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| David Henry Hwang with author C.Y. Lee. |
The best-selling author of the novel Flower Drum Song which spawned two Broadway productions and a movie has died at the age of 102.
The Washington Post reports C.Y. Lee died on November 8, but his family did not announce it until now.
His daughter, Angela Lee, said her father, Chin Yang Lee, who was was born Dec. 23, 1915, in Hunan province of China, died of kidney failure at his Los Angeles home.
The book centered around a first-generation Chinese American immigration family and the generation gap that developed within the family.
Rodgers & Hamerstein adapted the 1957 book as a Broadway musical the following year.
The movie starred Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta in 1961 and became a classic. It was nominated for several awards including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Miyoshi Umeki. The L.A. Times called it the “first major Hollywood studio film about and starring Asian Americans.” The Library of Congress placed the movie for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2008.
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| Lea Salonga and jose Lllana in the updated version of 'Flower Drum Song' |
Tony award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang revived the play on Broadway in 2001 starring Lea Salonga and Jose Llana. Hwang'sheavily revised version tried to rid the musical of some of the controversial aspects of the original musical that played on stereotypes of Chinese American.
Lee is survived by his daughter Angela and son, Jay Lee.
Some Asian American activist have condemned the book and original movie of perpetuating the image of the exotic culture for the pleasure of White audiences.
Some Asian American activist have condemned the book and original movie of perpetuating the image of the exotic culture for the pleasure of White audiences.
In recent years, the book and play have gained in stature in the Asian American community for its depiction of the issues faced by Asian immigrants. In 2016, AsAmNews published a story headlined “Flower Drum Song” Deserves a Second Look.
The Washington Post reports the book nearly went unpublished. Every major publisher turned down the book for an entire year until an elderly man who screened the book simply wrote down on the book, “read this.”
Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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The Washington Post reports the book nearly went unpublished. Every major publisher turned down the book for an entire year until an elderly man who screened the book simply wrote down on the book, “read this.”
Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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