Noel Toy (born Ngum Yee Hom; December 27, 1918 – December 24, 2003) was an

American burlesque American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in America in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By th ...

performer famous for her fan dance and bubble dance, initially at the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...

nightclub in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Later, she acted in films and on television.

Early years and career

Toy was born in San Francisco, California. She was the first of eight children born to parents who immigrated from Canton, China. Toy's parents opened a laundry in

Inverness, California Inverness is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Marin County, California, United States. It is located on the southwest shore of Tomales Bay northwest of Point Reyes Station and about by road northwest of Sa ...

, where they were the only Chinese residents. Toy, who was then nicknamed "Emma", was living in 1930 with her parents (Hom Gin "Gin"; Mah "Marion" Shee) and five of her ultimately seven siblings in Point Reyes Station, Marin, California, USA She performed her routines at the Stork Club and other venues in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, before returning to San Francisco, where she was most famous at the

nightclub. In her later years, Toy had many small parts in films and television, including a role in ''

Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also in known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action comedy film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong ...

'' and frequent portrayals of Korean villagers in ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

''.

Personal life

Toy met a soldier and actor named

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

in 1945, who became enamored with the dancer after seeing her perform at

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistro ...

nightclub in New York. Their engagement was announced in June 1945, however it was called off a few weeks later. Nevertheless, they obtained a marriage license on 19 December 1945 in Manhattan; and married the next day on December 20, 1945, in New York City. They remained married until her husband's death in 1994. They had no children.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toy, Noel Chinese-American culture in San Francisco 1918 births 2003 deaths American people of Chinese descent American burlesque performers Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Actresses from San Francisco People from Inverness, California 20th-century American women 21st-century American women