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30-537: EWP may refer to East West Players Elevated work platform Elliott wave principle Emergency Watershed Program Engineered wood products England and Wales Precipitation , a set of monthly records dating back to the eighteenth century European Wrestling Promotion, a German/Austrian wrestling promotion, successor to the Catch Wrestling Association Topics referred to by

60-877: A South Korean lieutenant. He appeared in an episode of the series The Time Tunnel as Lt. Nakamura in 1967. He appeared in an episode of the series Kung Fu as Wong Ti Lu in 1972. In 1974, he appeared in the Ironside episode "Terror on Grant Avenue". He appeared as a Japanese chef in the Columbo episode "Murder Under Glass" (1978). He was the blind philosopher Li Sung in two episodes of The Incredible Hulk . He also appeared on an episode of Magnum, P.I. entitled "The Arrow That Is Not Aimed" (1983). Mako also appeared in an episode of F Troop . He appeared as Lo Sing, fighting Bruce Lee 's Kato character in The Green Hornet episode "The Preying Mantis". He played

90-615: A formal dinner followed by a silent auction. Proceeds from the event go directly toward funding the theatre's many educational and artistic programs. English adaptations by Marc Blitzstein Lyrics by Fred Ebb Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Mako (actor) Makoto Iwamatsu ( 岩松 信 , Iwamatsu Makoto , December 10, 1933 – July 21, 2006) was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako (マコ). His career in film, on television, and on stage spanned 5 decades and 165 productions. He

120-659: A naturalized U.S. citizen in 1956. Mako's first film role was in Never So Few (1959). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as engine-room worker Po-Han in the film The Sand Pebbles (1966). Other roles include the Chinese contract laborer Mun Ki in the epic movie The Hawaiians (1970) starring Charlton Heston and Tina Chen ; Oomiak, the Inuit guide, in Disney's The Island at

150-534: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages East West Players Established in 1965 by Mako , Rae Creevey, Beulah Quo , Soon-tek Oh , James Hong , Pat Li, June Kim, Guy Lee, and Yet Lock as a place where Asian-American actors could perform roles beyond the stereotypical caricatures they were being limited to in Hollywood . An early statement of purpose read: "To further cultural understanding between

180-558: Is the David Henry Hwang Theater, housed within the historic Union Center for the Arts in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. The theater serves over 15,000 people each year, including low income audiences of whom are provided free and discounted admissions as well as deaf audiences via ASL -interpreted productions. EWP hosts an annual awards dinner to celebrate the achievements of individuals who have "raised

210-636: The U.S. Office of War Information and were later granted residency. They arranged for him to join them in 1949, when he was fifteen years old. Iwamatsu's father owned an art studio in New York City, and as a teenager he became acquainted with painter Hiroshi Honda . Though he faced racial discrimination , Iwamatsu bonded with his high school peers over baseball , and was scouted by the Cleveland Indians . Though he had an interest in dramatics, Iwamatsu did not believe an artistic career

240-1059: The 1966 film The Sand Pebbles saw him nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Other various roles included Kichijiro in the 1971 film adaptation of Silence , Oomiak "The Fearless One" in The Island at the Top of the World (1974), Akiro the Wizard in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Kungo Tsarong in Seven Years in Tibet (1997). He

270-497: The Asian Pacific American experience and has facilitated over 1,000 readings and workshops. Its emphasis is on building bridges between East and West; attendance estimates are 56% Asians and 44% non-Asians. In 1998, EWP Producing Artistic Director Tim Dang led the company’s move from a 99-seat Equity Waiver " black box ” into a new 240-seat venue at an Actors' Equity Association contract level. EWP’s mainstage

300-978: The Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer ; the confidant to Chuck Norris ' rogue cop in the thriller An Eye for an Eye (1982); the Japanese spy in the comedy Under the Rainbow . In 1990, he had a minor role in the psychological thriller Pacific Heights along with Matthew Modine , Melanie Griffith and Michael Keaton ; Yoshida-san in Rising Sun ; Mr. Lee in Sidekicks ; Kanemitsu in RoboCop 3 (1993); and Kungo Tsarong in Seven Years in Tibet (1997). He also appeared in some Japanese television dramas and films, such as Masahiro Shinoda 's Owls' Castle and Takashi Miike 's The Bird People in China . Mako

