Finding aid for the Philip Ahn papers 3007

Sarah Cassone

USC Libraries East Asian Library

2018 January

Doheny Memorial Library

3550 Trousdale Parkway

Los Angeles, California 90089-1825

URL: http://libraries.usc.edu/locations/east-asian-library

Contributing Institution: USC Libraries East Asian Library

Title: Philip Ahn papers

Creator: Ahn, Philip, 1905-1978

Identifier/Call Number: 3007

Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/6/resources/1496

Physical Description: 6 Linear Feet 5 boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 binder

Date (inclusive): 1935-2001

Abstract: Philip Ahn was a Korean American actor, WWII veteran, and USC alum. This small collection comprises primarily personal and family photographs, film and television stills, and awards and realia documenting Ahn's professional career, personal life, and his numerous involvements within the Korean community. It also contains scripts, teleplays, and some biographical materials.

Language of Material: English.

Biographical

Philip Ahn, born March 29, 1905 in Los Angeles, was a Korean American film and television actor (despite his portrayal as Japanese in many roles) and USC alum. He was discovered for his first film role ("The General Died at Dawn", 1936) while on campus and subsequently dropped out after completion of his second year in order to seriously pursue acting.

Ahn was the son of Dosan Ahn Chang-ho and Helen Lee Ahn; his family was reportedly the first of Korean descent to settle in Los Angeles, emigrating to the United States in 1902. His father was an activist and educator during the colonial period of the Korean Independence movement and returned to Korea in the 1920s to continue his efforts there. Ahn was the oldest of two brothers and two sisters, one of whom was Susan Ahn Cuddy, the first ever Asian-American woman to join the U.S. Navy.

Ahn revealed his desire to be involved in society by the young age of 13, selling war bonds for which he received commendation of his excellence. This drive extended into Ahn's academic career at USC, where he was the member of multiple honor societies, assistant to the Dean of Men, president of the USC Cosmopolitan Club, and chairman of the All University Committee on International Relations.

Despite his active film career during the 1930s and 1940s, wherein he worked with such actors as Bing Crosby, Shirley Temple and Anna May Wong, Ahn found the time to assist during World War II as a member of the U.S. Infantry. Ahn continued his armed services involvement during the Vietnam War, visiting American and Korean soldiers at the invitation of the U.S. Government, for which he received a number of awards and accolades. Ahn was also an instrumental part of establishing the Do San Memorial Park in Seoul, Korea and worked to make Los Angeles a sister city of Pusan, Korea. He helped bring the Korean Bell of Friendship to San Pedro, California and served as honorary mayor of Panorama City, California for twenty years.

Philip Ahn died on February 28, 1978 due to complications from surgery. He was 72. On November 14, 1984, he posthumously became the first-ever Korean American actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Scope and Contents

The Philip Ahn papers, 1935-2001 (bulk 1935-1978), consist of film and television stills, scripts and teleplays, biographical materials, certificates, awards, realia, and photographs created and collected by Philip Ahn as well as by family members after his death. The materials document Ahn's career as a film and television actor, as well as his armed service history and many commitments to the Korean community.

Photographs make up the bulk of the papers, both in the form of film and television stills as well as personal and family related items. There are numerous headshots, portraits, and family events, as well as materials collected after Ahn's death, including photo albums from his funeral and his posthumous induction into Hollywood Walk of Fame. The papers also include certificates of Ahn's achievements, such as his multiple appointments as honorary mayor of Panorama City, receipt of the Heart Service Award, and his acceptance as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Awards and realia (mainly in the form of plaques) are also prevalent within the collection and largely relate to Ahn's armed service history and contributions, as well as his local involvement in the Korean community. The remainder of the collection consists of scripts and teleplays, articles and clippings, some correspondence, and various publications and programs, including a program and invitation for the 46th Annual Academy Awards.

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of the Korean Heritage Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Korean Heritage Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Ahn family.

Related Archival Materials

Related materials pertaining to Philip Ahn's father can be found within USC's Korean-American Digital Archive under An Chang Ho, as part of the Korean American Private Records subcollection. http://libguides.usc.edu/KADA

Preferred Citation

[Box/Folder# or Item name]. Philip Ahn papers, Collection no. 3007, Korean Heritage Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Processing Information

This collection is not fully processed.

Organization

The Philip Ahn papers have been organized into the following series: 1. Film and TV stills; 2. Scripts and teleplays; 3. Biographical materials, awards, and realia; 4. Personal and family photographs.

The original arrangement of the film and TV stills was primarily chronological; this organization has been kept intact and applied to the remainder of the series excluding the scripts and teleplays series, which has been arranged alphabetically, as documented in the separated materials note.

Separated Materials

This collection includes correspondence between USC and the Ahn family regarding the processing of Philip Ahn's papers, specifically that the scripts would be housed as part of USC's Cinematic Arts library. There is an inventory within the collection (compiled by Ahn's family members) of the scripts that were given to the Cinematic Arts library, as well as a listing of the film and tv stills that were to be kept within this current collection and housed at the Korean Heritage Library. As the Ahn scripts in the Cinematic Arts library have yet to be processed, please consult Box 1, Folder 40 for a complete list of their holdings. It should also be noted that some scripts and teleplays, many incomplete and that were not featured on the inventory, remained loose within Box 1 of this collection; these have now been organized into their own series and arranged alphabetically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Academy Awards (Motion pictures) -- Archival resources

Actors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Actors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs

Asian American men -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Asian Americans in the motion picture industry -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Awards -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Korean American men -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Korean American motion picture actors and actresses -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Municipal officials and employees, Honorary -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Archival resources

World War, 1939-1945 -- Archival resources

United States -- Armed Forces -- Asian Americans -- Archival resources

Certificates

Film stills

Realia

Television scripts

Ahn, Philip, 1905-1978 -- Archives

Cuddy, Susan Ahn, 1915- -- Archives

An, Ch'ang-ho, 1878-1938 -- Archives

Film and television stills /repositories/6/archival_objects/542654

Box 1, Folder 13

"Kung Fu" (TV series) /repositories/6/archival_objects/542671 undated

Box 1, Folder 14

Make-up series /repositories/6/archival_objects/542672 undated

Box 1, Folder 15

Miscellaneous/unidentified film/TV stills /repositories/6/archival_objects/542673 undated

Box 1, Folder 1

"Anything Goes" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542657 1935

Box 1, Folder 2

"The General Died at Dawn" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542658 1936

Box 1, Folder 3

"Thank You, Mr. Moto" and "Daughter of Shanghai" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542659 1937

Box 1, Folder 12

"Something to Sing About", "Let's Get Tough", and Rogue's Regiment" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542670 1937-1948

Box 1, Folder 4

"King of Chinatown" and "A Yank on the Burma Road" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542660 1938-1941

Box 1, Folder 5

"Forever Yours" and "The Adventures of Smilin' Jack" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542661 1942

Box 1, Folder 6

"China" and "The Story of Dr. Wassell" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542662 1943

Box 1, Folder 7

"China Sky" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542663 1944

Box 1, Folder 8

"The Cobra Strikes" and "Women in the Night" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542664 1948

Box 1, Folder 9

"Hell's Half Acre" and "Shanghai Story" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542665 1952-1953

Box 1, Folder 10

"The Way to the Gold", "Battle Hymn", and "Never So Few" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542666 1957-1959

Box 1, Folder 11

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542669 1967

Pamphlet-Binder 1

Anna May Wong in Paramount Pictures [inscribed to Philip Ahn from Anna May Wong] /repositories/6/archival_objects/616238 undated

Processing Information

This photograph used to be framed, but it was removed from its frame and rehoused in 2021.

Scripts and teleplays /repositories/6/archival_objects/542668

Box 1, Folder 16

"An Almost Perfect Plan" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542683 1959

Box 1, Folder 17

Chan #12 - one line breakdown /repositories/6/archival_objects/542684 1947-08-18

Box 1, Folder 18

"Chinese Checkers" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542685 1955

Box 1, Folder 19

[Commercial teleplays and unidentified/incomplete scripts] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542674 1963-1977

Box 1, Folder 20

"Daughter of Shanghai" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542686 1937-09

Box 1, Folder 21

"Dawn Lily" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542676 undated

Box 1, Folder 22

"Diamond Sutra" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542677 undated

Box 1, Folder 23

"Disputed Passage" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542675 undated

Box 1, Folder 24

DLC #464 /repositories/6/archival_objects/542678 undated

Box 1, Folder 25

"A Girl Named Tamiko" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542687 1961-12-14

Box 1, Folder 26

"The Healers" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542679 undated

Box 1, Folder 27

"Jackson and Jill in "It's a Deal" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542680 undated

Box 1, Folder 29

"Miracles Do Happen" - A Christmas radio program /repositories/6/archival_objects/542681 undated

Box 1, Folder 28

"Lillie May" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542682 undated

Box 1, Folder 30

Ohanian - "Death Watch" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542688 1976-01-30

Box 1, Folder 31

"Survival Mechanism" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542689 1955

Box 1, Folder 32

"The Tokyo Doll" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542690 1960

Box 1, Folder 33

"Whodunit?" /repositories/6/archival_objects/542691 1941-12-11

Box 14

Biographical materials, awards, and realia /repositories/6/archival_objects/542655

Box 3, Item 021

[Clay mold of face (Philip Ahn)] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542727 undated

Box 3, Item 019

In Appreciation: 1st Logistical Command Special Services Vietnam [commemorative goblet] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542730 undated

Box 3, Item 016

In Recognition of Your Contribution to the Usarhaw Special Services Entertainment Program [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542726 undated

