Toshia Mori Appreciation

Toshia Mori was born Toshia Ichioka on January 1, 1912 in Kyoto, Japan. She moved to the United States at the age of ten and began her movie career as a teenager.

Ms. Mori's career was quite brief in Hollywood--lasting only a decade--but she did make some legendary strides, one of them includes being the only WAMPAS Baby of color. She'd go on to marry actor Allen Jung (and would be credited as "Shia Jung" in some films) and is believed to have been a researcher for Robert Ripley's short films, Ripley's Believe It or Not. 

Toshia Mori passed away on November 26, 1995. Details on how or why her career ended so soon are a mystery, but thanks to the internet, we do have access to some of work......

As stated above, Toshia Mori was the only woman of color to ever be selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star. Here is a newsreel featuring Toshia and the other ladies selected for the year of 1932:

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TOSHIA MORI ON YOUTUBE

Below are links to three movies available on Youtube that feature Ms. Mori:

Reaching for the Moon (1930)

In this movie, Toshia Mori goes uncredited as a "Coat Girl."

The Hatchet Man (1932)

Ms. Mori goes uncredited as "Miss Ling, Wong' Secretary" in this film. 

Warning: There is an overwhelming amount of yellowface used in this movie and also an overwhelming amount of users in the comments who see absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)

Ms. Mori plays the role of Ling Tse in what was possibly her last film. 

Warning: This movie also contains use of yellowface, as all Charlie Chan films do. 

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I hope you all take some time to check out the talents of this beautiful, unsung, and mysterious actress. 

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The image of Ms. Toshia Mori was obtained from her Wikipedia page and may be copyrighted. This image was used for educational purposes only, but if the owner(s) wish(es) to have it removed, please contact me and I will do so immediately. 

Info. Sources:

IMDb (used for Movie Search)

Wikipedia

Find-A-Grave