Mai Tai Sing (December 22, 1923 – July 11, 2018) was an American actress and businesswoman. Her acting credits include the TV series Hong Kong, Forbidden, and Strange Portrait.

Background She was born in Oakland, California as May Tsang. Most of her young years were in Hong Kong. When she was about fourteen, she and her family moved back to the California Bay area. One of her early jobs was waitressing at the Forbidden City nightclub. It was there she became interested in performing.Shaping San Francisco's Digital Archive @ Mai Tai Sing Historical Essay Source material from Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs by Trina Robbins.

In the early 1940s, she became a chorus girl there. She met Wilbur and Jessie Tai Sing, a dancing duo. Later she replaced Jessie. By 1942, she was married to Wilbur Tai Sing and had two children to him."These Nightclub Entertainers Paved The Way For Asian-Americans In Showbiz by Heidi Chang", npr.org; accessed July 30, 2018.Chinese in Hollywood by Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Page 61

In the 1960s she became romantically involved with actor Jeffrey Hunter. An article in The Milwaukee Sentinel said that they were to be married. At this time they had been working together in the film Strange Portrait.Buck Herzog, Sign Has Double Meaning (pg. 15), The Milwaukee Sentinel, February 15, 1966. In the 1970s she relocated to Hawaii.

Film and television roles Film In 1953, she appeared in a film with Tony Curtis, playing the part of Soo Lee.New York Times Forbidden (1953) Acting Credits Forbidden was directed by Rudolph Maté. Other cast included Joanne Dru and Victor Sen Yung.Screen World Vol. 6 1955 by Blum, Daniel Page 18 Forbidden Her last film role was in the ill-fated Strange Portrait that starred Jeffery Hunter. In this film she played a wealthy but reclusive and insane woman living alone in a mansion who has an obsession with a portrait of her husband that had abandoned her.Jeffrey Hunter: The Film, Television, Radio and Stage Performances by Paul Green Green Chapter 19 Strange Portrait - Dimension 5 page 119

Television In the 1950s she appeared in two episodes of The New Adventures of China Smith The Affairs of China Smith which was an action/adventure series about an American adventurer living in Singapore. The main role was played by Dan Duryea.TV Guide China Smith TV Show, Cast & Crew In the early 1960s had a recurring role as Ching Mei in the series Hong Kong. epguides.com Hong Kong (a Titles & Air Dates GuideEncyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. by Vincent Terrace Page 474, 4156 Hong Kong She played the owner of The Golden Dragon, a supper club. The cast included Rod Taylor and Lloyd Bochner.Broadcasting December 12, 1960 Page 73 Changes in 'Hong Kong' assure Kaiser backing

She would also host Charlie Chan films on channel 44, a local San Francisco television station.Chinese in Hollywood By Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Page 61Shaping San Francisco's Digital Archive @ Mai Tai Sing Historical Essay Source material from Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs by Trina Robbins.

Club management

She had an association with clubs that goes back to the 1940s as a chorus girl,These Nightclub Entertainers Paved The Way For Asian-Americans In Showbiz by Heidi Chang, WPSU.org, March 17, 2015. she would eventually end up in management. One of the clubs that she ran was The Rickshaw in San Francisco. That club is known for a night when John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Billy Preston stopped by.Mai Tai Sing, Jimmy Borges, Hyatt's Trapperettes reunite by Ben Wood, Honolulu Star Advertiser, March 14, 2015.

She moved to Hawaii in the 1970s. Another club she managed was "Trappers", located in the Hyatt Waikiki. The club featured the Betty Loo Taylor Trio. She was hostess and manager there until her retirement in 2003 at age 79.Mai Tai Sing, Jimmy Borges, Hyatt's Trapperettes reunite by Ben Wood, Honolulu Star Advertiser, March 14, 2015.Trina Robbins, Mai Tai Sing Historical Essay Source material from Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs, Shaping San Francisco's Digital Archive, foundsf.org; accessed July 30, 2018. Her retirement marked 28 years of management and hosting at Trappers and later at the Ciao Mein.Ben Wood, "One last round for Hyatt's Mai Tai Sing", Honolulu Star Bulletin archives, October 25, 2003.Body & Soul Hawaii, Honolulu Star Bulletin archives, December 24, 1997.

Filmography Television Jake and the Fatman, Eipisode: "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (1990) ... Hostess Hawaii Five-O, Episode: "Wooden Model of a Rat" (1975) ... Reporter #2 Sam Benedict Episode: "Nothing Equals Nothing" ... Lily Sin Hong Kong, Episode: "The Runaway" (1961) ... Ching Mei Hong Kong, Episode: "Murder by Proxy" (1961) ... Ching Mei Hong Kong, Episode: "With Deadly Sorrow" (1961) ... Ching Mei Hong Kong, Episode: "The Hunted" (1961) ... Ching Mei Hong Kong, Episode: "Lesson in Fear" (1961) ... Ching Mei Hong Kong, Episode: "Suitable for Framing" (1961) ... Ching Mei The New Adventures of China Smith Episode: "The Black Wings of the Fire Bird" (1954) ... Moonflower The New Adventures of China Smith Episode: "The Talons of Tongking" (1954) ... Ah Chee

Film The Golden Horde (1951) ... Dancer Forbidden (1953) ... Soo Lee Strange Portrait (1966) Forbidden City U.S.A (1988) ... Archival footage Hollywood.Com Mai Tai Sing Credits) Mai Tai Sing filmography, imdb.com; accessed July 30, 2018.

Links Mai Tai Sing Historical Essay

References