Rafu Wire Service and Staff Reports
“The Joy Luck Club” (1993) recently received renewed attention at two Southern California events.
The Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, honored four cast members who played the daughters during its national conference on April 25 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
Rosalind Chao (Rose Hsu Jordan), Lauren Tom (Lena St. Clair), Ming-Na Wen (Jing-Mei “June” Woo), and Tamlyn Tomita (Waverly Jong) were interviewed on stage by journalist and TV personality Lisa Ling and presented with the Committee of 100 Cultural Icon Award by Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Janet Yang, who was an executive producer of the film.
Based on the novel by Amy Tan and directed by Wayne Wang, “The Joy Luck Club” is regarded as a milestone for Asian American representation in Hollywood. In an interview with NBC’s “Today” broadcast on May 15, the four actresses — who have remained friends for more than 30 years — said that the movie changed their lives and paved the way for the next generation of Asian American artists.
They also lamented the fact that the film didn’t receive any Academy Award nominations. It received BAFTA and Writers Guild of America nominations for best adapted screenplay and was named one of the top 10 films that year by the National Board of Review.
The mothers were played by Kieu Chinh (Suyuan), Tsai Chin (Lindo), France Nuyen (Ying-Ying) and Lisa Lu (An-Mei).
In an interview with Deadline last September, Chao confirmed that a sequel — in which the daughters become mothers and the mothers become grandmothers — is being developed, with Tan and Ron Bass again writing the screenplay.
“I cried when I read the script,” Chao said.
Walk of Fame
Lu became the oldest recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 5 when she was honored at age 98 for a movie career which has included such films as “The Last Emperor.’’
Awkwafina, a castmate of Lu’s in “Crazy Rich Asians,” and Yang were among those joining Lu at the ceremony at 1708 Vine St., near the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
The star is near those honoring James Stewart, whom Lu co-starred with she made her film debut in the 1960 war film “The Mountain Road,” and Anna May Wong, the first Asian woman to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. Wong’s star was among the initial 1,558 stars when the walk was completed in 1961.
Lu noted that she originally declined to have a star on the famed walk at an earlier age.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone walking on my name,” she told the crowd. “Today, it’s 98 years old. I embrace the star as a testament to resilience and perseverance.”
Lu’s family selected May 5 for the ceremony because it is a “Square Root Day,” when both the day of the month and the month are the square root of the last two digits of the year. The “date just rolls off the tongue is a lyrical way” and is easy to remember, Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, told City News Service.
Tomita, who attended the ceremony, commented, ”To be reunited with Ming-Na Wen and Kieu Chinh and alongside producer of ‘The Joy Luck Club’ Janet Yang, and Awkwafina from ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to honor a pioneer of an actor who starred in both films among many others, Lisa Lu, upon her receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on Lisa Lu Day was a most special day in this galaxy of stars.
“At 98 years old, she is a testament to resilience and fortitude over her nearly 80-year career. She asked Ming-Na Wen, ‘When can we work together next?’ She is literally unstoppable!”
The star is the 2,811th on the walk.
The previous oldest star recipient was actor James Hong, who was 93 when he received his star in 2022. Lu and Hong appeared together on such TV shows as the Ronald Reagan-hosted anthology “General Electric Theater”; the detective drama “Richard Diamond, Private Detective”; and the comedy “Bachelor Father,” which all aired on CBS.
Born on Jan. 19, 1927, in Beijing, Lu was the adopted daughter of noted Chinese opera (kunqu) performer Mei Lanfang. Her mother, Li Guifen, was also a kunqu singer. Lu followed in her parents’ footsteps and began performing in kunqu as a teenager.
Lu moved with her family to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war when she was in college. She studied business administration at National Chiao Tung University and financial management at the University of Hawai’i, as well as drama and speech.
Lu and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1956, and she joined the Pasadena Playhouse. She made her professional stage debut in 1958, in a production of “The Teahouse of the August Moon.” She made her TV debut in a 1958 episode of the CBS comedy “The Gale Storm Show.”
Lu won three Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan’s version of an Oscar, in the 1970s. She won for best actress in 1970 for her performance in “The Arch” and in 1972 for her portrayal of Empress Dowager Cixi in “The Empress Dowager.”
Lu won a best supporting actress Golden Horse Award in 1972 for portrayal of She Saihua, the legendary heroine from ancient China’s Northern Song Dynasty, in “The 14 Amazons.”
Lu also portrayed Cixi in the 1976 Hong Kong-made drama “The Last Tempest” and in “The Last Emperor,” which won nine Oscars in 1988, including best picture.