Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. That year, Old Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart started looking for Hayakawa all around the globe. If you think about silent-film era sex symbols, you probably conjure up a mental picture of Rudolph Valentinoeven if you dont know his name. [18], The Typhoon (1914) became an instant hit and was followed by two additional pictures produced by Ince, The Wrath of the Gods (1914) co-starring Hayakawa's new wife, Aoki, and The Sacrifice (1914). Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. But behind his sensational allure, the Japanese silent film star hid more than a few Hollywood demons. Sessue Hayakawa was born Kintaro Hayakawa (or Hayakawa Kintaro in the Japanese way) in 1889 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Sessue Hayakawa and Aoki remained together until her death in 1961. The Cheat made Hayakawa an international star. joined a Japanese theatrical company that eventually toured the United Hayakawa had a hidden side that contrasted with all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. This photograph of Sessue Hayakawa captures the good looks and glamor of Hollywood's first male sex symbol. She said; "It is a mother's want that makes me take this action Around this time, Hayakawa made a crucial mistake. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Because of his reputation for playing villainsthe only roles Hollywood would give himJapan thought Hayakawa was doing a dishonor to his people, and this reputation still clings to his memory there. [42] In addition to numerous Japanese films, Hayakawa also produced a Japanese-language stage version of The Three Musketeers. Hayakawas role in Tokyo Joe thrust him back into the spotlight, and in 1957no longer a fresh-faced heartthrob but a fully matured manHayakawa landed the most famous role of his career. Kintar Hayakawa (Japanese: , Hepburn: Hayakawa Kintar, June 10, 1886 November 23, 1973), known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa ( , Hayakawa Sessh), was a Japanese actor and a matine idol. Sessue Hayakawa was born in Chiba, Japan. One day, Hayakawa was filming in the Mojave Desert for his latest flick, the Western The Jaguars Claws. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. [68], His legacy is lasting, especially in the Asian-American community. He was the second eldest son of the prominent provincial governor. Hayakawa denied he did any such thingbut then again, a spy would say that. Later, they adopted two more daughters:[18] Yoshiko, an actress, and Fujiko, a dancer. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Born Chiba, Japan. At the apex of his fame, Hayakawa rivaled greats like Charlie Chaplin, but the high life immediately got to him. When he opens his mouth and shows his crystal-like teeth, he becomes very attractive. Well, alright then. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Hayakawa lapped up the high life like any young, hot star, but he could be incredibly flippant about his fame. Thanks to his immense stardom, it was a resounding success; Hayakawa soon wrote, starred, produced, and directed a string of blockbusters. Though Hayakawa once said, My one ambition is to play a hero, it was actually illegal during most of his fame for him to do just that. [34] Hayakawa produced, starred in, and contributed to the design, writing, editing, and directing of the films. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in the United States and Europe. While filming The Swamp in 1921, he ended up in the hospital with a ruptured appendix, and while there he claimed that Hollywood moneymen tried to steal his insurance money and leave him penniless. Her work is now available as part of a project to digitize home movies made by women. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas . From early on Hayakawa was groomed for a career as a naval officer. He is a good horseman and plays a fast tennis racket. Iconic director Sergei Eisenstein called Hayakawa one of Americas wonderful actors along with screen stars Mary Pickford, William S. Hart, and other fine company. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. His father felt shame and embarrassment by his son's failure and this drove a wedge between them. With Hayakawa's rising stardom, Jesse L. Lasky soon offered Hayakawa a contract, which he accepted, making him part of Famous Players-Lasky (now Paramount Pictures).