Acting
Luke made his film debut for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in The Painted Veil (1934), and played his first major role, as Charlie Chan's eldest son, Lee Chan (called "Number One Son" by his father) in Charlie Chan in Paris (1935). He became a regular in the series, where Lee Chan alternately helped and distracted his father in each of his murder cases. Lee Chan is culturally American and was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 100-metre swimming in Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937). Luke appeared seven times as Lee Chan opposite Warner Oland's Charlie Chan. He left the Charlie Chan series in 1938, shortly after Oland died. The unfinished Oland-Luke film Charlie Chan at the Ringside was completed as Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938), with Luke now opposite Peter Lorre.
Luke worked prolifically with several Hollywood studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast him in a recurring role in its Dr. Kildare film series, and Monogram Pictures featured him in its Frankie Darro comedies and starred him as Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown. Unlike Boris Karloff, who preceded him in the Mr. Wong role, Luke played the detective without any exotic touches. His Mr. Wong, of Chinese descent and able to speak Chinese, was otherwise an ordinary American detective with no trace of a foreign accent.
RKO Radio Pictures used Luke in its The Falcon series and Mexican Spitfire. Luke also worked at Universal Pictures, where he played the valet/chauffeur Kato, the title character's sidekick in its Green Hornet serials. Universal mounted a low-budget serial consisting largely of action footage from older films; Luke was hired to match old footage of Sabu in the serial Lost City of the Jungle (1946).
Luke returned to the Chan mysteries, which were then being produced by Monogram and starred Roland Winters as Chan. "Number One Son" appeared in the last two Chan features, The Feathered Serpent (1948), along with "Number Two Son" Tommy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) in their only appearance together, and Sky Dragon (1949). In both of these films, Luke was older than the actor playing his father. Luke had a featured Broadway role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly in 1958. In the original cast album he sang the part of Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.
Luke continued to play character parts in motion pictures. He had a featured role in The Chairman (1969) starring Gregory Peck. He dubbed the voice of the evil Mr. Han (played by Shih Kien) in Enter the Dragon (1973) starring Bruce Lee. Luke played the mysterious old Chinatown shopowner Mr. Wing in the two Gremlins movies and he had a significant role in Woody Allen's movie Alice (1990).
Luke also worked extensively in television, making numerous guest appearances, including four on The F.B.I. and seven TV movies. He was a regular cast member in two short lived sitcoms, Anna and the King (1972) starring Yul Brynner and Sidekicks (TV 1986–87). He appeared as Lin Fong (a jade merchant) in an episode of Dragnet 1967.
In 1972, he played the voice of Charlie Chan, in the animated television series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972–73), becoming the first actor of Chinese descent to play the role. He voiced other animated characters including Brak in Space Ghost (1966-68) and Zoltar/The Great Spirit/Colonel Cronus in Battle of the Planets (1978-80).
Luke played Master Po in the television series Kung Fu (1972–75). In 1985, Luke appeared as "The Ancient One" in the ABC soap opera General Hospital, for the Asian Quarter storyline, which showcased Luke and young actress Kimberly McCullough, whom he mentored. In 1986 Luke appeared in season two of The Golden Girls as Sophia's love interest. He played two separate roles in the sitcom Night Court, first as a defendant and later as Mac Robinson's grandfather-in-law.
Luke played Governor Donald Cory in episode 71 of the original Star Trek entitled "Whom Gods Destroy" (1969), and was originally cast as Doctor Noonien Soong in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Brothers"; Brent Spiner ultimately took over the role after Luke became ill.
In the Fractured Fairy Tales episode "The Enchanted Fly," one of the rewards offered to the man who would rescue and marry the princess is "an autographed picture of Keye Luke."
