‘Forbidden City’ DVD Release Brings Back Stars to Stage

By Gerrye Wong
Special to AsianWeek

Arthur Dong’s prize-winning documentary, Forbidden City U.S.A. made its home entertainment debut on DVD at a benefit premiere hosted by San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies department and its Film Department, Nov. 8 at SFSU’s McKenna Theatre. The screening of this 13-year-old film was highlighted by a number of guest appearances from many of the former entertainers of that once-famous San Francisco nightclub.

As Dong recalled, “In 1985, I wanted to meet legendary agent and Forbidden City headliner Jadin Wong, upon reading a story about her in AsianWeek. While interviewing this dancer who once made the cover of Life Magazine … I ended up discovering the rich history of the nightclub, and my interest in this untold story of Chinese Americans in entertainment from the 1930s was sparked.”

Initially, Dong could only find traces of the nightclub’s story as many elder Asian Pacific Americans were embarrassed by the club, thinking of it as a low-class burlesque house. Dong persevered and began collecting oral histories from over 100 Forbidden City alumni, which led him to amass an overwhelming wealth of material to draw upon in reconstructing the illustrious history of the nightclub. Dong’s discoveries led him from personal collections to major Hollywood studios, where he obtained new prints of classic films featuring the hottest Forbidden City stars.

Dong’s movie premiered at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in 1989 before 100 supporters and went on to win over 15 international awards, including Best Documentary of the Decade at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival.

At the Forbidden City DVD launch celebration, 16 of the former Forbidden City entertainers joined together on stage, many reuniting with former dance partners for the first time in decades. Most, in their 80s, showed the old show business pizzazz with enthusiasm, vigor and verve.

Author and radio personality Ben Fong Torres introduced the stars, telling of their lives pre- and post- Forbidden City up until 1962, the year of the club’s demise.

Some of the entertainers returning for this reunion DVD film launch were acrobats Bobbie and Jeanie Chang and Larry Ching, the singer once booked as the “the Chinese Frank Sinatra.”

To the audience’s delight, Ivy Tam and Stanley Toy, the latter boasting the age of 89, did a fancy rumba. Marion Tom Mason — who flew in from Arizona — showed that at 83, she could still dance a mean fox trot. Former headliners Frances Chun Kan and Larry Ching sang old favorites for the audience, half of whom were not even born when these World War II melodies were popular. A moment of sadness came when the evening was dedicated to the memory of two former colleagues, Jackie Mai Ling and Mary Mammon, who recently passed away.

Everyone there felt the emotional struggles of this generation of APA pioneers who fought cultural barriers and racism to pursue their love for song and dance. As many native San Franciscans in the crowd remarked following the program, this large gathering of entertainers who once held stage spots in San Francisco’s most famous nightclub is a historic night in Chinese American history. Time has been kind to these former stars, and recalling their part in making entertainment history in an era when Chinese were not supposed to be in that field kept them young that evening.

The Forbidden City U.S.A. DVD features bonus footage that has never been seen before, as well as a nostalgic scrapbook with over 200 period photos and assorted memorabilia from the club.

The Forbidden City U.S.A. DVD can be purchased at www.DeepFocusProductions.com.