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).
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.
Soo's career as an entertainer began in earnest at the end of the war, first as a stand-up nightclub performer primarily in the Midwestern United States. He changed his name to Soo while working at a Chinese night club called Chin's in Cleveland, Ohio.
During his years playing the nightclub circuit, he met and became friends with future Barney Miller producer Danny Arnold, who was also a performer at the time.
A documentary about Son's life is called You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story (Documentary), written, directed and produced by Jeff Adachi.
See all Barney Miller appearances here.
Non-Barney Miller Appearances
| Show | Episode | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hollywood Squares | S01.E01 | Panelist | 4 December 1978 |