Burt Kwouk, British actor, Died at 85

  Actor

Herbert W. “Burt” Kwouk was born on July 18, 1930, and died May 24, 2016.

He was a British actor.

He was known for his role as Cato (spelled “Kato” in the 1964 release: A Shot in the Dark) in the Pink Panther films, as well as for his many television appearances including his portrayal of Major Yamauchi in the British drama series Tenko and, later, as Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.

Burt Kwouk appeared in three James Bond films.

In the movie Goldfinger (in 1964) he played Mr. Ling, a Chinese expert in nuclear fission; in the spoof Casino Royale (1967) he played a general and in You Only Live Twice (1967) Kwouk played the part of a Japanese operative of Blofeld credited as Spectre 3.

During The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Burt Kwouk appeared with Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn.

He also appeared as the honourable but misguided Major Yamauchi in the World War II television drama Tenko (1981–84).

He featured in many UK television productions that called for a man of Oriental appearance.

Because of this, he became a familiar face in the United Kingdom and appeared as himself in the Harry Hill Show as well as several of Hill’s live tours.

During 2000, Burt appeared in an episode of the syndicated western TV series Queen of Swords as Master Kiyomasa, an aged Japanese warrior-priest. Sung-Hi Lee played his female pupil, Kami.

That episode was filmed at Texas Hollywood, Almeria, Spain.

Between 2001 to 2004, Burt provided voice-overs on the spoof Japanese betting show Banzai and subsequently appeared in adverts for the betting company, Bet365.

Later he also includes voice acting in the audio theatre and video game genres.

Burt Kwouk provided the voice of the CGI character Shen, a Chinese water dragon, for the groundbreaking BBC TV fantasy drama series Spirit Warriors (2010).

Burt Kwouk passed away at 85 yrs old.