Kung-Fu''; ''Zorro''; ''The Man with the Golden Gun''; ''The Final Countdown'': ''Baa Baa Black Sheep''; ''Highlander: The Series'' and ''Touched by an Angel''.
==Early life== Oh was born on June 29, 1932, in Mokpo during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule. He attended high school at Gwangju, South Korea, and attended Yonsei University in Seoul.
After the end of Japanese rule in August 1945 and before the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Oh and his family emigrated to the United States where he attended the University of Southern California. He later earned an MFA from UCLA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netv.com/abbey/soontekoh.htm|title=About Soon-tek Oh|accessdate=March 22, 2007|publisher=Abbey Entertainment Beverly Hills|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020315160112/http://www.netv.com/abbey/soontekoh.htm|archivedate=March 15, 2002}}</ref>
==Acting career== On Broadway, Oh appeared in the original cast of the Stephen Sondheim musical ''Pacific Overtures''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/rip-soon-tek-oh-memorable-character-actor-and-mulan-voice-actor|title=R.I.P. Soon-tek Oh, memorable character actor on M*A*S*H, Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O|website=Me-TV Network|access-date=April 27, 2018}}</ref> He was an early member of East West Players, an Asian American theatre group founded in 1965.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
In 1995, Oh founded the Korean American theatre group, Society of Heritage Performers, which later evolved into the present Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. From 2005, he was a professor at Seoul Institute of the Arts.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
==Death== Oh died in Los Angeles on April 4, 2018, at age 85 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease, according to actor Chil Kong.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sung |first=Ji-eun |title=Pioneering actor Oh Soon-tek is dead at 85 |url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3046619 |newspaper=Korea Joongang Daily |access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/soon-tek-oh-dead-dies-mulan-father-asian-american-theater-pioneer-1202746825 |title=Soon-tek Oh, Voice of Mulan's Father and Asian-American Theater Pioneer, Dies at 85 |first=Erin |last=Nyren |date=April 7, 2018 |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC. |journal=Variety |access-date=October 1, 2018}}</ref>
==Partial filmography== ===Films=== * 1966 ''Murderers' Row'' as Tempura, Japanese Secret Agent (uncredited) * 1967 ''Yongary, Monster From The Deep'' as Chinese Agent (uncredited) * 1971 ''Earth II'' as Chinese Diplomat (uncredited) * 1971 ''One More Train to Rob'' as Yung * 1974 ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' as Lieutenant Hip (as Soon-taik Oh) * 1978 ''Good Guys Wear Black'' as Major Mhin Van Thieu, The Black Tigers * 1980 ''The Final Countdown'' as Simura, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Pilot * 1982 ''The Letter'' as Ong * 1985 ''Bialy smok'' as Tai Ching * 1985 ''Missing in Action 2'' as Colonel Yin * 1985 ''Yuki Shimoda'' as Himself (interviewed) * 1987 ''Steele Justice'' as General Bon-soong Kwan * 1987 ''Biały smok'' as Tai-ching * 1987 ''Death Wish 4: The Crackdown'' as Detective Phil Nozaki * 1989 ''Soursweet'' as "Red" Cudgel * 1989 ''Collision Course'' as Chief Inspector Kitao * 1993 ''A Home of Our Own'' as Mr. Munimura * 1994 ''Red Sun Rising'' as Yamata * 1994 ''S.F.W.'' as Milt Morris * 1996 ''Street Corner Justice'' as Kwong-chuck Lee * 1997 ''Beverly Hills Ninja'' as Sensei * 1998 ''Yellow'' as Woon Lee * 1998 ''Mulan'' as Fa Zhou (voice) * 2000 ''The President's Man'' as General Vinh Tran * 2001 ''Roads and Bridges'' as Father (voice) * 2001 ''Forgotten Valor'' as Colonel * 2001 ''True Blue'' as "Tiger" * 2002 ''The Visit'' as Sujong's Father * 2002 ''SWAT'' as Sayonara * 2004 ''Mulan II'' as Fa Zhou (voice) * 2005 ''Last Mountain'' as Karus * 2006 ''Gang-jeok'' as Jong-chae (final film role)
===Television (partial list)=== * 1967 ''The Invaders'' as Houseboy * 1968–1979 ''Hawaii Five-O'' (8 episodes) as Robert Kwon / David Chung / Chaing / Tom Wong / Vic Tanaka / Lao / Lewis Shen / Wo Fat's Lab Technician * 1974 ''Kung Fu'' as Chen Yi * 1975–1982 ''M*A*S*H'' (5 episodes) as Joon – Sung / Ralph / Dr. Syn Paik / Korean Soldier / Mr. Kwang * 1977 ''Logan's Run'' as Dexter Kim * 1977 ''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' as Lieutenant Miragochi / Colonel Tokura * 1979 ''How the West Was Won'' as Kee * 1980 ''Diff'rent Strokes'' as Mr. Kim * 1981–1986 ''Magnum, P.I.'' (4 episodes) as General Nguyen Hue / Sato / Dr. Bill Su & Dr. Ling * 1981 ''East of Eden'' as Lee * 1982 ''Quincy, M.E.'' as Captain Bob Nishimura * 1983 ''Hart to Hart'' as Lang Chen-cheng * 1983 ''Girls of the White Orchid'' as Hatanaka * 1983 ''Marco Polo'' as Wang Zhu * 1984 ''The Master'' as Lika * 1984–1987 ''Airwolf'' (3 episodes) as Minh / Tommy Liu / Hiyashi * 1985–1986 ''T.J. Hooker'' (2 episodes) as Ginsu Nabutsu / Nguyen Chi * 1987 ''Sky Commanders'' as Kodiak (voice) * 1988 ''MacGyver'' as Raymond Ling * 1989 ''Hunter'' (1 episode) as Nyuen Tran * 1992 ''Highlander: The Series'' as Kiem Sun * 1993 ''The Legend of Prince Valiant'' as Sing Lu (voice) * 1994 ''Babylon 5'' as The Muta-Do * 1994–1995 ''Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'' (3 episodes) as Bon-bon Hai * 1996 ''The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest'' as General Yala (voice) * 1997 ''Life with Louie'' as Buddhist Monk (voice) * 1997 ''Stargate SG-1'' as Moughal * 2000 ''King of the Hill'' as Monk (voice)
== Accolades == In 2008, Soon-tek Oh was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Asian Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pacarts.org/sdaff-award-winners/|title=SDAFF Award Winners {{!}} Pacific Arts Movement|website=pacarts.org|language=en-US|access-date=April 27, 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0644902}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oh, Soon-tek}} Category:1932 births Category:2018 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:American dramatists and playwrights of Korean descent Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States Category:UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television alumni Category:Male actors from South Jeolla Province Category:Actors from Mokpo Category:American male actors of Korean descent Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California Category:American male voice actors