Burt Kwouk
From Free net encyclopedia
Burt Kwouk (Chinese: 郭弼; pinyin: Guō Bì) (born July 18, 1930) is an actor who was born in Manchester, England "because my mother happened to be there" but was raised in Shanghai between the ages of ten months and seventeen years. He has appeared in an enormous number of films and TV programmes over the years and is perhaps most famous for playing Cato, Inspector Clouseau's man-servant in the Pink Panther films.
Having appeared for many years in virtually any UK production that called for a man of East Asian appearance, Kwouk is well known in the UK and is a bit of a cult figure for children of the 1970s—hence his appearances in Harry Hill's TV programme as himself. In the 60's, he played henchmen in two Bond films, Goldfinger, and You Only Live Twice
His most notable television role is as the commandant Major Yamauchi in Tenko (1981) the long running POW drama. Kwouk's portrayal of the Major is of a complex man with responsibilities and fears as well as ambition and is far from the ranting caricature one might expect. His suicide in the third season is genuinely moving despite the character being the series' villain.
He also appeared in the Doctor Who TV story Four to Doomsday in 1981; and on the Doctor Who audio drama Loups-Garoux. He currently plays Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.