[18][25][26]. [21] Hayakawa traveled to Los Angeles and awaited a transpacific steamship. Around 1930, they ended up adopting a child from fellow actress Ruth Noble, changing his name from Alexander Hayes to Yukio and fitting him into their seemingly picture-perfect life. ). He took the starlet with him on his way to the top, marrying her on May 1, 1914, just as his fame exploded. After years in silent film, Hayakawas command of English still wasnt pitch perfect, so he had to edit his script when he performed in The Bridge on the River Kwai. That distinction goes to Sessue Hayakawa, the Japanese star of Cecil B. DeMilles cinematic rape drama, The Cheat. While there, Hayakawa started performing at a Japanese theater in Little Tokyo, soon adopting his stage name of Sessue. Then history came knocking. By then, Hayakawa was already fed up with his brooding image, and he refused them flat out. With his sharp, expressive face and brows, its no wonder Hayakawa attracted audiencesbut his beauty actually became a literal ideal. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. Two men stepped forward, probably certain of their victory. [11], Hayakawa left Hollywood in 1922; different authors give various explanations such as prevailing anti-Japanese sentiment and business difficulties. The others are. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. While filming The Jaguar's Claws, in the Mojave Desert, Hayakawa played a Mexican bandit, with 500 cowboys as extras. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. White women were willing to give themselves to a Japanese man. But the truth may be much different. The same role would turn none other than Rudolph Valentino into a star overnight. Learn more about managing a memorial . Miyao suggests that Hayakawa fell victim to a growing tide of anti-Japanese sentiment in the wake of the more-militant Japan that emerged after World War I. Hayakawa worked in Europe for a while, and then eventually returned to Hollywood a decade later. Failing the physical also meant that Hayakawa failed his traditional family, bringing shame to their doorstep even though it was an unforeseeable accident. [35] The next decade and a half saw him also perform in Japan and Europe. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Instead of hamming it up with exaggerated gestures and emotions, he applied an understated, Zen approach to his scenes, which he identified as muga or absence of doing. The approach gave the matinee idol an unusually modern flare. However, most of his later works, including The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Jerry Lewis comedy The Geisha Boy in which Hayakawa lampoons his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai, Swiss Family Robinson (1960 film), Tokyo Joe, and Three Came Home are available on DVD. Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1889 - November 23, 1973) was a Japanese and American Issei (Japanese immigrant) actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa became widely known in France, where audiences "enthusiastically embraced" him and made his French debut, La Bataille (1923), a critical and financial success. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. I seized his arm and sent him flying on his face along the rough ground. [3][4][5], After withdrawing from the Japanese naval academy and attempting suicide at 18, Hayakawa attended the University of Chicago, where he studied political economics in accordance with his wealthy parents' wish that he become a banker. Hayakawa appeared as a Tokyo detective in Fullers film, and shortly afterwards British director David Lean gave him the role hes now best remembered for: Colonel Saito in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. Upon graduating, he traveled to Los Angeles in order to board a scheduled ship back to Japan, but decided to try out acting in Little Tokyo. We want our readers to trust us. Were always looking for your input! Called " broodingly handsome" and "the world's most noted Japanese photoplay actor," Hayakawa found astonishingly swift success in the white-washed world of early Hollywood. In fact there have only been nine more Asian actors nominated for acting Oscars since Umekis win. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. His father was the provincial governor and his mother a member of an aristocratic family of the "samurai" class. Film scholar Daisuke Miyao claims that Hayakawa, far from being an angry jock had a passion for the stage, instead deliberately finagled his way to California through a series of odd jobs, only taking up acting as a temporary distraction. He was so flush, he later joked that his popularity was mostly due to his liquor supply. The others are. Today, many historians consider Hayakawa to be the very first heartthrob, and I do mean the very first. National Portrait Gallery [45][50], Throughout Hayakawa's career, many segments of American society were filled with feelings of anti-Japanese sentiment, partly from nationalism rising from World War I and World War II. classics, and returned to Japan where he presented works by. Hayakawa said, "The first one struck out at me. Theaters advertising Hidden Pearls (1918), in which he plays the son of a Hawaiian princess and an American