Almost 40 years after he played "Lee Chan" to the Charlie Chans of Warner Oland and Roland Winters, he took a turn at playing Charlie Chan himself, providing his voice in the Hanna-Barbera animated CBS-TV series "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" (1972). Among those who provided the voices of his children were Jodie Foster and Robert Ito.
Best remembered as "No. 1 Son", Lee Chan, in Warner Oland's Charlie Chan films of the 1930s.
Brother of Edwin Luke.
Created the role of Master Wang in the original Broadway production of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical "Flower Drum Song," playing the role for two years in New York and another two on the road without ever missing a performance.
Did a lot of TV work in his later years, at one point (1972-73) serving as a regular on three TV series simultaneously: "Kung Fu" (1972), "Anna and the King" (1972), "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan" (1972). In addition, although not a regular, he was a frequent guest star on "M*A*S*H" (1972).
Drew artwork used in the press book for the original King Kong (1933).
He also painted the garden fairytale setting murals of the interior of the Graumans Chinese theatre and the Chinese theatre massive auditorium ceiling.
He continued working until age 86. He died only weeks after his final film, Woody Allen's Alice (1990), was released.
He had the distinction of being the only Asian actor to play a lead Asian detective in the 1930/1940s era. He played Mr. Wong in Phantom of Chinatown (1940) for Monogram. It was the final film in the series and he took over the role from Boris Karloff.
In addition to his on-screen roles, he had a successful career as a voice artist. This included the dubbing of foreign language films into English as well as doing voices for animated cartoons.
Luke was an accomplished artist who specialized in murals. Examples of his work appear in the films The Shanghai Gesture (1941) and Macao (1952).
Was 44 years of age when he returned to the role of Lee Chan, Charlie Chan's 'Number One Son' in the last two Chan films (The Feathered Serpent (1948) and The Sky Dragon (1949)). He was actually 5 months older than Roland Winters, the actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in these films.
Was considered for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
Was considered one of the best dressed men in Hollywood in the 1930s because of his personal style and classic wardrobe.
Was the original Kato in the Green Hornet serials