Box 1, Folder 34

[Philip Ahn memorial and bio] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542702 undated

Box 3, Item 017

Sgt. Philip Ahn [ nameplate, wood] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542729 undated

Box 1, Folder 35

[Casting calls] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542703 1937-1972

Box 1, Folder 36

[Programs and publications] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542704 1946-1986

Box 1, Folder 37

[Correspondence] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542705 1948, 1973

Box 1, Folder 38

[Articles and clippings] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542706 1957-1987

Box 3, Item 018

With Deep Affection and Gratitude for a Decade of Service as Honorary Mayor, Panorama City [commemorative bowl] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542731 1962-1972

Box 1, Folder 39

Certificates and awards /repositories/6/archival_objects/542707 1965-1978

Box 2, Item 002

Young Men's Christian Association [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542710 1965-1967

Box 2, Item 001

Honorary Mayor's Award [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542709 1966

Box 2, Item 003

[Red standing frame with Korean writing] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542711 1967-05-15

Box 2, Item 005

[Service related plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542713 1968-07-18

Box 2, Item 004

To Mr. Philip Ahn presented by Yoo Hak Seong [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542712 1968-07-19

Box 2, Item 006

Presented by Captain Doan-Ngoc-Bich President of the Tae Kwon Do Association of the Vietnam Navy to Philip Ahn [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542714 1968-07-20

Box 2, Item 007

Republic of Korea Forces, Vietnam [plaque and pins] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542715 1968-07

Box 2, Item 008

To Philip Ahn in appreciation for visit to troops of Nha Trang from Col. LH Lockhart [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542716 [circa 1968]

Box 2, Item 009

Korean Catholic Association of Southern California Korean Night Festival honor [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542717 1969-04-12

Box 2, Item 010

Panorama City Chamber of Commerce Honorary Mayor appreciation [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542718 1970

Box 2, Item 011

Newhall-Saugus-Valencia Chamber of Commerce Chun-an Sister City Program honor [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542719 1970

Box 3, Item 023

Television Academy Awards [paperweight] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542724 1970-04-18

Box 3, Item 022

3rd Annual National Tae Kwon Do Tournament Appreciation Award /repositories/6/archival_objects/542725 1974-08-18

Box 2, Item 012

Korean Association of Southern California Miss Korea Beauty Contest services recognition [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542720 1975-04-25

Box 2, Item 014

ANKC All Nations Open Karate Championships Award for appreciation of dedication and service [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542722 1975

Box 2, Item 015

KWHY-TV Appreciation Award [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542723 1975

Box 3, Item 024

[Signed baseball on stand] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542728 1975

Box 2, Item 013

Soodo Women's University Appreciation Award [plaque] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542721 1976-06-10

Box 1, Folder 40

[USC correspondence and Philip Ahn Collection documents] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542708 1987, 2001

Presented to Esq. Philip Ahn, in commemoration of Bicentennial 1976, Mr. & Mrs. Jun Kim /repositories/6/archival_objects/589177 1976

Physical Description: 1 item

Language of Material: English.

Personal and family photographs /repositories/6/archival_objects/542656

Box 4, Item 3

[Banquet photo, enlarged, cardboard] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542753 undated

Box 4, Item 2

[Dorothy Jordan, MGM headshot, enlarged] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542752 undated

Box 4, Item 4

[Framed b&w photo] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542754 undated

Box 4, Folder 2

[Personal and family] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542758 undated

Box 4, Folder 1

[Philip Ahn headshots/portraits] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542757 undated

Box 4, Item 1

[Philip Ahn in uniform, enlarged b&w print in soft frame] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542751 undated

Box 4, Folder 3-4

[Personal and family] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542759 1940s-1970s

Box 4, Folder 5

ROK Navy /repositories/6/archival_objects/542760 1963

Box 4, Item 5

Thanksgiving at Philip's /repositories/6/archival_objects/542755 1971

Box 4, Item 6-8

[Philip Ahn Funeral (3 photo albums)] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542756 1978

Box 4, Folder 6

[Birthday party, Byung Mo] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542761 1978-1979

Box 4, Folder 7

[Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony, Ahn Family] /repositories/6/archival_objects/542762 1984

Television prop portrait /repositories/6/archival_objects/632049

Oversize-folder 1, Oversize-folder 1

Portrait in the likeness of Philip Ahn used as a prop for "The Magician" television series /repositories/6/archival_objects/632050

Box 1[B], Box 5, Box 7, Box 8, Box 9, Box 10, Box 11, Box 12, Box 13

[Unprocessed material] /repositories/6/archival_objects/610093

Processing Information

Backstage Library Works employees documented the boxes listed under this record during a 2019-2020 collections move. The boxes listed under this record had not been described in the finding aid prior to this move, but have since been added here to maintain physical control. Backstage indicated that this collection has two boxes that are numbered "1" and that they did not encounter a box numbered "6."