Reiko Sato ( ja, レイコ・佐藤; December 19, 1931 – May 28, 1981) was an American dancer and actress.

Early life

Sato was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California, to an

issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...

Zen Buddhist priest, Ken-ichi Sato and his wife Chieko. She and her family were

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

at the

Gila River War Relocation Center The Gila River War Relocation Center was an American concentration camp in Arizona, one of several built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) during the Second World War for the incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. It was lo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

following the signing of Executive Order 9066. Her mother became a real estate investor after the war; Reiko also had an older brother, Keiichiro, and a younger brother, Koji. She graduated from Belmont High School in 1949, later attending

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

. She continued her studies in ballet.

Career

Sato is best known for playing seamstress Helen Chao in the 1961 feature film ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

''. She also had a dramatic role in '' The Ugly American'', receiving personal coaching from actor Marlon Brando with whom she had a relationship. She had been on contract with Fox and

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, but nothing materialized, and she retired from Hollywood. She had performed as the original Princess of Ababu in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of '' Kismet'', as well as the movie. In 1955, she played the female lead of Lotus Blossom in the second national tour of John Patrick's play '' The Teahouse of the August Moon'' opposite

Larry Parks Samuel Lawrence Klausman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been ...

. She was also in the Broadway play, ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...

'', having two roles. Sato was scheduled to return to Broadway as part of a 1966 musical ''

Chu Chem ''Chu Chem'' is a musical with a book by Ted Allen, lyrics by Jim Haines and Jack Wohl, and music by Mitch Leigh. Background Allen's inspiration was a trip to Kaifeng Fu (''prefecture''), China, the site of a major Jewish migration in the 10t ...

'', but its chaotic Philadelphia tryout led to the production being cancelled before reaching New York. She participated in regional theater as well, performing in the Valentina Oumansky Dramatic Dance Ensemble on September 24, 1970, in Hilo, Hawaii.

Final years

Sato spent her final years involved in various organizations promoting equality for Asian-American performers. She lived on

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

. She died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

on May 28, 1981. Half of her ashes were sent to a Buddhist temple. The other half were "spirited away" to Marlon Brando's private island. Her authorized biography, ''Reiko Sato'' by Samuel Clemens was published on February 4, 2022.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1931 births 1981 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American stage actresses Japanese-American internees 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers American actresses of Japanese descent American film actors of Asian descent American dancers of Asian descent 20th-century American dancers {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub