During the 1960’s,
beautiful Chinese actress Irene Tsu played a variety of “native†girls in a
number of popular drive-in films including Sword
of Ali Baba, How to Stuff a Wild
Bikini, and Paradise, Hawaiian Style
with Elvis. Tsu had poise and talent,
which was noticed by producer/writer Arthur C. Pierce who cast her as a space
traveler in Women of the Prehistoric
Planet. It was her first starring
role. She then played a South Vietnamese
spy in The Green Berets, John Wayne’s
homage to our boys in Vietnam
before becoming part of the spy boom.Â
She portrayed a geisha girl in The
Man from U.N.C.L.E. feature The Karate
Killers and a fashion model in the secret agent spoof Caprice starring Doris Day.Â
Irene Tsu today
Â
But the one role that got
away from her was the part of Maily in The
Sand Pebbles starring Steve McQueen.Â
The heartache of losing the part almost made her quit the business. She was director Robert Wise’s first choice
for Maily in his epic film but studio machinations kept her from getting the
role. Commenting in my book Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema, Irene
Tsu recalled, “I interviewed with Robert Wise a few times and he set up an
expensive screen test for me on a massive set with other actors. I thought I did very well but then weeks went
by with no word. I went to see Wise and
he told me he wanted me for the part but the producers overruled him. They gave the part to Marayat Andriane who was
rumored to be Fox head Darryl Zanuck’s current mistress. When I found out I burst into tears and hoped
never to have to go through something like that again.â€Â
Though Irene was
devastated, she wound up with a contract with 20th Century-Fox because “I had
to sign with them before they allowed the screen test. For a short time I was treated like a star of
the Golden Age. They gave me my own
dressing room that was as big as a house.Â
I even had my own parking space.Â
Unfortunately, after only one film the studio went bankrupt. My contract was dropped along with all other
such commitments Fox had.†Undeterred, Irene kept working vigorously. The 1970’s saw Irene mature into a more than
fine actress as she progressed from exotic parts to playing doctors, lawyers,
and scientists in both film and television.Â
And she is still active today.