trader, were encouraged by a trade journal to use the phrase "Sessue Hayakawa adopts another nationality." Romania: Castles, Ruins, and Medieval Villages, Iceland in Summer: Journey Through a Fabled Land, Monster of the Month w/ Colin Dickey: Mokele-Mbembe, Accidental Discoveries: A Celebration of Historical Mistakes, Antiques and Their Afterlives: Stories from the Collection of Ryan and Regina Cohn, Monster of the Month w/ Colin Dickey: Satanists, Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tale Writing With Anca Szilgyi, Gourds Gone Wild: Growing and Crafting Gourds With Gourdlandia, Playing Ancient Games: History & Mythology With John Bucher, Secrets of Tarot Reading: History & Practice With T. Susan Chang, Archaeological Site inside Monastiraki Metro Station. He was one of the most paid Hollywood stars of his time. The second attempted to grapple and I was forced to flip him over my head and let him fall on his neck. In 1931, he starred opposite Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong in the silly Fu Manchu talkie, Daughter of the Dragon. Sorry! Naturalization laws at that time prevented him from becoming a U.S. citizen[55] and because of anti-miscegenation laws, he could not marry someone of another race. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. To use this feature, use a newer browser. In 1949, he made Tokyo Joe with Humphrey Bogart and in 1950, Three Came Home with Claudette Colbert. Basically, Hayakawa was the OG photogenic film star. [18] He was buried in the Chokeiji Temple Cemetery in Toyama, Japan. For example, Hayakawas sultry co-star Anna May Wong was an American-born native speaker who should have thrived in talkies. Now hows that for superstardom? States in 1913. His acting work, particularly in The Cheat, helped French film critics come up with the term photogenie for the aesthetic way film footage shows off the features of its stars. Sessue Hayakawa was born on June 10th, 1889 in Chiba, Japan. was the provincial governor and his mother a member of an aristocratic Hayakawa had a sharp sense of his own self worth. (Think of the dorky foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong who crushes on Molly Ringwald in 1984s Sixteen Candles.). This page is not available in other languages. The script was allegedly completed and set to film in Los Angeles, but due to constant delays and the death of Oshima in 2013, the project has yet to be filmed. Ince cast both Hayakawa and Aoki in his Japan-themed films, and in 1914, the two young actors married. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Finally, on November 23, 1973, Hayakawa died in Tokyo at the age of 87. After the film, Hayakawa largely retired from acting. Sadly, the good times would quickly sour. When he acted in his talkie, Daughter of the Dragon, his strong Japanese accent did him no favors with unforgiving Hollywood audiences, and his popularity plummeted. Sessue Hayakawa, 10 Jun 1889 - 23 Nov 1973 Exhibition Label Born Chiba, Japan This photograph of Sessue Hayakawa captures the good looks and glamor of Hollywood's first male sex symbol. Winner will be selected at random on 06/01/2023. family of the "samurai" class. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. He is tall for a Japanese, being five feet seven and a half inches (171.45 cm) in height, and weighs 157 pounds (71.21 kg). For his brutally handsome looks, he was typecast as the sexually-aggressive villain in a lot of films. This is a carousel with slides. States in 1913. No purchase necessary. [23] Hayakawa later transitioned into doing talkies; his return to Hollywood and sound film debut came in Daughter of the Dragon (1931), starring opposite Chinese American performer Anna May Wong. And historians have some idea why. All rights reserved. It was also one of his very last roles; after The Bridge on the River Kwai came out, Hayakawa almost completely retired from acting. May we remember this forgotten star once more. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Born Kintaro Hayakawa in Chiba Prefecture in 1886, he later took on the stage name "Sesshu" (meaning "snowy bank" or "land"). Hayakawas downward spiral was speeding up. Aoki died in 1961. Instead of reading the screenplay in full, Hayakawa tore out any lines of dialogue that werent his own so he could read it more easily. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. One day, he got out of a limousine for his latest film, only to realize he was about to step in a puddle. After finishing school, he planned to go back to Japan, but ended up staying in Los Angeles while waiting for a steamship. [43][44][45] He was also the first non-Caucasian actor to achieve international stardom. He became a jock with an anger management issue, reportedly getting penalties on the football field after using jujitsu to tackle players. Thanks for your help! If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? [18][19][20] Hayakawa graduated from the University of Chicago in 1912, and subsequently made plans to return to Japan. His father was the head of a fishermen's union with some wealth. Thousands of works of art, artifacts and archival materials are available for the study of portraiture. Family members linked to this person will appear here. While filming an earthquake scene, the whole set collapsed in all the places it wasnt supposed to. Failed to delete memorial. Verify and try again. Sessue Hayakawa (June 10, 1886 - November 23, 1973) was one of the first Asian actors and filmmakers to gain great fame and success in the United States. Believe it or not, He was actually a practitioner of Zen Buddhism throughout his life. [] Furthermore, the fact that he reached such a rare level of success whereby he could form and run his own production company makes his omission from the narrative of Hollywood history even more egregious."[37]. Born in June 10, 1889 (or 1886, according to some sources) as Kintaro Hayakawa, he seemed destined for the sea, not stardom. The couple also adopted 2 daughters - Yoshiko (actor) and Fujiko (dancer). The next year, Hayakawa had pushed through his fears and was on the set of The Vermillion Pencil. But in 1907, at 17, he took a schoolmate's dare to swim to the bottom of a lagoon and ruptured an eardrum. He Hayakawa wanted nothing more than to please his parents and bring his family honor, and he enroled in the naval academy as soon as he could. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. To that end, she invited influential producer Thomas Ince to their newest play, The Typhoon. He rivaled Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and John Barrymore in popularity with film audiences during silent screen era. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. There is some evidence that when Hayakawa posted himself up in France, he wasnt just idly helping his fellow Japanese citizens. Miyoshi Umeki, the actress playing Buttons Japanese wife, won Best Supporting Actress that year for her role in the same film. [11] Hayakawa starred in over 80 feature films, and three of his films (The Cheat, The Dragon Painter, and The Bridge on the River Kwai) stand in the United States National Film Registry. Around 1920, Hayakawas career started to falter. An actual legend. Hayakawa won the case, tore the boy from his biological mother, and brought him back to Japan to learn the old ways. 11:30 a.m.7:00 p.m. But he wasnt the first male star of American movies to make millions of American women go weak at the knees. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. Ready for some FOMO? If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. If People magazine had existed during the late 1910s, Hayakawa would have undoubtedly been declared the Sexiest Man Alive.. In 1960, Hayakawa was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California for his contributions to the motion picture industry. Besides his good looks, Hayakawa also became famous for his physicality. Hayakawa may be shamefully half-forgotten in todays cinema, but rest assured that the movie-going world knew his name back then. [16] Ince saw the production and offered to turn it into a silent film with the original cast. Indeed, when considering actresses for the film version of Pearl S. Bucks prize-winning novel The Good Earth, MGM rejected Wong for the lead in favor of German actress Luise Rainer, whod been unconvincingly made up in faux-Asian makeup. [18], After the war, Hayakawa's on-screen roles can best be described as "the honorable villain", a figure exemplified by his portrayal of Colonel Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). The titular cheat (Fannie Ward) depicted in the film is a materialistic, dishonest tease. [64], Many of Hayakawa's films are lost. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Soon enough, he was earning more money than he could ever dream of spending, but boy did he try. The boy's sister and uncle confront him and he seeks to make amends. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Noble, however, somehow ended up even worse off. On the level of logic, it makes no sense. (May 1914 - October 18, 1961) (her death), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. After his wife Tsuru Aoki passed in 1961, Hayakawa continued on for a decade more, occasionally teaching acting classes and developing his Zen studies. After his first films, The Typhoon and The Wrath of the Gods, were released in 1914, Hayakawa found that he was famous-the first Asian star of the silver screen.As the New York Times noted in his 1973 obituary . Sessue Hayakawa was born with immense expectations on his shoulders. Everyone could see Hayakawas intense, steely-eyed talent from the startincluding beautiful lead