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# Shameful Yellow-Face: Hawaii Five - O
- URL: https://www.sweatyspice.com/shameful-yellow-face-hawaii-five/
- Published: 2023-08-28T19:25:09.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-25T12:08:00.000Z
- Description: Perhaps 50 years ago, Hollywood was insane. Or maybe they just didn't care.
- Author: Geoff Anderson

The 1950’s and 1960’s were a weird time in film. For some reason, when an Asian face was needed (or appropriate) for a show/movie, instead of looking for an actor who was, oh, I don’t know **ASIAN**, a white man was cast, and makeup was used to create the epicanthic folds on the eyes, and rather insulting false accents were employed.

For the classic example of this, refer to Mickey Rooney’s role as Mr. Yunioshi in the otherwise fabulous film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”:

![Mr Yunioshi | Mickey Rooney's Character in Breakfast At Tiffany's](https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/f5/11f5bb9f-30c4-445e-afa3-85a47d260f6e/content/images/2025/07/37722a79-2c20-4ac3-baba-bab610e406a9_750x1016-jpeg.jpg)

Mr. Yunioshi, portrayed by Mickey Rooney, a definite NOT Asian person.

I have to wonder what was going on with the casting group of the producers. I mean, was [James Hong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James%5FHong?ref=sweatyspice.com) not available? I know he was active in the late 1950’s (he is in a couple of the old Perry Mason episodes), and he looks the part.

For this episode of Hawaii Five-O, they could even have called upon [George Takei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%5FTakei?ref=sweatyspice.com), an ethnic Japanese American.

But no, they valmorphanize Ricardo Montalban to “look” Japanese.

Shameful. Racist. Insensitive.

But Woke is bad, amirite?

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