China Dolls (53 page)

The characters in
China Dolls
—apart from Charlie Low, Walton Biggerstaff, David Butler, Ming and Ling, Dorothy Toy, Lee Mortimer, Tom Ball, and Ed Sullivan—are wholly fictional. That said, I have incorporated many anecdotes from people who lived through the Chinese-American nightclub era to create my fictional characters. I’d like to start by thanking Jodi Long, daughter of Larry and Trudi Long (nightclub performers); Michael Ching, son of Larry Ching (the Chinese Frank Sinatra, who in real life was much nicer than the one portrayed in this novel); and Nellie Lew (a Forbidden City chorus girl); and Joyce Narlock, whose mother, Betty Wong, danced at the China Doll and moved on to the Forbidden City, where she married Charlie Low. Their behind-the-scenes stories and Jodi’s documentary
Long Story Short
gave me a kid’s-eye view of these two clubs and what it was like to travel on the Chop-Suey Circuit.

In 2011–2012, I also met performers: Trudi Long, eighty-eight, shared stories of being interned, Lee Mortimer sponsoring her to go to New York, and life on the road; Mai Tai Sing, eighty-eight, recounted her childhood love of glitter and dancing in a gown made from monkey fur; Mary Ong Tom, ninety-three, spoke about her journey from Arizona to California, where she became one of the eight original Forbidden City chorus girls; and Dorothy Toy, ninety-two, the first and forever best Chinese Ginger Rogers, had me laughing
at her exploits. I feel extraordinarily fortunate—and honored—to have met these inspiring, audacious, humorous, and energetic women.

I wouldn’t have met Dorothy or Mai Tai if not for a great group of women, some of whom danced at the Forbidden City and the China Doll, and traveled the circuit themselves, who are keeping the flame alive with their troupe, the Grant Avenue Follies: Pat Chin (I loved our extra e-mail exchange), Lillian Poon (with a special thank-you for making the initial introductions), Ivy Tam (one of Charlie Low’s ex-wives), and Cynthia Yee (who grew up in the apartment building where Dorothy Toy and so many performers lived). We met at San Francisco’s Hotel Whitcomb, where there is a continuing exhibit on the Forbidden City, and where the hotel’s manager, Ralph Lee, graciously treated us to tea and desserts. That afternoon was further highlighted by Chuck Gee’s hilarious stories of costume malfunctions and such.

I wish to acknowledge several others who consented to be interviewed: Phil Choy, for his historical perspective on San Francisco Chinatown; Susan Lee Colby, who grew up in a traditional family compound in San Francisco Chinatown; Florence Helzel, for her memories of Treasure Island and San Francisco during World War II; Deborah Kirshman, who took me on a tour of San Francisco architecture and introduced me to her mom; Mei Ling Moore, for her photographs and encouragement; and Karen and Bernie Vance of the Plain City Historical Society, who shared memories and details of their town. (Please forgive me for the unpleasant characters I made up for my version of Plain City.)

I wouldn’t have been able to capture the details of the Chinese-American nightclub scene if others hadn’t interviewed performers and collected materials in years past. (All locations are real except Pieces O’Eight in Norfolk.) Arthur Dong paved the way with his 1989 documentary
Forbidden City, U.S.A
. He found clips from long-forgotten movies, and he filmed Noel Toy, the Chinese Sally Rand, as she recited her classic line about “eating corn on the cob.” He has been astute and insightful, always seeming to e-mail me drink menus, photographs,
or an anecdote at just the right moment. Ben Fong-Torres, the music journalist, shared with me the time he spent with Larry Ching as they recorded the singer’s first and only CD,
Till the End of Time
. I’m deeply indebted to Eddie Wong for giving me transcripts of his 1981–82 interviews with Forbidden City performers. Trina Robbins interviewed two dozen people and gathered nightclub ephemera for her oral-history volume,
Forbidden City
. I also found online interviews with Mary Tom, Noel Toy, and Dorothy Toy. For those who’d like to
see
some of the performers in their heyday, allow me to recommend David Wells’s postings on YouTube and his website:
softfilm.blogspot.com
.

The Museum of Chinese in America proved to be an invaluable resource. Alice Mong, then executive director, and Yue Ma, archive librarian, opened
all
the museum’s research materials that had been brought together for a 2002 exhibition entitled
Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance: Chinese America in the Nightclub Era
, which included Lee Mortimer’s collected columns, costumes and headdresses, videos, programs, articles, photographs, Jadin Wong’s scrapbooks (great for piecing together daily life on the Chop-Suey Circuit), contemporaneous interviews with stars, Walter Winchell’s musings, and the coverage of the murder of dancer Midi Takaoka, which served as the inspiration for Ida’s death. The museum also provided me with transcripts of the oral histories it conducted with fourteen Chinese-American performers and New York Chinatown locals who were familiar with the China Doll. Sue Lee, executive director of the Chinese Historical Society of America, opened those archives, allowing me to pore over the Kubla Khan nightclub collection, Forbidden City waitress costumes, and old issues of the
Chinese Digest
, as well as other materials on Charlie Low and the Forbidden City.

