Filmmaker Hopes Actor's Story Will Promote Racial Understanding

[Zoneboy]

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Most people know Jeff Adachi, who grew up in Sacramento and attended McClatchy High School, as San Francisco's public defender.

But Adachi is also a documentary filmmaker with a passion for helping explain the Asian American experience as seen through film.

"I've always loved films, any kind of films," Adachi said. "We can begin understanding why we hold some of the stereotypes and prejudices we have by understanding the medium that's constantly affecting our perceptions."

Adachi was elected San Francisco public defender in 2002 and is completing his second term. In 2006 he made his first movie, "The Slanted Screen," about the way Asian men were portrayed in film.

Saturday, he is holding the premiere of his new documentary, "You Don't Know Jack," at the Sacramento Buddhist Church on Riverside Boulevard.

The film is about Japanese American actor Jack Soo, who broke barriers as an Asian American starring in a TV series. Soo, who died in 1979, was part of the cast of the sitcom "Barney Miller" from 1975 to 1978, playing Detective Nick Yemana.

Adachi is a devoted "Barney Miller" fan. "It was a unique show because it had a multiracial cast," he said. "There was a Puerto Rican, an African American, Jewish and Polish cops, and then there was Jack.

"It showed the diversity of cultures and personalities, and it was hilarious. Jack had this wry sense of humor and made people proud of the character he played."

Soo, born Goro Suzuki in Oakland, was a nightclub performer in San Francisco before he and his family were interned during World War II. "Many people from the Sacramento area know him from the camps, as he was a popular performer," Adachi said.

His mother, Gladys Adachi of Sacramento, said fellow internment camp survivors told her Soo produced musical shows in the camps "and would pick the singers to perform like they do on 'American Idol.' "

Soo, who was interned in Topaz, Utah, also produced plays for thousands of internees, Jeff Adachi said. "They called him the Asian Bing Crosby, and he was known for 'Old Man River' and 'White Christmas.' "

He changed his name to the Chinese-sounding Jack Soo after World War II to blunt anti-Japanese bias while performing in Ohio, Jeff Adachi said.

He broke into TV as Rocky Sin, a charming gambler and con man, in the 1964 series "Valentine's Day," co-starring Tony Franciosa, Adachi said. "That role was way ahead of its time. Jack refused to play roles that portrayed Japanese Americans in a negative light."

Soo was discovered at the Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco's Chinatown by Gene Kelly in 1959, Adachi said.

He played the nightclub owner in the film "Flower Drum Song," and was even signed by Motown Records, Adachi said. "He was the first to record 'For Once in My Life' by Stevie Wonder."

Soo, an English major at UC Berkeley, "played all these really cool characters," said Adachi. "He had a sense about himself called gaman, which means hang in there, never give up. He had to struggle all his life to make it because there weren't many roles for Asian Americans, and he turned down roles that were demeaning."

The first- and second-generation Japanese who have seen the Soo film "have been profoundly touched by this," Adachi said.

"He would constantly make fun of their life in camps and tell them to hang in there, we're going to get through this. He really kept the spirits up of people in the camps."

[Marvo301]

It's nice to see Jack Soo being remembered with such respect and affection.

[catlover79]

Jack Soo has to be one of the most beloved actors in sitcom history - and rightfully so!! It's so nice that his legacy is still alive and well - and that he is still remembered with such love.

[MickeyMac]

Nice!

[catlover79]

I would LOVE to see this documentary!!!!!