Actor Wood Moy Dead at Age 99

Wood Moy, the actor who starred in the critically acclaimed 1982 indie film Chan Is Missing, has died. He was 99 years old.

Moy’s family announced his death in the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday.

Moy was born in Canton City, China on June 10, 1918 and emigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1921. However, he returned to China to study at St. John’s University in Shanghai. When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1937, he returned to the U.S., where he graduated from New York University.

During World War II, he served with the U.S. Army in one of two all-Chinese-American units. He also worked in India and Burma. After he returned to the U.S., he established the magazine East Wind with his future wife, Mamie Louie, and her brother, Henry Louie. They drove to San Francisco, where they settled.

Moy got the acting bug late in life, joining the Asian American Theatre Company in 1972. He appeared on TV and movies, culminating in his lead role in Chan Is Missing, which was directed by Wayne Wang.

Chan Is Missing went on to become an acclaimed indie classic, even joining the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1995, notes The Hollywood Reporter.

Moy appeared in only a handful of other movies and TV shows. He had small roles in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Class Action (1991) and Howard the Duck (1986).

Moy is survived by his three children and five grandchildren. His wife died in 2007.

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