Khigh Dhiegh, born Kenneth G. Dickerson, was a renowned American character actor with a rich and complex ancestry. His father's side of the family boasted Italian, Portuguese, and Zulu roots, while his mother's side claimed Chinese, Egyptian, English, and Spanish heritage. This diverse background did not, however, prevent him from being typecast in the role of East Asian characters, a fact that Dhiegh himself acknowledged.
As an actor, Dhiegh is most famously remembered for his portrayal of Wo Fat, the cunning Chinese intelligence agent and criminal mastermind, in the popular police procedural series "Hawaii Five-O" from 1968 to 1980. Wo Fat was, in fact, the show's most iconic and recurring villain. Beyond his acting career, Dhiegh was a scholar of great distinction, having earned a doctorate in theology. He was also a prolific writer, penning several non-fiction books on philosophy, including the thought-provoking "The Eleventh Wing".
In addition to his literary pursuits, Dhiegh was a devout Taoist philosopher who established a Taoist sanctuary in Hollywood, California, and later served as the rector of a similar organization in Tempe, Arizona. His passion for spirituality and self-discovery led him to explore various creative outlets, including jewelry-making, which he took up as a hobby in the 1970s. As his skills improved, he began selling his handcrafted jewelry to support his Taoist endeavors.
In his later years, Dhiegh became an advocate for world citizenship, often speaking publicly about the dangers of nationalism and the importance of global unity. His philosophical works, which had previously been somewhat overlooked, have since been re-examined and re-evaluated by scholars at institutions such as the Centre for Daoist Studies and Pacific Lutheran University.
