Victor Sen Yung--Chinese American Pioneer

Today Victor Sen Yung is best known for playing the Cartwrights' cook Hop Sing on Bonanza and Charlie Chan's Number Two son Jimmy in the Charlie Chan movies. Regardless, Victor Sen Yung played many more roles in his career, as well as an accomplished chef who wrote his own cookbook. He was also a pioneer among Chinese American actors.Victor Sen Yung was born Sen Yew Cheung on October 18, 1945, in San Francisco. His parents had both immigrated from China. His mother died from influenza during the 1919 epidemic. His father then placed both Victor Sen Yung and his sister Rosemary in the care of a children's shelter, while he returned to China. He remarried there and returned to the United States, where he once more took guardianship of young Victor and Rosemary. To earn more income for the family, Victor Sen Yung began working as a houseboy when he was eleven, He attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in economics. He moved to Los Angels…