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At a time in American society when a new form of entertainment (cinema) was gaining massive popularity...a handsome Japanese actor was sweeping ALLLLLLLLLL the white female theatergoers off their feet. Distinguished readers....Sessue Hayakawa.
1886 - 1973
Sessue was born Kintaro Hayakawa, in Japan. His family was fairly wealthy and he studied English from an early age. It was his parents' wish that he become an Imperial Navy officer, and Sessue tried to fulfil it. However! He did not pass the physical and thus, was unable to join. His dad. Was. Miffed. Their father-son relationship now had a breach, as his father was quite ashamed of him. Shame was (and is) a big deal in Japan - so Sessue attempted a Japanese ritual suicide at age 18. Thankfully, his father rushed in and was able to get medical help for his sword wounds in time!
Well, with new plans for a new life (his parents now wanted him to be a banker), Sessue moved to the US to study at the University of Chicago. However, there are no records of him actually enrolling there, just saying. Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles and began acting in Little Tokyo's Japanese Theatre, under the stage name Sessue Hayakawa. An early film producer named Thomas Ince discovered Sessue in 1914, at the recommendation of a Japanese actress named Tsuru Aoki. She would later become Mrs. Hayakawa!
Thomas wanted to make a film version of the play they were doing, and offered Sessue the starring role. But to Sessue, acting wasn't a very "respectable" profession, especially acting in movies. So...he asked for a HUGE fee: $500 per week. Sessue figured Thomas would say just no and go away. But Thomas. Said. Yes!
The eyes the female audience fell for.
Sessue was a hit in 3 films for Thomas Ince, and was gaining popularity at lightning speed. It wasn't long before Jesse L. Lasky sat up and took notice! He signed Sessue to a contract with his company (at the time, Famous Players-Lasky), and cast him as the sinister love interest in a super-scandalous film (by 1915's standards) titled "The Cheat". Sessue was such a hit with the female audience (white American women in particular) that they would shriek and cheer whenever he appeared on the screen! Before there was Valentino, there was Hayakawa. 😍 These were the days when it was flat-out unacceptable in American society for interracial couples to exist (even though many were "dating" behind closed doors). Unsurprisingly, the women of the time took leave of their senses when presented with the "taboo" idea of being romantically involved with a very handsome foreign man!
Sessue's gold-plated car (soon copied by comedian Fatty Arbuckle)
Sessue's castle, where he threw the biggest boozy parties ever (oh yes, he did)
However, there was a problem. While Sessue was being paid astronomical rates, and moving into a bonafide castle in Hollywood, and throwing lavish parties, and buying a gold-plated Pierce Arrow ...he was rarely allowed to play the hero. Ironically, this was a personal goal of his! Sessue had very few "good guy" roles, and could never end up with "the girl" when he played romantic parts. No, at the end of a film, the white girl always had to wind up with a white guy. What do you want to do, give people "ideas"?! 😛 Sessue was a well-paid leading man, and was widely respected and liked by the Hollywood community - but he was repeatedly given the roles of negative Asian stereotypes. He once said,
"Such roles are not true to our Japanese nature... They are false and give people a wrong idea of us. I wish to make a characterization which shall reveal us as we really are."
Unsurprisingly, the films he starred in were not hits in Japan, as the people felt his characters were an insult to the Japanese - and some considered Sessue a traitor. Until he attained "superstar" status, that is. Then they calmed down a bit and started noting his successes. He eventually decided start his own company called Haworth Pictures, to have more creative control over the parts he played.
Although he usually played the "brooding" type, he also had a nice smile!
Sessue and his wife Tsuru, acting together in The Dragon Painter (1919)
From 1918 - 1920, Sessue got to make films his way - representing Japanese people in a much better light and sharing their culture with the world. He was a "one-man band"; writing, producing, directing, editing and acting in his films. Sessue's film style contrasted with the overly dramatic style of Hollywood movies at the time, and they did quite well at the box office. His (now) wife Tsuru was sometimes his co-star. According to reports of the time, Sessue's fame was equal to the illustrious Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks! In 1921, Paramount Pictures offered the lead in their new film "The Sheik" to Sessue. He turned it down. Can you imagine, a Japanese Sheik...?? He did however, recommend a newer, unknown Paramount actor for the starring role; Rudolph Valentino! The rest as they say, is Valentino history.
In 1923, Sessue took to Broadway and was quite successful. During the next 15 years he would continue acting on stage, in the US and internationally: London as well as France and Japan, even performing for the King and Queen of Great Britain! German and Russian audiences were also wild for Sessue - making him the first non-white international star. However...*yes, AGAIN - "however"...*
In the late 1930's, Sessue was performing in France when the Germans tried to take over the country. He was trapped there - and separated from his family. But rather than sit around and mope, Sessue sold watercolor paintings. Yes, the man could also paint, and fence, and play football, and was a martial arts expert, and...HE HELPED THE FRENCH RESISTANCE DURING WORLD WAR 2! Talk about making the most of your downtime!
After the war, Sessue got a call from actor Humphrey Bogart's company, asking him to return to the US to act in a film (Tokyo Joe, 1949). He did, and several more films followed for him during the 50's, with Sessue officially retiring from acting in 1966. He became an acting coach, as well as an ordained Zen master. In 1973, Sessue passed away in Tokyo from a blood clot complicated by pneumonia. His wife had passed away previously in 1961, and they were survived by their 3 children: Yukio (son), Yoshiko (daughter) and Fujiko (daughter).
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame proudly bears his name, but most of the credit and recognition he so richly deserved has not been given. While many other silent stars are being talked about and recognized for their accomplishments, Sessue has largely been forgotten. Media professor Karla Rae Fuller wrote in 2010:
"What is even more remarkable about Hayakawa's precedent-setting career in Hollywood as an Asian American is the fact that he is virtually ignored in film history as well as star studies."
To us here at SCS, this is unacceptable. We hope to bring our readers a much more balanced look at everyone involved in silent film - and give credit where credit is due! Now, go have a look at The Cheat (below) - and don't forget to cheer whenever Sessue appears on your screen. 😉
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