330-720: The East and West by employing the dual Oriental and American heritages of the East-West Players." Current mission statement: As the nation's premier Asian American theatre organization, East West Players produces artistic works and educational programs that foster dialogue exploring Asian Pacific experiences. Current vision statement: East West Players has been called “the nation’s pre-eminent Asian American theater troupe” for their award-winning productions blending Eastern and Western movement, costumes, language, and music. EWP has premiered over 100 plays and musicals about

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360-543: The Top of the World (1974); Yuen Chung in the film The Killer Elite (1975) directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Caan, Robert Duvall, and the martial artist Takayuki Kubota ; the sorcerer Nakano in Highlander III: The Sorcerer ; Jackie Chan 's uncle/sifu in Chan's first American movie The Big Brawl (1980); the wizard Akiro opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the two Conan movies Conan

390-658: The age of 72 from esophageal cancer . Mako was born Makoto Iwamatsu in Kobe , Japan, the son of children's authors and illustrators Tomoe Sasako and Atsushi Iwamatsu, better known by their pen names Mitsu and Taro Yashima . In 1939, his parents, who were political dissidents, moved to the United States, leaving Mako in the care of his grandmother. Because his parents lived on the East Coast, they were not interned during World War II ; instead they opted to work for

420-680: The character Lin Duk Coo in an episode of The A-Team . He guest-starred in an episode of season one of Frasier as well as in an episode of Tour of Duty as a Vietnamese scout. He also was a guest star in the Monk episode "Mr. Monk vs. The Cobra". He guest-starred in the Walker, Texas Ranger episodes "Heart of the Dragon" (1997) and "Black Dragons" (2000), and appeared on Charmed in 2003, creating magic for Chris (played by Drew Fuller ). He

450-649: The company until 1989. Mako's Broadway career included creating the roles of the Reciter, the shōgun , and the Chicago-based inventor of the rickshaw , in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim 's Broadway musical Pacific Overtures , for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical . Mako's landlord at the time, Jerry Orbach , was also nominated for his role in Chicago ; both lost, however, to George Rose from

480-762: The ending theme of Dexter's Laboratory and voiced Iroh in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender from 2005 to 2006 . He had a guest appearance in the Nickelodeon film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as the boss of Coco. He guest-starred in The West Wing episode " A Good Day " as an economics professor and former rival of President Bartlet . He was also featured in Season 3 Episode 13 of The Facts of Life , entitled "The Americanization of Miko". Mako made his video game debut with

510-608: The limited roles available to Asian-American actors, Mako and six others formed the East West Players theater company, first performing out of a church basement. During the company's 1981 season, to coincide with the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians ' hearings on redress , Mako exclusively produced plays about the Japanese American incarceration. He remained artistic director of

540-411: The limited run of the play Shimada in 1992. Mako appeared on the television series McHale's Navy several times, playing Imperial Japanese officers, soldiers and sailors. In 1965, he appeared on Gidget as a member of a rival surf group. He later appeared on the television series M*A*S*H , playing multiple roles such as a Chinese doctor, a North Korean soldier, a South Korean medical doctor and

570-1187: The opportunity to work with many respected artists and faculty such as actors Dennis Dun , Danny Glover , Bill Macy , Takayo Fischer , George Takei , Tsai Chin , and Nancy Kwan , directors, Lisa Peterson and Oskar Eustis , musician Dan Kuramoto and instructors Calvin Remsberg and Fran Bennett . Over seventy-five percent of all Asian Pacific performers in the acting unions living in Los Angeles have worked at EWP. East West Players has provided training and opportunities to many emerging and professional artists who have gone on to win Tony Awards , Obie Awards , Emmy Awards , LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards , and Academy Awards . East West Players has collaborated with many organizations though its history, including Center Theatre Group , Robey Theatre Company , Cornerstone Theater Company , Ma-Yi Theatre Company , and Cedar Grove OnStage . EWP hosts an annual gala fundraiser in order to honor "individuals [as well as corporations and foundations] who have raised

