This vintage press photo features pretty American actress and businesswoman, Mai Tai Sing (1923-2018). She was born in California but spent much of her younger years in Hong Kong. She and her family moved back to California when she was about fourteen years of age. One of her first jobs was as a waitress at the Forbidden City nightclub. Her experience there sparked her interest in performing. In the early 1940’s she became a chorus girl there. She met Wilbur and Jessie Tai Sing, a dancing duo at the club. She not only replaced Jessie in the act, but also married Wilbur. In 1953, she appeared with Tony Curtis in the film, “Forbidden”. Her last film role was in “Strange Portrait”. She became romantically involved with the film’s star, Jeffry Hunter. In the 1950’s and 1960’s she also performed in television roles. Mai Tai was also involved with nightclub management. She ran a club in San Francisco named “The Rickshaw”. In the 1970’s, she relocated to Hawaii. She managed clubs there for 28 years and retired in 2003. The IMDb gives her 9 film and television credits between 1951 and 1990. Mai Tai was a pioneering Asian American actress. She did not play stereotypical Asian roles or speak in stereotypical broken pidgin English. This vintage press photo has Mai Tai Sing’s name printed on it’s reverse as well as the word “Rickshaw”. There is little doubt that this photograph was taken at the Rickshaw nightclub, where Mai Tai was hostess and manager. The photographer is identified as Kenneth Lee. His name is ink stamped on the reverse of the photo. SOLD
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