To date the only Asian-American to portray Charlie Chan onscreen was not a professional actor. Born Edward Leon Park in San Francisco to Korean parents, though often listed in contemporary newspapers as Chinese. After serving in the U.S. Navy as a cabin cook during the Spanish-American War, Park worked as a newspaperman, and later as an interpreter at the Angel Island immigration station. About 1927, Park and his family moved to Los Angeles, where he again worked as an interpreter for the City and County of Los Angeles. He is interred in Rosedale Cemetery in that city.