I also relied on the works (and numerous personal kindnesses) of others. Ben Shahn’s 1938 photographs of Plain City taken for the Farm Security Administration put me on Grace’s hometown streets. For information on Treasure Island, I’m obliged to the writings of Patricia F. Carpenter and Paul Totah (
The San Francisco Fair
), Jack
James and Earle Vonard Weller (
Treasure Island: “The Magic City,” 1939–1940
), Jason Pipe (
Images of San Francisco’s Treasure Island
), and Richard Reinhardt (
Treasure Island—1939–1940
). Treasure Island’s website and the exhibition in the old Administration Building / Air Terminal were also helpful. For details on clothes and theatrical costumes, I looked to works by Joan Nunn, Jonathan Walford, and Doreen Yarwood. For general information on nightclubs, dance, dancers, and San Francisco Chinatown, thank-yous to Raymond Chung (who sent me an early draft of his article on the Kubla Khan), Gloria Heyung Chun (
Of Orphans & Warriors
), Lorraine Dong (“The Forbidden City Legacy”), Amy Gorman (
Aging Artfully
), San-San Kwan (“Performing a Geography of Asian America”), Him Mark Lai (
Him Mark Lai: Autobiography of a Chinese American Historian
), Anthony W. Lee (
Picturing Chinatown
), Dugal O’Liam (“Playboy of the Eastern World”), Harley Spiller (“Late Night in the Lion’s Den”), Rusty E. Frank (
Tap!
), Susan Waggoner (
Nightclub Nights
), Leong Gor Yun (
Chinatown Inside Out
), and Judy Yung (
Unbound Feet
and
Images of America: San Francisco’s Chinatown
).

Much has been written about the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. I relied on the following works for historical accuracy: Honda Katsuichi’s
The Nanjing Massacre
, Iris Chang’s
The Rape of Nanking
, Marjorie Lee’s
Duty & Honor
, the essays in
The Home-Front War
(edited by Kenneth Paul O’Brien and Lynn Hudson Parsons), and the remarkable (if bigoted) coverage in
Time
and
Life
. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco was invaluable for its time line and details of events that happened in the Bay Area during the war. Patsy Sumie Saiki’s
Ganbare!
and Yasutaro Soga’s
Life Behind Barbed Wire
gave me a vivid sense of what life was like for
Issei
and
Nisei
in Hawaii in the hours and days immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as well as the experience of those who were sent to internment camps.

I grew up hearing stories of internment from friends and family, but I’d also like to acknowledge the wonderful oral histories of Janet Daijogo, Fumi Hayashi, Chizu Iiyama, and Masaru Kawaguichi
about their experiences at Topaz, which can be found on the Telling Stories website. I have long been a fan of Kyoko Mori’s memoir,
Polite Lies
, in which she writes about the differences between American and Japanese culture. Writer Naomi Hirahara gave me some eleventh-hour advice on Japanese words and phrases.
You Don’t Know Jack
, a documentary about Jack Soo, né Goro Suzuki, illustrated how yet another performer was able to navigate difficult times. Regarding the concept of “they all look alike,” I recommend the following website to see how good you are at telling the differences:
http://alllooksame.com/exam_room.php
.

A few special words about Bob Loomis, my longtime editor, now retired. Bob spent a lot of time in Plain City as a little boy, and he filled my head with many colorful stories. Bob was also an airman, who visited Los Angeles (and its myriad nightclubs) during the war. I studied his
The Story of the U.S. Air Force
, and asked him dozens of questions about training and planes. Beyond all that, I’m grateful for his friendship, generosity, and encouragement to me over the years. I would not be the writer I am if not for him.

All this leads me to the people without whom my words would be as vapor. My agent, Sandra Dijkstra, and the industrious women in her office are unfailingly loyal, caring, and compassionate. My editors, Susan Kamil and Kara Cesare, were forthright, thoughtful, and meticulous. Gina Centrello and everyone else at Random House—Benjamin Dreyer, Vincent La Scala, Barbara Fillon, Maria Braeckel, Sally Marvin, Laura Goldin, and so many more—believe in me, support me, and help me in innumerable ways. Closer to home, I wish to thank Nicole Bruno and Mari Lemus for their hard work and thoughtfulness. My mother-in-law, Elaine Kendall, told me wonderful details about clothes during World War II. My mother, Carolyn See, and my sister, Clara Sturak, read the manuscript and gave me loving advice. Last, none of this would matter if not for my husband, Richard Kendall; my sons, Alexander and Christopher; and my daughter-in-law, Elizabeth.

Thank you, everyone.

For Henry Theodore Kendall

BY LISA SEE

China Dolls

Dreams of Joy

Shanghai Girls

Peony in Love

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Dragon Bones

The Interior

Flower Net

On Gold Mountain

About the Author

L
ISA
S
EE
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Dreams of Joy
,
Shanghai Girls
,
Peony in Love
,
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
,
Flower Net
(an Edgar Award nominee),
The Interior
, and
Dragon Bones
, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir
On Gold Mountain
. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles.

www.lisasee.com
Facebook.com/LisaSee
@Lisa_See

Lisa See is available for select readings and lectures. To inquire about a possible appearance, please contact the Random House Speakers Bureau at 212-572-2013 or
[email protected]
.