I will admit his villainous role in MISSING IN ACTION 2 is what first came to mind, but his infinite number of appearances on 1970s and 1980s TV were always worth watching. His was one of the great-sounding voices in TV; so menacing.
In addition to M*A*S*H, he did a couple of Airwolf episodes. He was particularly good in "The American Dream," where he played a melon farmer who stands up to a ruthless ex-Vietnamese warlord played by James Shigeta. He had a much smaller role in the episode, "Once a Hero."
Pretty much every one of his M*A*S*H appearances was a home run.
Soon-Tek Oh played the first of what would be many Asian spies and agents in his first feature film. In 1966's MURDERERS' ROW, Oh played "Tempura," a Japanese secret agent. Henry Levin directed the Dean Martin - "Matt Helm" spy spoof. Lalo Schifrin's score was released on a Colgems LP, but has not been re-issued on CD.
Oh played a Chinese agent in the 1967 political comedy THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST. Theodore J. Flicker directed the film. Quartet released Lalo Schifrin's score in 2015.
In the George Peppard western ONE MORE TRAIN TO ROB, Oh played "Yung," the grandson of "Mr. Chang" (Richard Loo), the leader of a group of Chinese miners who are having their gold shipments robbed. Andrew V. McLaglen directed the 1971 film. David Shire's score has not had a release.
During the Korean War, a newly commissioned lieutenant (Ken Berry) finds that his command is trapped when the enemy surrounds their position, in the ABC made-for-television film THE RELUCTANT HEROES. Soon-Tek Oh plays a Korean officer in the 1971 film, which had a theatrical release overseas. Robert Day directed the film. Frank De Vol provided the unreleased score.
Soon-Tek Oh was a Chinese diplomat in the 1971 ABC made-for-television film EARTH II. Tom Gries directed this sci-fi film, set on an orbiting research space station that is menaced by a Red Chinese nuclear weapon. Lalo Schifrin's score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2010 as part of their "TV Omnibus" box set.
In the 1974 Bond film THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, as Bond loiters outside the Bottoms Up strip club, Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) observes him from a second-story window but shoots another man instead. A policeman on the scene, "Lieutenant Hip" (Soon-Tek Oh) searches Bond, finds his gun, and arrests him.
In Chuck Norris' breakout film, 1978's GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK, "John T. Booker" (Norris) is the former leader of the Black Tigers, which was the name given to an elite squadron of covert operations jungle fighters during the Vietnam War. Soon-Tek Oh plays "Major Mhin Van Thieu" of The Black Tigers. Ted Post directed this action film, which has an unreleased score by Craig Safan.
In the Kirk Douglas historical sci-fi mashup THE FINAL COUNTDOWN, the nuclear aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz rescues a U.S. Senator (Charles Durning) and his girl Friday (Katharine Ross) who are the only survivors of a cabin cruiser that got shot up by Japanese planes. They also rescue "Simura" (Soon-Tek Oh), the pilot of one of the Japanese Zeroes that sunk the cabin cruiser. Don Taylor directed the 1980 film. John Scott's score was released on a Casablanca LP, and reappeared on a CD from his own label in 2002.
Soon-Tek Oh had his name (as Soon-Teck Oh) and photo appear in the ads for EAST OF EDEN, the 1981 ABC miniseries adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel. The story is primarily set in the Salinas Valley, California, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of World War I. There, "Adam Trask" (Timothy Bottoms) purchases the best ranch in the Valley and lives there with his wife "Kate" (Jane Seymour) and their Cantonese cook "Lee" (Soon-Tek Oh). Harvey Hart directed the three-episode series. Lee Holdridge's score was released on an Elektra LP, which was re-issued on an expanded CD by Intrada in 2007.
Working again with Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh appaered in 1985's MISSING IN ACTION 2: THE BEGINNING, the prequel to the previous year's MISSING IN ACTION. In this film, Norris again plays "Colonel James Braddock," who leads a group of American soldiers in a Vietnamese POW camp. The evil leader of the camp "Colonel Yin" (co-star Oh) wants Braddock to sign a confession, promising comfort and freedom if he will only admit to being a war criminal.
Lance Hool directed the film. Brian May's score was partially released by Silva Screen in 1990, with a complete release coming from Intrada in 2008.
In Charles Bronson's DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN, Soon-Tek Oh plays corrupt cop "Det. Phil Nozaki," in a story that finds architect/vigilante "Paul Kersey" (Bronson) taking on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose. J. Lee Thompson directed this 1987 crime drama. Eighteen minutes of Robert O. Ragland's score was released on a 2000 Silva Screen compilation CD.
In the 1994 comedy-drama S.F.W., an alienated and misanthropic teenager (Stephen Dorff) gains sudden and unwanted celebrity status after he's taken hostage by terrorists, where his indifference to their threats to kill him makes news headlines. Soon-Tek Oh plays "Milt Morris" in the film, which was directed by Jefery Levy. Graeme Revell's score had one track on the A&M Records soundtrack release.
In 1998's Disney animated film MULAN, Soon-Tek Oh voiced the character of Mulan's father, "Fa Zhou." Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook directed the film. Jerry Goldsmith's score was released by Walt Disney Records.
In the 2000 CBS made-for-television film THE PRESIDENT'S MAN, Chuck Norris stars as "Joshua McCord," the U.S. President's highly classified secret agent who must find a fearless replacement (Dylan Neal) to take over his extremely dangerous military missions. Soon-Tek Oh plays"General Tran," an old enemy of McCord's from Viet Nam. Chuck Norris' youngest son, Eric Norris, co-directed the film with Michael Preece. Christopher L. Stone provided the unreleased score.
Soon-Tek Oh (second from left) in THE PRESIDENT'S MAN
