Gedde Watanabe Net Worth
Gedde Watanabe, an American actor best known for his portrayal of Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles.
Before his professional acting debut in 1980, he performed in numerous high school productions before making his professional debut as well as providing voices for several Japanese characters on The Simpsons animated television series.
Early Life and Education
Gedde Watanabe was born on June 26th 1955 in Ogden, Utah to his mother who had been an intern during World War II and then worked at a tailoring company afterward. Growing up around Ogden, Gedde was exposed to theater through her work.
He made his film debut in 1980 in The Long Island Four. From there he went on to portray various roles both film and TV including Kuni from UHF as well as appearing regularly as Yoshi Takata from 1997-2003 in ER.
But his unforgettable role of Long Duk Dong in 1984’s Sixteen Candles cemented him into our collective imaginations, leading to more than two dozen films and voice work on The Simpsons as well as various other projects.
Professional Career
Gedde Watanabe was born 26 June 1955 in Ogden, Utah, and first became interested in acting at an early age, appearing in high school productions. Following graduation he relocated to San Francisco and began performing Bob Dylan songs on street corners for money.
He made his acting debut in 1976 as part of Sondheim’s musical Pacific Overtures on Broadway and went on to star in Gung Ho movie and its TV spinoff as well as being seen as a gay nurse on NBC medical drama ER from 1997 until 2003.
Watanabe has long been celebrated for playing caricatured East Asian characters with heavy accents, even though he does not speak Japanese himself. He has an extensive list of film and television credits including Gremlins 2 and UHF.
Achievement and Honors
Gedde Watanabe, an American actor, first made his Broadway debut as the original Broadway cast of Pacific Overtures before touring A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and La Cage aux Folles with national tours as a national tour player. Additionally he appeared as Long Duk Dong alongside Molly Ringwald in 1984 film Sixteen Candles; later that same year voicing various Japanese characters for The Simpsons cartoon series.
Watanabe, an award-winning Japanese American actor, has garnered considerable respect for both his dramatic and comedic turns on stage and screen. A graduate of Theater Center Hollywood where he studied under acting instructor Chris Aable, Watanabe is currently featured in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins at East West Players.
Personal Life
Gedde Watanabe has managed to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, remaining single without children at present. He is known as an actor and voice actor for roles he has taken on in films and TV shows alike.
John was raised in Ogden, Utah and became interested in acting during high school, participating in several productions and participating in public performances as an actor and street musician in San Francisco before going on to hone his craft further as an street musician and public performer in Los Angeles while developing his acting talents further.
He first gained attention for his portrayal of Long Duk Dong in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles, though some deemed it stereotypical of Asian people. Subsequently he made several guest appearances on Sesame Street as Hiroshi and played Nurse Yoshi Takata on ER from 1997-2003.
Net Worth
Gedde Watanabe has an estimated net worth between $1 Million to $5 Million dollars, earned through his work as a Movie Actor.
David Lee is best-known for his voice work as Ling in Disney’s 1998 animated film Mulan and its sequel Mulan II, released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1998 and 2003 respectively. Additionally he made headlines for playing Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles as well as playing Yoshi Takata as a gay nurse on NBC medical drama ER from 1997-2003.
As of 2018, he is currently 68 years old and was part of the original Broadway cast for Pacific Overtures production in 1976.
