Silent Auction & Raffle Item Donors
OCA National, MZR Group / Deborah Y. Chen, Joey Chen, Terri Y. Chen, Shane Chen, Sue
Chen, Mei Chiang, Double Bliss, Wendy & Michael Chung, Elizabeth & Sam Hwong, Tom
Eng, Houston Omega Phi Gamma, Julia Gee, Rogene Gee Calvert, Maggie Kao, Jan Kish,
Victoria Ma, Virginia & John Ng, Cecilia Pham, Sandy Huynh, Teresa Porter, Prof. Mark E.
Steiner, South Texas College of Law Asian Pacific American Law Students Assn (APALSA),
Irwin Tang, Josie & Jim Travlos, AKA Restaurant, Martina Yang
H o n o r ee James Hong
Hollywood Legend, Community Leader
Since coming from Minnesota to Hollywood in 1953, James Hong has fought the Hollywood system of
casting and achieved the monumental task of ap
pearing in front of the camera in over 475 roles.
This possibly makes him the first actor to have ever
achieved that many roles in films and television in
the history of Hollywood. He has forged his way
through many obstacles in order to accomplish this
task and has never forgotten to help his fellow
Asian American actors. He found the East-West
Players, the oldest Asian American Theater in Los
Angeles which now has thousands of actors and
patrons flowing though its doors. He was the presi
dent and charter member of the Association of
Asian Pacific American Artists, an advocacy group
which met with the producers, directors and casting directors of America, encouraging them to cast more Asian American actors in their movies and TV programs and advocating for better roles in order to improve the Asian American image on screen.
James has received much recognition for his work including: The Life Time Achievement Award from The Coalition of Asian Pacific in Entertainment (an advocacy organization with a board and advisory members such as Ang Lee, David Henry Hwang, John Woo and others), The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Award, the Visionary Award from East-West Players, and many awards from the City and County of Los Angeles, including Los Angeles Chinatown, Monterey Park, and others cities in the San Francisco Bay area. He has supported these communities in their efforts to gain a better understanding of people.
In regards to his advocacy for Asian Americans in the performing arts, he has this to say: “We can work for progress by developing our own talent – in front of and behind the camera and by helping the community. It is still a Hollywood system, and we must work within it. Although progress has been slow for the past fifty years, we must keep our integrity and vision while pushing forward. We as Asian American artists have a special goal to meet, that of making our presence felt, contributing to the betterment of the entertainment industry and to the understanding of people.”
James Hong’s career in Hollywood has spanned 56 years. With a wide range of skills, he has portrayed every type of role imaginable. His distinguished body of work for the big screen includes roles in Blade Runner, Wayne’s World 2, Big Trouble in Little China, the recent releases of The Day The Earth Stood Still and Balls of Fury. In one of his latest feature films, L’Idole (The Idol), James expanded on his repertoire by learn
his Chinese heritage. At age five, James and the Hong family was moved to Hong Kong, only to return to Minneapolis at the age of ten. Speaking no English, he was re-introduced to his American culture and education. He became interested in drama while in junior high school; but in college at the University of Southern California, he majored in civil engineering and graduated to please his parents. Over the one and a half years he worked as an engineer, James’ attraction to performing could not be denied and continued screen work. Landing in California as half of the “Hong and Parker” comedy team, he got a break on The Groucho Marx Show, performing impersonations of Groucho, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Stew-art and others. James’ appearance resulted in the second most fan mail for that show. His first feature, Soldier of Fortune with Clark Gable led to Blood Alley with John Wayne and then Love is a Many Splendored Thing with William Holden. Finding work in his true calling, he resigned from engineering and embarked on his acting career. He never regretted the change: “Sometimes, certain things are just meant to be.” At 80 years old, he just completed five weeks working in Thailand on a young people adventure film entitled “The Lost Medallion” in which he climbed mountains and swung down the waterfall on a wire: “It was fun.” Currently, he is working at Dreamworks in dubbing the voice for the role of Mr. Ping, the father of Po, the big fat Panda in “Kung Fu Panda II.” He was nominated for the best voice of the year for the first feature by the Annie Awards, Hollywood’s foremost animation award ceremonies.
His television credits span from heavy drama to situation comedy. Among them: The West Wing, Law and Order, Chicago Hope, Seinfeld, Friends, The Drew Carey Show, and reaching back to the golden age of television in such classic shows as I Dream of Jeannie, Here’s Lucy, Dragnet, Mission Impossible and Have Gun, Will Travel.
Born in Minneapolis, James’ father felt that young James was losing touch with
Having also produced and directed motion pictures of his own, James continues to set his sights high. “An artist’s juices never stop flowing; this compels him to find better ways of self expression.”
Dr. Zeming Liu
Texas Instruments
Dr. Zeming Liu has worked at Texas Instruments for over ten years.
He is currently responsible for a key customer account in Quality
Analysis at AEC quality team in Houston. Before he joined the AEC
quality team in 2008, he worked in the TI DLP organization on proc
ess technology development from 1999 to 2008. He was elected as a member of the technical staff (MGTS) for his great contribution to the company and leadership of other engineers through technically challenging tasks. Dr. Liu has been actively involved diversity activities at Texas Instruments for many years. He served as the Chairperson of TI Chinese Initiative in 2003, as well as a member of TI DLP Diversity Steering Team over 4 years. He organized a monthly mentoring round table that helped members for their career development. Jointly developed with DFW Asian American Citizens Council, he pioneered a six-month leadership training program that recruits/trains leaders not only for TI Diversity Network but also for local Asian communities. Since coming to Houston, he is a member of TI Houston Chinese Initiative Steering Team that helps to organize various activities. In addition to his contribution to TI, Zeming has been a leader in various community organizations. A graduate of the Dallas Blueprint for Leadership program in 2002, he served on the DFW United Way Agency Funding Panel that evaluated agencies’ performance and rewarded grants. He served as executive board director and executive VP of DFW Asian American Citizens Council and as the President of DFW Assn. of Chinese Professionals in 2007-2008. He also served on the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commence Board of Directors. Dr. Liu is married with one daughter.
