“What about you, Nick,” asks Detective Sergeant Arthur Dietrich, almost idyllically. “You ever feel any longings to return to your home? Back to the ancient cultures and traditions? Back to the shrines and temples of your ancestors? Back to the . . . terraced hillsides and the cherry trees?” After a moment’s pause and a deep breath, Detective Nick Yemana deadpans: “I was born in Omaha.” Oblivious, Dietrich chuckles, “We’ve got a city in Nebraska, sounds just like that.” Yemana stares at him in silent bewilderment while a laugh track plays in the background.
This scene is from season three, episode 19 of Barney Miller, a 1970s sitcom set in Manhattan’s fictional 12th police precinct. Though the scene mined stereotypes for comedy, such treatment was not unfamiliar to actor Jack Soo, who played Detective Yemana. Today, Soo is fondly remembered for his expressionless delivery and dry humor on Barney Miller, as well as a rewarding career in show business. However, not many people are aware of the challenges Soo overcame to leave a legacy of humor in American culture.
Jack Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a ship in the Pacific Ocean on October 28, 1917, while his parents were en route to Japan. They had hoped for their first child to be born in Japan, but Soo arrived just a little too early. After his parents returned to the United States, Soo grew up in the Oakland, California, area. Lacking a sense of community, the family found a close-knit environment in their church, the Oakland Japanese Methodist Church. Soo was a performer from a young age; he sang for the church and often imitated famous singers from his childhood while participating in plays around San Francisco. Captured in Jeff Adachi’s documentary You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story, Soo was an athlete, singer, and dancer, who his friends described as “a lot of fun,” and a “clown.”
In 1934, at the age of 17, Soo was awarded a gold medal by the Japanese American Citizens League for a paper he wrote entitled: “Why I’m Proud to be an American.” In his paper, Soo discusses his alarm at the rise of global dictatorship and its threat to democracy. He vividly paints the United States as “the last stronghold of democracy,” and urges community members to exercise their civic duties in the protection of free will and equality. Through references to the nation’s forefathers, the American flag, liberty, and the law, Soo delivered a striking call to action in the name of upholding American democracy. Soo’s patriotic sentiments remained a core part of his life, even when his loyalties were disregarded by U.S. officials instituting Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II.
Like thousands of other first and second-generation Japanese Americans, Soo’s life was turned upside down by Executive Order 9066, which forced him and his family to relocate—first to the Tanforan Assembly Center in California, then later to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. There, Soo continued to use his talents to amuse others. Soo and fellow internees organized comedy acts, talent shows, musicals, and other performances for which he was the Master of Ceremonies. Soo often used comedy and humor to portray the daily experiences of those within the internment camp, acting out the lives of those around him in a satirical fashion.
Though the exact date that he arrived at Topaz is unknown, Soo was cleared to leave the facility for work in Cleveland, Ohio, by June of 1943. While Soo’s War Relocation Authority file maintains that he secured employment at a hostel in Cleveland, by December of that year he was a nightclub worker, returning to his passion for performance and entertainment.X Establishing himself in Ohio, Soo became known around Akron and Cleveland as a performer at clubs such as The Continental Grove and Chin’s Golden Dragon Restaurant. He also became known for his performances over the radio. Unfortunately, once his Japanese heritage was discovered, Soo was pulled off the radio—a demonstration of the prejudice that non-white entertainers faced during the mid-20th century. Most sources state that this was the period when Goro Suzuki changed his name to Jack Soo, allowing him to pass as a person of Chinese descent and navigate the anti-Japanese culture of post-WWII America.
Between 1948 and 1949, Soo worked a series of comedy jobs before making his way back to the West Coast and becoming an emcee for Charlie Low’s Forbidden City nightclub. Located in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the Forbidden City was a staple of the American comedy and entertainment industry known as the Chop Suey Circuit. Similar to the Chitlin’ Circuit pioneered by African American performers, and the Borscht Belt featuring Jewish performers, the Chop Suey Circuit was a series of unique entertainment venues offering cabaret-style dining and dancing interspersed with American ideals of Asian beauty and entertainment. Clubs on the circuit allowed primarily white audiences to indulge in their romanticized perceptions of Asian culture, and the performers often played into these exoticized stereotypes. Soo is one of many famous performers remembered for their time on the Chop Suey Circuit, along with Anna May Wong, Dorothy Toy, and Paul Wing.
