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Where Are They Now - May 9, 2014
Hello fans,I hope this issue finds everyone doing well. It's time to catch up with Gedde Watanabe, who has been an actor for many years on stage, in film, and on television. He is well known for his role as Long Duk Dong in 1984's Sixteen Candles, and for voicing the character of Ling in the Disney animated feature Mulan (1998). Let's find out what he is up to now!
Take care,
MelissaP.S. Did you miss an issue? You can read every issue from the Gophercentral library of newsletters on our exhaustive archives page. Thousands of issues, all of your favorite publications in chronological order. You can read AND comment. Just click
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Email Melissa *View Past Issues: Where Are They Now Archives*--DEAD OR ALIVE?--See if you know if the following celebrities have had a visit from the "Grim Reaper":
Aneta Corsaut: Actress; "The Andy Griffith Show" (Helen Crump, 1963-68), "Matlock" (Judge Cynthia Justin, 1987-92).
Dick Sargent: Actor; "Bewitched" (Darrin Stephens, 1969-72).
Bill Daily: Actor; "I Dream of Jeannie" (Major Roger Healey, 1965-70), "The Bob Newhart Show" (Howard Borden, 1972-78).
(Answer at the bottom)*Gedde WatanabeLearn More About Gedde Watanabe on Celebrity Nooz BIRTH DATE: June 26, 1955, Ogden, Utah
CLAIM TO FAME: He is known for Sixteen Candles (1984), Mulan (1998) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990).
FAMILY LIFE: No info found.
INFO: In high school, Watanabe acted and sang in several dramatic productions. After graduation, he headed to San Francisco with the goal to work as a street musician while honing his acting skills.
His first role came in 1976, when he was a member of the original Broadway cast of Pacific Overtures, originating the roles of Priest, Girl, and The Boy.
He went on to appear in many films and TV series, including both the film Gung Ho and its television spinoff, the 1989 movie UHF starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, and from 1988 to 1991 on Sesame Street as Hiroshi.
He also had a recurring role as gay nurse Yoshi Takata on the television drama ER from 1998 to 2002. Watanbe provided the voice for various Japanese characters on the animated television comedy The Simpsons, and in 1998 he provided the voice for Ling in the Disney animated film Mulan. He later reprised this role for the 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II and the 2005 video game Kingdom Hearts II.
TRIVIA: Many of Watanabe's characters are caricatured East Asians with heavy accents, though he does not speak Japanese himself.
Studied at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California.
For Mulan (1998), he had another person do his singing voice because his own voice was too good.
In his audition for the film Sixteen Candles (1984), he went through the entire process pretending he did not speak any English, imitating a Korean friend. After he was finished, he eloquently thanked the casting director in perfect English. He was soon cast.
His mother was interned by the United States during World War II.
WHERE IS HE NOW: Most recently, Watanabe appeared in the 2013 action film 47 Ronin as a troupe leader. In 2012, he appeared in the comedy Parental Guidance, as well as the TV movie The Seven Year Hitch. He also appeared in a 2012 episode of the TV series Fox and Friends as himself.
* CREDITS:2013 47 Ronin...Troupe Leader (Kabuki Actor)
2012 Parental Guidance...Mr. Cheng
2012 The Seven Year Hitch (TV Movie)...Mr. Fujimura
2010 Proposition 8 Trial Re-Enactment (TV Series documentary)...Hak-Sing William Tam
2009 All Ages Night...Dead Head Fred
2009 Scooby-Doo! And the Samurai Sword (Video)...Kenji (voice)
2009 Not Forgotten...Agent Nakamura
2008 American Dad! (TV Series)...Chicken Hatchery Manager
Pulling Double Booty (2008)
2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall...Hotel Manager
2008 The Onion Movie...James Nakatami
2002-2007 Kim Possible (TV Series)...Professor Bob Chen
2007 Sunny & Share Love You...Eliza's Dad, The Doctor
2007 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ (Video Game)...Ling (English version, voice)