actress Tsuru Aoki, an experienced and well-connected performer who had earned praise for her diminutive daintiness. The pair started an on-set courtship, and the dainty Aoki quickly proved she was the best thing to ever happen to Hayakawa. But in 1907, at 17, he took a schoolmate's dare to swim to the bottom of a lagoon and ruptured an eardrum. She even claimed that Hayakawa had already signed a secret child support contract, and she eventually tried to sue the couple for custody of her baby after the adoption. But film is such a powerful medium, and the idea of giving minority groups starring roles, leadership rolesI think people shy away from that., San Francisco State University ethnic studies scholar Amy Sueyoshi notes that the Asian stereotypes of the past, including those that catapulted Hayakawa to stardom, have shifted in such a way that Asian men have been marginalized and even emasculated. While Asian women continue to be stereotyped as sexually available and desirable, Asian men have been desexualized, she notes. He was an actor, producer, author, martial artist and an ordained Zen monk. His father was the wealthy leader of a fisherman's union in Japan, and his family wanted the young boy to become an officer in the Imperial Navy. Sessue Hayakawa's final screen performance was a voiceover work for . I thought you might like to see a memorial for Sessue Hayakawa I found on Findagrave.com. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. . Itching to return to Japan, Hayakawa told Ince he would only star in The Typhoon for $500 a week, an offensively enormous salary for the time. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Visitors of all ages can learn about portraiture through a variety of weekly public programs to create art, tell stories, and explore the museum. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. This year, the makers of Doctor Strange stirred up controversy by replacing a character depicted as Asian in the comic-book source with the white actress Tilda Swinton. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. The disappointed . Then out of nowhere, disaster struck. Closed Dec. 25. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Make sure that the file is a photo. His career was on a high during the era of silent films and continued to thrive after the arrival of talkies. From his wild personal life to his dark past, the secrets of this forgotten legend are finally out. Hayakawa, who plays her neighbor, starts out as one kind of Asian stereotype (a polite gentleman), but turns out to be an entirely different one (a swarthy predator). [49], In 1949, Humphrey Bogart's production company located Hayakawa and offered him a role in Tokyo Joe. One Japanese fan magazine wrote that the burgeoning hunk had a mouth that all women love. The Cheat co-starred Fannie Ward as Hayakawa's love interest and was a huge success, making Hayakawa a romantic idol and sex symbol to the female movie-going public. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. One, how can we account for an Asian actor's surprising . Always a skilled and patient painter, he started selling his watercolor works rather than working on films. Despite the fact that Colonel Saito was yet another villain role for Hayakawa, he considered the part the highlight of his career. The barking dog brought Hayakawa's parents to the scene and his father used an axe to break down the door, saving his life.[18]. A couple of decades after the Meiji Restoration, he was the son of a provincial governor who was expected to enter the Imperial Japanese Navy, but due to a ruptured eardrum he went to study political economics at the . There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. Sein Vater war ein hoher Provinzbeamter und auf dessen Wunsch strebte der junge Hayakawa eine Offizierslaufbahn in der japanischen Marine an, die er wegen eines Tauchunfalles, von dem er Hrprobleme davontrug, dann jedoch nicht durchlaufen konnte. [] When Sessue was getting out of his limousine in front of a theater of a premiere showing, he grimaced a little because there was a puddle. One day, his old studio Famous Players came to him and asked him to star in their upcoming film The Sheik. 2023 Atlas Obscura. [11], From an early age, Hayakawa's family intended him to become an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1925, he wrote a novel, The Bandit Prince, and adapted it into a short play. Like everything he did, Hayakawa ran full tilt into this pursuit as well, becoming a Zen master later in his life and even opening up a Zen temple for his students. Nationalistic groups in particular were censorious. Academy for a theatrical stage career. According to one version of events, Hayakawa wasnt so sold on Hollywood. Hayakawa was a bit of an acting genius, and he took a specific and little-used approach to his craft.