Kam Fong, a renowned Asian-American actor, is best recognized for his iconic role as Chin Ho in the groundbreaking television series Hawaii Five-O, which premiered in 1968. Born Kam Tong Chun on May 27, 1918, in Kalihi, Hawaii, he would later adopt the name Fong due to a teacher's mistake in teaching him how to write his name.
After completing his high school education, Kam Fong pursued a career as a boiler-maker in the Pearl Harbor shipyard, where he was stationed on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attack on the naval base drew the United States into World War II.
In 1944, Kam Fong joined the police force, serving as a law enforcement officer for an impressive 16 years. During this period, he made his feature film debut in the B-movie Ghost of the China Sea (1958) and subsequently appeared in a minor role in The Lost Missile (1958).
Following his retirement from the police department in 1960, Kam Fong continued to act in community theater while also working as a disc jockey and real estate agent. He went on to secure additional bit parts in the early 1960s, but it was his starring role in Hawaii Five-O that cemented his place in television history.
Kam Fong remained a part of the show for 10 of its 12 seasons, and even reprised his role in the 1997 TV movie Hawaii Five-O, which reunited the original cast. His son, Dennis Chun, has also appeared in the 2010 revival of Hawaii Five-0, playing the character SGT Duke Lukela.
Sadly, Kam Fong succumbed to lung cancer on October 18, 2002, at the age of 84, in his hometown of Honolulu.