2007 Fortune Hunters (Short)...Mr. Yu
2006 Family Guy (TV Series)...Long Duk Dong
Mother Tucker (2006)
2006 Model Family (TV Short)...Terrence
2005 Kingdom Hearts II (Video Game)...Ling (English version, voice)
2005 Two for the Money...Milton
2005 Everwood (TV Series)...Art
Oh, the Places You'll Go (2005)
2004 Mulan II (Video)...Ling (voice)
2004 Alfie...Wing
2004 On the Couch (Short)...Charlie
1997-2003 ER (TV Series)...Nurse Yosh Takata
2003 What's New, Scooby-Doo? (TV Series)...Vincent Wong
Lights! Camera! Mayhem! (2003)
2002 My Wife and Kids (TV Series)...Dr. Phil Ling
Diary of a Mad Teen (2002)
2002 L.A. Law: The Movie (TV Movie)...Cyril
2002 Slackers...Japanese Proctor
2001 The Proud Family (TV Series)...Mr. Min
EZ Jackster (2001)
2001 Jackie Chan Adventures (TV Series)...Gangster 1
Mother of All Battles (2001)
2001 Thank You, Good Night...Cafe Owner
2000 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV Series)...Kenji
Welcome, Traveler (2000)
1999-2000 Batman Beyond (TV Series)...Dr. Suzuki / Principal
2000 Secret Agent Man (TV Series)...Ling
Uncle S.A.M. (2000)
1999 The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Visitors from Outer Space (Video short)...Karate Master (voice)
1998-1999 Rugrats (TV Series)...Zack / Kangaroo
1997-1999 The Simpsons (TV Series)...Japanese Father / Factory Foreman
- Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (1999)
- In Marge We Trust (1997)
1999 Edtv...Greg
1999 Home Improvement (TV Series)...Nobo Nakamura
Home Alone (1999)
1999 Frank in Five (Short)...Waiter
1999 Guinevere...Ed
1998 Mulan Story Studio (Video Game)...Ling (voice)
1998 Armageddon...Asian Tourist (uncredited)
1998 Mulan...Ling (voice)
1997 Psycho Sushi...Yoshi
1997 The Weird Al Show (TV Series)...Kuni
Back to School (1997)
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (TV Series)...Nuri
The Little Mermaid (1997)
1997 Booty Call...Chan (uncredited)
1997 Nick and Jane...Enzo
1996 Seinfeld (TV Series)...Mr. Oh
The Checks (1996)
1996 Mad About You (TV Series)...Brockwell's Speechwriter
The Grant (1996)
1996 That Thing You Do!...Play-Tone Photographer
1996 Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man (TV Series)
The Mallardian Candidate (1996) ... (voice)
1995 Perfect Alibi...Det. Onoda
1995 Boys on the Side...Steve (as Gede Watanabe)
1994 Count on Me (TV Movie)
1992 Miss America: Behind the Crown (TV Movie)...Takeo (uncredited)
1991 Pacific Station (TV Series)...Ram Sha
Operation! (1991)
1990-1991 Down Home (TV Series)...Tran
1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch...Mr. Katsuji
1990 Newhart (TV Series)...Mr. Tagadachi
The Last Newhart (1990)
1990 Murphy Brown (TV Series)...Guru Prem
The Bitch's Back (1990)
1990 Grand (TV Series)...Taki Mifune
An Obtuse Triangle (1990)
1990 On the Television (TV Series)...Various
1989 The Spring...Matty
1989 Booker (TV Series)...Max
Someone Stole Lucille (1989)
1989 UHF...Kuni
1987 The New Adventures of Beans Baxter (TV Series)...Ho Hum
Beans' Home Life Gets UGLI (1987)
1986-1987 Gung Ho (TV Series)...Kaz Kazuhiro
1986 Vamp...Duncan
1986 Gung Ho...Oishi Kazihiro
1985 Volunteers...At Toon
1984 Sixteen Candles...Long Duk Dong
1980 The Long Island Four
1978 A Life at Stake (TV Series)
Somewhere Between Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife (1978)
1976 Pacific Overtures (TV Movie)...Priest / Girl / Boy
1969 Sesame Street (TV Series)
To see Then & Now pictures of Gedde Watanabe, visit: Celebrity Nooz*--Answers to DEAD OR ALIVE--Aneta Corsaut - DEAD (Cancer)
Born: 11/3/1933 Died: 11/6/1995
Dick Sargent - DEAD (Prostate cancer)
Born: 4/19/1930 Died: 7/8/1994
Bill Daily - ALIVE
Born: 8/30/1927
*WHO PASSED ON THIS WEEK... 5/7
Sir George Christie, 79, British opera manager (Glyndebourne Festival Opera).
Pak Cik Jamal, 75, Malaysian television personality.
Samarth Lal Meena, 79, Indian politician, Rajasthan MLA for Rajgarh, Speaker (1998-1999).
Farley Mowat, 92, Canadian author (People of the Deer, Lost in the Barrens, Never Cry Wolf).
5/6
Wil Albeda, 88, Dutch politician, Minister of Social Affairs (1977-1981), member of the Senate (1966-1977, 1981-1983).
