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[[File:Jack-soo-02.jpg|thumb|frameless|right|300px|Jack Soo]]
[[File:Jack-soo-02.jpg|thumb|frameless|right|300px|Jack Soo]]


Jack Soo (October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was a Japanese American actor. He was best known for his role as Detective [[Nick Yemana]] on the television sitcom Barney Miller. Soo was the first Asian actor to play an American-born Asian character in a regular television series, Valentine's Day (1964).  
Jack Soo (October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was a Japanese American actor. He was best known for his role as Detective [[Nick Yemana (Barney Miller)]] on the television sitcom Barney Miller. Soo was the first Asian actor to play an American-born Asian character in a regular television series, Valentine's Day (1964).  


Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a ship traveling from the United States to Japan in 1917. His parents lived in Oakland, California and they decided that as he was the oldest boy, they wanted to have him born in Japan. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English. He lived in Oakland, California, until ordered into internment along with other Japanese Americans during World War II. He was sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah and fellow internees recalled him as a "camp favorite", an entertainer singing at dances and numerous events. He got out of camp by enlisting in the US Army, and was assigned to the famous Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT)--the most decorated unit in the US Army--and fought in Italy.
Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a ship traveling from the United States to Japan in 1917. His parents lived in Oakland, California and they decided that as he was the oldest boy, they wanted to have him born in Japan. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English. He lived in Oakland, California, until ordered into internment along with other Japanese Americans during World War II. He was sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah and fellow internees recalled him as a "camp favorite", an entertainer singing at dances and numerous events. He got out of camp by enlisting in the US Army, and was assigned to the famous Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT)--the most decorated unit in the US Army--and fought in Italy.