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Leonard Strong
Actor
Born August 12, 1908Died January 23, 1980 (71 years)
Leonard Clarence Strong (born 12 August 1908, Salt Lake City, Utah - d. 23 January 1980, Glendale, California was a prolific American character actor specialising in playing Asian roles. Beginning with Little Tokyo, U.S.A in 1942, Strong played a gamut of roles as Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Thais, etc. in films such as Dragon Seed (1944),Up in Arms (1944), Jack London (1943), Salute to the Marines (1943), Behind the Rising Sun (1943), Night Plane from Chungking (1943), Bombardier (1943),Underground Agent (1942), and Manila Calling (1942). He played the Thai interpreter in both Anna and the King of Siam and its musical remake The King and I. Strong also appeared in the movie Shane (1953) as homesteader Ernie Wright. Strong achieved some pop culture notoriety for his role on television as "The Claw" on Get Smart. He appeared in a season-five episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960) "The Cure" written by horror writer Robert Bloch. Set deep in an Amazon jungle, Strong plays Luiz, a loyal native who speaks broken English and saves his employer, an oil explorer, from the attempted murder of his supposedly mentally ill and unfaithful wife. Something gets lost in the translation when his employer wants Strong to take her to a psychiatrist 200 miles down river, and he takes her instead to a native headshrinker. The denouement comes when Strong returns alone to the shock of his employer. He says, "I do what you tell me. I take her to my people. The best headshrinkers in the world". Then, pulling his employer's wife's now shrunken head out of a bag, he says, "Best job in the world." Another notable television role was his haunting and mostly silent portrayal of the title character in the original Twilight Zone episode, "The Hitch-Hiker", which is often listed as one of the ten best episodes of the series. With his thumb extended, seeking a ride, and asking "Going my way?", Strong is seen in one of the half-dozen, seconds-long scenes used at the start of every one of the 30 DVDs in the CBS DVD five-season collection, "The Twilight Zone, The Definitive Edition."
Filmography
| 1965 | The Wackiest Ship in the Army (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1965 | Get Smart (TV Series) · as The Claw |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) · as General Yokura |
| 1962 | Escape from Zahrain · as Ambulance Driver |
| 1960 | The Case of the Dangerous Robin (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1960 | Dante (TV Series) · as Pietro Luna |
| 1960 | Hong Kong (TV Series) · as Chinese Intelligence Officer |
| 1959 | Hawaiian Eye (TV Series) · as Tsu-Shan |
| 1959 | Adventures in Paradise (TV Series) · as Alibon |
| 1959 | The Alaskans (TV Series) |
| 1959 | The Twilight Zone (TV Series) · as The Hitch-Hiker |
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman · as Zebedee, Father Of James & John |
| 1959 | The Untouchables (TV Series) · as Ben Poe |
| 1959 | One Step Beyond (TV Series) · as Conductor |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) |
| 1958 | Peter Gunn (TV Series) · as King Felix |
| 1958 | Jet Attack · as Maj. Wan |
| 1957 | This Could Be the Night · as Mr. Bernbaum |
| 1957 | Sugarfoot (TV Series) · as Crane |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu (TV Series) |
| 1956 | The King and I · as Interpreter |
| 1955 | Crossroads (1955) (TV Series) · as Chin-Y-Chai |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Manuel |
| 1955 | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing · as Fortune Teller (uncredited) |
| 1955 | Navy Log (TV Series) |
| 1955 | Cult of the Cobra · as Daru |
| 1954 | Bengal Brigade · as Mahindra |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Zanaga Martinez |
| 1954 | Studio 57 (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1954 | Hell's Half Acre · as Ippy |
| 1954 | Prisoner of War · as Col. Kim Doo Yi |
| 1954 | The Lone Wolf (TV Series) · as Ti Ling |
| 1954 | The Naked Jungle · as Kutina |
| 1953 | Shane · as Ernie Wright |
| 1953 | Destination Gobi · as Wali-Akhun |
| 1953 | Scared Stiff · as Shorty |
| 1952 | Terry and the Pirates (TV Series) |
| 1952 | Carbine Williams · as Robak |
| 1952 | The Atomic City · as Donald Clark |
| 1950 | Cargo to Capetown · as Singh |
| 1950 | Dangerous Assignment (TV Series) |
| 1950 | Backfire · as Lee Quong (uncredited) |
| 1949 | Malaya · as Half-Witted Malay |
| 1949 | The Lone Ranger (TV Series) · as Clem Jones |
| 1949 | We Were Strangers · as Bombmaker |
| 1947 | Backlash · as Willis, Caretaker |
| 1946 | Dangerous Millions · as Bandit Chieftain |
| 1946 | Anna and the King of Siam · as Interpreter |
| 1945 | First Yank Into Tokyo · as Maj. Nogira |
| 1945 | Blood on the Sun · as Hijikata |
| 1945 | Back to Bataan · as Gen. Homma |
| 1944 | The Keys of the Kingdom · as Mr. Chia |
| 1944 | Dragon Seed · as Japanese Official |
| 1944 | Up in Arms · as Japanese Interrogator In Cave |
| 1943 | Jack London · as Captain Tanaka |
| 1943 | Salute to the Marines · as Karitu |
| 1943 | Behind the Rising Sun · as Tama's Father |
| 1943 | Night Plane from Chungking · as Lieutenant Karuma |
| 1943 | Bombardier · as Japanese Officer |
| 1942 | Manila Calling · as Japanese Officer |