Chun's life was filled with tragedies. His father had an affair, which led to his parents' divorce and the splitting of the family. The two eldest children went with their father and the younger five, including seven-year-old Chun, lived with their mother. The affair also led to Chun's father being forced out of the family business by his paternal grandfather, which left the family in poverty.[1] Chun watched a brother burn to death as he was painting the family home and someone lit a match. On June 8, 1944, Chun lost his family in a freak air disaster that devastated their home in Honolulu. Two B-25 bombers collided over the Chun residence, killing wife Esther, four-year-old daughter Marilyn and two-year-old son Donald.
Chun later married Gladys Lindo in 1949. They had two sons, Dennis and Dickson, and daughters, Brenda and Valerie.
Stage name
Chun's stage name came from a misunderstanding of his first name by his first teacher, who taught him to write Kam Fong Chun instead of his birth name, Kam Tong Chun. Due to confusion as he got older, he later legalized his name to the former. CBS asked him to shorten his name to Kam Fong when he was hired for Hawaii Five-O.
Proposed 1997 Five-O revival
Talk had centered around a remake or a feature film version of the show for years. In 1997, CBS and Stephen J. Cannell (The Rockford Files, Baretta, The Commish) collaborated on a pilot for a possible new Five-O series. The pilot would introduce some of the new cast and feature former regulars from the original series, including Fong. According to Five-O fan and author of a book on the show, Karen Rhodes, Fong was asked to reprise his role and appear in the pilot. Neither Fong nor any of the other regulars told Cannell that Chin Ho had been killed off at the end of the tenth season. This was only discovered after all of Fong's scenes had been shot, and to excise him from the project would have caused delays and overruns in cost. Hoping that CBS executives would not remember the one episode out of hundreds, Cannell screened the pilot.
His son Dennis Chun had a recurring role in the 2010 reboot as HPD Sgt. Duke Lukela.[2] Beginning with the 8th season he was promoted to a series regular.
Death
Kam Fong Chun died from lung cancer on October 18, 2002, at the age of 84.[3]
Kam, Nadine (2002-10-31). "Kam Fong rose from hard times to 'Five-0' (obituary)". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, HI: Oahu Publications Inc. (Subsidiary of Black Press). Retrieved 2013-04-15.
Rhodes, Karen (2011-04-05) [July, 1997]. . Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2013-04-15. An account of the revival attempt and Kam Fong
The Hawaii Five-O Home Page Retrieved August 24, 2016
fong, chun, born, tong, chun, 1918, october, 2002, american, police, officer, actor, best, known, role, chin, kelly, police, detective, television, network, series, hawaii, five, bornkam, tong, chun, 1918, 1918kalihi, territory, hawaii, diedoctober, 2002, 2002. Kam Fong Chun born Kam Tong Chun May 27 1918 October 18 2002 was an American police officer and actor best known for his role as Chin Ho Kelly a police detective on the CBS television network series Hawaii Five O Kam Fong ChunBornKam Tong Chun 1918 05 27 May 27 1918Kalihi Territory of Hawaii U S DiedOctober 18 2002 2002 10 18 aged 84 Honolulu Hawaii U S Occupation s Police officer actorYears active1958 1997Spouse s Esther N Chun m 1938 died 1944 wbr Gladys Lindo m 1949 wbr Children6 including Dennis Chun Contents 1 Life 1 1 Stage name 1 2 Proposed 1997 Five O revival 1 3 Death 2 Filmography 3 References 4 External linksLife EditKam Fong Chun was born in the Kalihi neighborhood of Honolulu Hawaii A 1938 graduate of President William McKinley High School he worked at Pearl Harbor shipyard in his 20s as a boiler maker and was a witness to the attack by the Japanese on December 7 1941 After the death of his first wife and two eldest children in 1944 he applied for a job as a police officer at the Honolulu Police Department He served there for 16 years After his retirement from the police force he worked as a disc jockey and sold real estate in addition to doing community theater Chun s life was filled with tragedies His father had an affair which led to his parents divorce and the splitting of the family The two eldest children went with their father and the younger five including seven year old Chun lived with their mother The affair also led to Chun s father being forced out of the family business by his paternal grandfather which left the family in poverty 1 Chun watched a brother burn to death as he was painting the family home and someone lit a match On June 8 1944 Chun lost his family in a freak air disaster that devastated their home in Honolulu Two B 25 bombers collided over the Chun residence killing wife Esther four year old daughter Marilyn and two year old son Donald Chun later married Gladys Lindo in 1949 They had two sons Dennis and Dickson and daughters Brenda and Valerie Stage name Edit Chun s stage name came from a misunderstanding of his first name by his first teacher who taught him to write Kam Fong Chun instead of his birth name Kam Tong Chun Due to confusion as he got older he later legalized his name to the former CBS asked him to shorten his name to Kam Fong when he was hired for Hawaii Five O Proposed 1997 Five O revival Edit Talk had centered around a remake or a feature film version of the show for years In 1997 CBS and Stephen J Cannell The Rockford Files Baretta The Commish collaborated on a pilot for a possible new Five O series The pilot would introduce some of the new cast and feature former regulars from the original series including Fong According to Five O fan and author of a book on the show Karen Rhodes Fong was asked to reprise his role and appear in the pilot Neither Fong nor any of the other regulars told Cannell that Chin Ho had been killed off at the end of the tenth season This was only discovered after all of Fong s scenes had been shot and to excise him from the project would have caused delays and overruns in cost Hoping that CBS executives would not remember the one episode out of hundreds Cannell screened the pilot His son Dennis Chun had a recurring role in the 2010 reboot as HPD Sgt Duke Lukela 2 Beginning with the 8th season he was promoted to a series regular Death Edit Kam Fong Chun died from lung cancer on October 18 2002 at the age of 84 3 Filmography EditGhost of the China Sea 1958 Pvt Hakashima The Lost Missile 1958 Chinese Officer uncredited Cry for Happy 1961 Chin Sailor uncredited Gidget Goes Hawaiian 1961 Hotel Night Clerk uncredited Seven Women from Hell 1961 Burly Guard uncredited Diamond Head 1962 Loe Kim Lee uncredited Hawaii Five O 1968 1978 Det Chin Ho Kelly Magnum P I 1982 1985 Kanki Kam Chung Goodbye Paradise 1991 Old man Young Hawaii Five O 1997 Det Chin Ho Kelly final film role References Edit Kam Fong Archived from the original on 2005 08 31 Retrieved 2005 09 02 Five O had hoped for MacArthur Cameo in Champ Box Mystery Honolulu Star Advertiser November 14 2010 Five O actor Kam Fong Chun dead at 84External links Edit Biography portalKam Fong Chun at IMDb Kam Nadine 2002 10 31 Kam Fong rose from hard times to Five 0 obituary Honolulu Star Bulletin Honolulu HI Oahu Publications Inc Subsidiary of Black Press Retrieved 2013 04 15 Rhodes Karen 2011 04 05 July 1997 In The Can and Out of the Loop Archived from the original on 2012 02 04 Retrieved 2013 04 15 An account of the revival attempt and Kam Fong The Hawaii Five O Home Page Retrieved August 24 2016 Kam Fong at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kam Fong Chun amp oldid 1104969535, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
