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Fong, a resident of Hollywood Hills, had suffered
a stroke and later died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to his daughter, Lori Buoncristiani. She declined to reveal
his age. He is survived by his wife, Gloria, five children
and three grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday
at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills. His acting career in films and television, which
lasted more than 30 years, resulted from a chance meeting with a Hollywood talent scout. After graduating from high school
in Sacramento, and undertaking further studies in China, he returned to Sacramento and opened a grocery store with a cousin.
In 1943, while having dinner with some friends in
Sacramento, he was approached by a man from Paramount Pictures, who asked if he would like to be in a movie. Fong ended up with a role in a film called "China,"
starring Loretta Young and Alan Ladd. He was also offered a 10-week contract, for $250
a week. "It looked like a tremendous fortune and I accepted
quickly, afraid they might think twice and back out," he told an interviewer. "I couldn't read lines too well, but World War
II was under way and all the studios were looking for actors with Oriental features. I bicycled around from one set to another,
playing a Japanese here, a Filipino there, a Chinese on still other days." The next year, he played one of the sons in "Charlie
Chan in the Secret Service." Other films in which he appeared included "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944); "Keys of the Kingdom"
(1944); "His Majesty O'Keefe" (1954); "The Flower Drum Song" (1961); "Our Man Flint" (1965) and "The Strongest Man in the
World" (1976). "The idea appealed to me," Fong said. By that time, he had met his future wife, Gloria,
who was working as an actress. "We wanted to get married. But I wanted to have a
predictable income, instead of becoming one more struggling actor. I decided it (the restaurant) would have to be done with
my own capital, so I began saving." Two years later he had $11,000 and, in 1946, opened
his first Ah Fong's on Hollywood's Vine Street. By 1971, four others had opened - on Sunset Boulevard
in Hollywood, in Beverly Hills, Encino and Anaheim. The Ah in the Ah Fong's name is a term of respect in Chinese, he said.
But actually, he said, he thought up the name while looking at the wrapper of an "Oh Henry!" candy bar. Fong retired from the restaurant business two years
ago. At the time of his death, only the Hollywood Ah Fong's remained, owned by a relative. An avid golfer and frequent traveler to the Orient,
Fong practiced meditation and once described himself as "a split personality - half a pound Oriental and eight ounces Yankee."
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