While working at the Forbidden City, Soo was approached by actor and director Gene Kelly to perform in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song, based on the novel by C. Y. Lee. Kelly had been searching for an Asian cast when he approached Soo to play the role of Frankie Wing, a nightclub announcer. Soo eventually took over the lead role of Sammy Fong in December of 1959, joining the U.S. national tour of the production following its closure on Broadway. He later reprised his role as Sammy Fong in the film version of Flower Drum Song alongside Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki. Flower Drum Song is considered one of the first Asian musicals, and the film adaptation featured the first majority-Asian cast in a mainstream film. The novel and its adaptations opened the doors for many Asian American performers to make their way into entertainment.
Jack Soo continued to appear in various television roles following Flower Drum Song, such as the 1964 single season comedy Valentine’s Day. Approached by creator Hal Kanter for a part in the show, Soo initially turned him down, refusing to play a “subservient character.” However, upon reading the comedic script, Soo changed his mind and accepted the role of con-artist Rocky Sin. Fellow actor George Takei described Soo’s appearance as “refreshing,” saying, “Jack played a buddy. He was a co-equal, not just a sidekick.”
Today, Soo is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Detective Nick Yemana on Barney Miller. According to journalist Lewis Beale it is one of the first “multi-ethnic, multi-racial shows.” Barney Miller featured Puerto Rican, Jewish, Black, and Asian (Soo) cast members as law enforcement officers of a fictional Manhattan precinct. The comedy aired from 1975-1982, though Soo’s involvement ended in 1979 following his untimely death from esophageal cancer; Soo was 61. The show featured multiple instances in which colleagues wrongfully stereotype Detective Yemana, to which he responds with dry humor and a straight face. As part of a tribute to Jack Soo at the end of episode 24, actor Hal Linden, who played Captain Barney Miller, fondly recalled the way in which Soo imbued Yemana’s character not only with humor about his Japanese heritage, but also with dignity and pride. The tribute ends with the cast of the show raising their coffee mugs in memory of Soo, whose own coffee mug is now on display in the museum’s Entertainment Nation exhibition.
Family, friends, and esteemed members of the community worked hard to get Soo’s mug, along with his nameplate and badge from Barney Miller into the collection of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Petitions sent to the museum following Soo’s death demonstrate how the actor’s life and legacy influenced Asian American communities, as well as the entertainment industry. These messages to the museum highlighted how Soo had worked with various communities to advocate for the status of Japanese Americans. The petitioners ranged from co-stars to Congressmen, a testament to how many lives Soo touched in his time. One letter, sent from a supporter in Calgary, Canada, suggests that Soo’s impact went beyond the traditional boundaries of American popular culture. With an overwhelming influx of praise for Jack Soo, the museum chose to collect his Barney Miller props and various photographs and documents relating to his life. This acquisition made Soo the first Japanese American to be represented in the museum’s entertainment history collections. Some of these objects can be enjoyed today as part of the “What’s So Funny” media presentation featured within the Entertainment Nation exhibition.
Though Jack Soo is not often cited as one of the most influential entertainers in American culture, he undoubtedly belongs on that list. Refusing to settle for stereotypical Asian roles, Soo maintained his cultural pride in both the United States and Japan throughout his career. He was able to overcome tremendous prejudice and discrimination to pursue his dream of entertaining, breaking down many barriers and forging new pathways for Asian and Asian American performers to come. Whether in Oakland, Omaha, or Ohio, the beloved comedian’s legacy continues to shape the culture of entertainment; may we all raise our mug in memory of Jack Soo.
Sydney Baylor is a curatorial intern in the Division of Culture and the Arts. She recently graduated with her Master of Arts in American Studies from the College of William and Mary.
To better understand Soo’s life during internment, researchers can view Soo’s War Relocation Authority file at the National Archives. For more general information on Soo’s legacy, the Densho Encyclopedia and Jeff Adachi’s documentary You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story are both recommended. Arthur Dong’s Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 offers further information on the history and culture of nightclubs and venues featuring Chinese-inspired entertainment popular during the 20th century.
