Jamie Lee Curtis spoke for a lot of fans Tuesday when she said, "It's about [expletive] time that we are here honoring James Hong with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
It took only seven decades for the actor, who grew up in a downtown Minneapolis apartment above his father's herb and grocery shop. The ceremony featured Daniel Dae Kim (who campaigned for Hong's star) as well as a lion dance, choreographed by the honoree. At 93, Hong is the oldest person awarded one of the iconic stars, which cost about $55,000 and generally are paid for by fans of the honoree.
"I fought all the way to what I'm doing now. So I encourage all Asian Americans, all people of all different nationalities, to express yourself and do your own thing the best you can, and then things will get better as a whole," said Hong, whose honor came during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Hong co-starred with Curtis in surprise hit "Everything Everywhere All at Once," His career stretches back to the golden age of Hollywood, with 454 Internet Movie Database credits dating to 1954. Some of his best-known roles are as Faye Dunaway's butler in "Chinatown," the voice of the noodle-making father of the title character in the "Kung Fu Panda" movies and series and the potential father-in-law of Wayne in "Wayne's World 2."
