Born in Tianjin, he arrived in England as an international student, attaining a BA in history from Trinity College, Cambridge. He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor. Lee played supporting roles in many films and television programmes throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was frequently called upon whenever a production required an East Asian character. His film appearances include You Only Live Twice (1967) and Half Moon Street (1986), and his television appearances include The Avengers, The Chinese Detective and The Bill, but his best known role is as Tarō Nagazumi, the Japanese business executive and English language student, in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979. He never married, citing marriage in a 1984 interview as "Too much responsibility", and lived in a flat in Hampstead, north London, where he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986, aged 73.[1]
robert, 1913, december, 1986, chinese, actor, based, united, kingdom, robert, leebornlee, fu1913, 1913, tianjin, republic, chinadied1, december, 1986, aged, hampstead, london, englandoccupationactoryears, active1944, 1986, contents, background, filmography, re. Robert Ya Fu Lee 1913 1 December 1986 was a Chinese actor based in the United Kingdom Robert LeeBornLee Ya Fu1913 1913 Tianjin Republic of ChinaDied1 December 1986 aged 73 Hampstead London EnglandOccupationActorYears active1944 1986 Contents 1 Background 2 TV and filmography 3 References 4 External linksBackground EditBorn in Tianjin he arrived in England as an international student attaining a BA in history from Trinity College Cambridge He then worked at a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant before being encouraged by friends to become an actor Lee played supporting roles in many films and television programmes throughout the 1960s 1970s and 1980s and was frequently called upon whenever a production required an East Asian character His film appearances include You Only Live Twice 1967 and Half Moon Street 1986 and his television appearances include The Avengers The Chinese Detective and The Bill but his best known role is as Tarō Nagazumi the Japanese business executive and English language student in the sitcom Mind Your Language from 1977 to 1979 He never married citing marriage in a 1984 interview as Too much responsibility and lived in a flat in Hampstead north London where he died after two years of ill health on 1 December 1986 aged 73 1 TV and filmography EditYear Title Role Notes1944 Dragon Seed Young Farmer Uncredited1951 Outcast of the Islands Extra in Snooker Room scenes Uncredited1954 The Desperate Women Publisher1960 The World of Suzie Wong Barman Uncredited1961 Visa to Canton also known as Passport to China in the USA Chinese Officer1961 The Sinister Man Nam Lee1962 Satan Never Sleeps Chung Ren1967 You Only Live Twice 2nd Chinese VIP Uncredited1967 The Mini Affair Manager Chinese Restaurant1967 Jackanory Narrator TV Series 5 episodes Narrating traditional Chinese tales1968 Don t Raise the Bridge Lower the River Bruce1969 The Chairman Hotel Night Manager1969 Moon Zero Two Hotel Employee Uncredited1971 The Projectionist Usher Henchman1974 1979 Hawaii Five O Airport Guard Kauai Police Captain Capt Tanaka Lew Kameka Tas TV Series 5 episodes1975 Bakit May Bilanggo Sa Anak Ni Eba1975 Rollerball Executive Uncredited1976 1978 It Ain t Half Hot Mum Bandit Chung Soo TV Series 2 episodes1977 1979 Mind Your Language Tarō Nagazumi TV Series 29 episodes1979 Grange Hill Ling Ching TV Series 1 episode1979 Porridge Tinkler1980 The Professionals Shusai TV Series 1 episode1981 The Chinese Detective Joe Ho TV Series 4 episodes1982 Tout feu tout flamme aka All Fired Up Tout feu tout flamme France DVD title 1982 Britannia Hospital Mr Banzai1983 High Road to China Zura1983 Reilly Ace of Spies Admiral Togo TV Mini Series 1 episode1984 Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense Chong Woy TV Series 1 episode1984 The Bill Chinese Restaurateur TV Series 1 episode1984 Tenko Mr Ling TV Series 1 episode1985 John and Yoko A Love Story Eisuke Ono TV movie1986 Half Moon Street Chinese Ambassador1987 A Cor do seu Destino The Officer1987 Ping Pong Mr Chen final film role References Edit Ooi Teresa 19 February 1984 Friends told him to act The Straits Times p 15 Retrieved 8 March 2016 via NewspaperSG External links EditRobert Lee at IMDb This biographical article related to BBC Television is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Ya Fu Lee amp oldid 1116856938, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