Burton Cohen, 90, American casino executive, president of the Desert Inn, AGA Hall of Fame inductee (1995).
Jimmy Ellis, 74, American boxer, WBA heavyweight champion (1968-1970), dementia.
Martin Erdman, 77, Australian music producer.
Cornelius Gurlitt, 81, German art collector and dealer, possessed more than 1,300 looted artworks, heart failure.
Billy Harrell, 85, American baseball (Cleveland Indians) and basketball player (Siena Saints).
Antony Hopkins, 93, British composer, conductor and pianist.
Maria Lassnig, 94, Austrian artist.
Norman Lumpkin, American television news journalist (WSFA).
Livio Maritano, 88, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Acqui (1979-2000).
Aziz Sattar, 88, Malaysian actor, complications from a heart attack.
Leslie Thomas, 83, Welsh author (The Virgin Soldiers).
5/5
Mohamed Idris Abu Bakar, 68, Malaysian politician, Selangor MLA for Hulu Bernam, colon cancer.
Timothy John Byford, 72, British-born Serbian television director, cancer.
Butler Derrick, 77, American politician, member of the US House of Representatives for South Carolina's 3rd District and (1975-1995) and South Carolina House of Representatives (1969-1975), cancer.
Billy Frank, Jr., 83, American Nisqually tribal fishing rights activist.
Jean Gaven, 92, French film actor.
Elaine Green, American television journalist (WCPO), recipient of the Peabody Award (1981).
Fathin Hameed, Maldivian politician, MP for Addu Atoll, cancer.
Amik Kasoruho, 81, Albanian author and publicist, pulmonary disease.
Eduardo Mac Entyre, 85, Argentine artist.
István Major, 64, Hungarian Olympic high jumper (1972, 1976).
Michael Otedola, 87, Nigerian politician, Governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), complications from a stroke.
Tatiana Samoilova, 80, Soviet actress (The Cranes Are Flying, Anna Karenina), People's Artist (1993), complications from a heart condition.
Jackie Lynn Taylor, 88, American actress and television personality (Our Gang), Alzheimer's disease.
5/4
Toimi Alatalo, 85, Finnish Olympic champion cross-country skier (1960).
Eddie Andreini, 77, American stunt pilot, air crash.
Dick Ayers, 90, American comic book artist (Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider), complications from Parkinson's disease.
Elena Baltacha, 30, Ukrainian-born British tennis player, liver cancer.
Helga Konigsdorf, 75, East German physicist and author, Parkinson's disease.
Ross Lonsberry, 67, Canadian hockey player (Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins), cancer.
Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, 65, Central African Republic politician, Prime Minister (1996-1997).
Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa, 96, Nigerian judge, member of the Supreme Court (1984-1989), complications from a stroke.
Al Pease, 92, British-born Canadian Hall of Fame racing driver (Formula One).
Elena Ryabinina, 59, Ukrainian-born Russian human rights activist, cancer.
Tony Settember, 87, Filipino-born American racing driver and engineer, after short illness.
Bohdan Skaradzinski, 83, Polish writer and social activist.
Lynn R. Williams, 89, Canadian labor unionist, President of the United Steelworkers (1983-1994), Parkinson's disease.
5/3
Gary Becker, 83, American economist, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Economics (1992), complications following surgery.
Randy Brubaker, 55, American newspaper editor (The Des Moines Register), suspected heart failure.
Peter Callas, 54, American newspaper editor (Times of Trenton), muscular dystrophy.
Pinit Chansomboon, 59, Thai politician, MP for Kanchanaburi, gastric cancer.
Imre Danka, 83, Hungarian footballer.
James H. Daughdrill, Jr., 80, American educator, President of Rhodes College (1973-1999).
Ben Hoberman, 92, American radio executive (KABC (AM), ABC Radio), pioneered talk radio format in the United States, complications from cancer.
Francisco Icaza Gonzalez, 83, Mexican modernist artist and writer.
Chet Jastremski, 73, American Olympic bronze medal-winning swimmer (1964), 100-meter breaststroke World Record holder, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
Robert Knauff, 61, American military officer and pilot, Major General and Commander of the New York Air National Guard (2005-2009), glider collision.
Jim Oberstar, 79, American politician, member of the US House of Representatives for Minnesota's 8th District (1975-2011).
Borivoj Srba, 82, Czech theater director.
Mary Ellen Tanner, 67, American singer and television personality (The Bob Braun Show), multiple organ failure.
