Miyoshi Umeki, one of the stars of the all-Asian American cast of Flower Drum Song and Oscar winner for Sayonara, died last week. She was 78.
She was the first Asian to win an Oscar, and she did it back in 1957! What are the chances of an Asian or Asian American winning an acting Oscar today? Umeki really was a pioneer.
The only movie of hers I've seen is Flower Drum Song, and I only saw it this year, so my appreciation for her is new.
Rest in peace
Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.
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