600-753: The past to maintain accessibility for students. Notable EWP alumni include actors Mako , Nobu McCarthy , Pat Morita , James Hong , Yuki Shimoda , John Lone , Rodney Kageyama , BD Wong , James Saito , Freda Foh Shen, Lauren Tom , Amy Hill , Alec Mapa , Alan Muraoka , Emily Kuroda , Sala Iwamatsu, Chris Tashima , Anthony Begonia, John Cho , Kal Penn , Daniel Dae Kim , Matthew Yang King , Parvesh Cheena , James Kyson -Lee, Masi Oka , Francois Chau , Jeanne Sakata , Rachna Khatau , Greg Watanabe, Dante Basco , and dramatists Wakako Yamauchi , Hiroshi Kashiwagi , David Henry Hwang , Philip Kan Gotanda , Roberta Uno, R.A. Shiomi , Judith Nihei and Soji Kashiwagi , and Clyde Kusatsu. East West Players has also had

630-644: The revival of My Fair Lady . Mako recalled being awoken at 4:30 in the morning after the Tony ceremony by Orbach, who was shouting from the floor below: "Hey, Mako! What the fuck happened? I can't believe it; we lost to a fucking revival!". Mako reprised the role and directed the musical's production with the East West Players, and further reprised the role in a production at the San Jose Civic Light Opera in 1991. He also starred in

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660-1079: The role of the goblin Grubjub in Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003). In the same year, he also voiced General Han Yu Kim in True Crime: Streets of LA , Masataka Shima in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun , and various voices in Secret Weapons Over Normandy . In 2004, Mako voiced the narrator in the game Wrath Unleashed , and Aku in Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku . Mako was married to actress Shizuko Hoshi , with whom he had two daughters (both of whom are actresses) and three grandchildren. Mako died in Somis, California , on July 21, 2006, at

690-403: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title EWP . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=EWP&oldid=1225354329 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

720-640: The visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft." EWP offers a growing array of educational programs training over 200 multicultural artists each year – the Actors Conservatory (performance workshops and an intensive Summer Conservatory); David Henry Hwang Writers Institute; the career program, Alliance of Creative Talent Services (ACTS); and the touring Theatre for Youth (reaching an estimated 50,000 K-8th graders and their families via in-school performances and festivals). Scholarships have been offered for these programs in

750-614: The visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community through their craft." There are five awards: the Visionary Award, Corporate/Foundation Visionary Award, Made in American Award, Breakout Performance Award, and the Founders Award. Past honorees include Tia Carrere , John Cho , Tim Dang , Prince Gomolvilas , Amy Hill , Mako , Mike Shinoda , BD Wong , and Michelle Yeoh . The event itself comprises

780-637: Was an Academy Award , Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee. Born and raised in Kobe , Mako moved to the United States after the Second World War , where his dissident parents had moved to escape political persecution. After serving with the U.S. Army during the Korean War , he trained in acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and later co-founded the East West Players . His role as Po-Han (his second credited role on film) in

810-555: Was cast as the historic Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in the epic drama Pearl Harbor (2001). He also had a role in Bulletproof Monk (2003). In 2005, Mako had a cameo role in Memoirs of a Geisha . Mako's last leading role was in the film Cages (2005), written and directed by Graham Streeter . He voiced Master Splinter in the film TMNT , released posthumously in 2007 as his final credited role. In 1965, frustrated by

840-562: Was financially viable, and enrolled in the Pratt Institute School of Architecture while working in his father's print shop. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 1953 and served until October 1955, during which he performed in plays for his fellow soldiers. He then trained at the Pasadena Playhouse and adopted the mononym Mako , as he found most people had difficulty pronouncing his full name. He became

870-534: Was part of the original cast of Stephen Sondheim 's 1976 Broadway musical Pacific Overtures , which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical . Later in his career, he became well known for his voice acting roles, including Mr. Yamaguchi in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie , Aku in the first four seasons of Samurai Jack (2001–04), and Iroh in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender ( 2005 – 06 ). He died on July 21, 2006, at

900-401: Was the voice of Aku , the main antagonist in the animated series Samurai Jack for the first four seasons produced from 2001 to 2004, and again in the series finale which used his original audio. He also voiced Achoo (a parody of Aku) and the annoying alarm clock Happy Cat in a Samurai Jack -parodying episode of Duck Dodgers entitled "Samurai Quack". He provided the introductory voice for

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