5/2
Kofi Ansah, 56, Ghanaian fashion designer, cardiac arrest.
Lester Armistead, 71, American bluegrass musician, cancer.
Tomas Balduino, 91, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Goias (1967-1998).
Sir William Benyon, 84, British politican, MP for Buckingham (1970-1983) and Milton Keynes (1983-1992).
Chelokee, 10, American thoroughbred horse.
Jessica Cleaves, 65, American singer (The Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire).
George Digby, 96, American baseball scout (Boston Red Sox).
John E. Dolibois, 95, American diplomat, Ambassador to Luxembourg (1981-1985), last survivor of Nuremberg trials interrogation team.
John Dungs, 62, Nigerian military officer, Governor of Delta State (1996-1998).
Kamruzzama Fauji, Indian political leader, burn injuries.
Elio Guzzanti, 93, Italian doctor and politician, Minister of Health (1995-1996).
Andrey Korneyev, 40, Russian Olympic bronze-medalist swimmer (1996), European aquatics champion (1995, 1997), stomach cancer.
Leong Tang Chong, 70, Malaysian newspaper publisher, Chairman of The Star (2009), dengue fever.
Mohammad-Reza Lotfi, 67, Iranian classical musician, cancer.
Charles Marowitz, 80, American playwright, stage director and theatre critic, complications from Parkinson's disease.
Moni Maker, 21, American trotter horse, Harness Horse of the Year (1998, 1999), complications from colic surgery.
Chino Montero, 52, American Hawaiian musician, pulmonary embolism.
Zarko Petan, 85, Slovene writer.
David Scheff, 51, American Air Force noncommissioned officer, Flight Chief for Air Force One during Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, cholangiocarcinoma.
Nigel Stepney, 55, British Formula One mechanic (Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher), involved in 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, traffic collision.
Nigel Vaulkhard, 66, British auto racing team owner (Bamboo Engineering, World Touring Car Championship), cycling collision.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 95, American actor (The F.B.I., 77 Sunset Strip, Batman: The Animated Series).
5/1
Adamu Atta, 86, Nigerian politician, Governor of Kwara State (1979-1983), member of the House of Representatives (1976-1979).
Monkey Black, 27, Dominican rapper, stabbed.
Juan de Dios Castillo, 63, Mexican football player and coach (Cruz Azul, Honduras, El Salvador), skin cancer.
Chou Meng-tieh, 92, Taiwanese poet and writer, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
Clive Clark, 73, English footballer.
Mel Clark, 87, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies).
Arthur Cromarty, 94, American judge, member of the New York Supreme Court, heart failure.
Assi Dayan, 68, Israeli film director and actor.
Hellmut Federhofer, 102, Austrian musicologist.
Juan Formell, 71, Cuban Grammy Award-winning musician, composer and director (Los Van Van).
James Goodson, 93, American WWII ace fighter pilot, pneumonia.
Scott Johnson, 45, American police officer and television personality (Alaska State Troopers), shot.
Lo Fu, 93, Chinese Hong Kong journalist and political prisoner, gastric cancer and complications from pneumonia.
Spike Maynard, 71, American judge, member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (1996-2008).
John Wash Pam, 73, Nigerian politician, Senator for Plateau State, complications from prostate cancer.
William F. Poe, 82, American politician, Mayor of Tampa, Florida (1974-1979).
Paul Ramsay, 78, Australian billionaire health care (Ramsay Health Care), football (Sydney FC) and media (Prime Television) executive and philanthropist, heart attack.
Gabriel Rich, 26, American police officer and television personality (Alaska State Troopers), shot.
Seah Leong Peng, 48, Malaysian politician, MP for Teluk Intan (since 2013), Perak MLA for Pasir Bedamar, bladder cancer.
Chandra Mohan Sharma, 38, Indian freedom of information activist.
Howard Smith, 77, American columnist (The Village Voice) and filmmaker (Marjoe), cancer.
David Stoliar, 91, Romanian World War II soldier, sole survivor of the Struma disaster.
Georg Stollenwerk, 83, German football player and coach (1. FC Köln).
Kenneth Tomlinson, 69, American magazine editor (Readers Digest) and media executive, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, melanoma.
Michael Travis, 86, American costume designer (Liberace).
Joe David Turner, 74, American professional wrestler (GCCW), brain cancer.
Manfred von Richthofen, 80, German sports official, Director of the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (1994-2006).
Dave Walker, 58, Canadian filmmaker and journalist.
Eli Woods, 91, English comedian and comic actor.
Koji Yada, 81, Japanese voice actor, kidney failure.