{"id":3874,"date":"2016-09-03T14:56:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T14:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sixtiescinema.com\/?p=3874"},"modified":"2016-09-03T14:56:20","modified_gmt":"2016-09-03T14:56:20","slug":"happy-belated-birthday-china-lee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomlisanti.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/03\/happy-belated-birthday-china-lee\/","title":{"rendered":"HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY CHINA LEE!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"achina\"<\/a>An Asian beauty noted for her long jet black hair, this Playboy Centerfold never rose out of minor roles and was almost always bikini-clad in her movies to the delight of her many male admirers.\u00a0China Lee became Playboy<\/em>\u2019s first Asian American Playmate of the Month when she disrobed as Miss August 1964. She was one of 1964\u2019s most popular centerfolds and came close to being named Playmate of the Year but lost out to Jo Collins.\u00a0 With an alluring smile and a figure measuring 35-22-35, it is no wonder movies beckoned for this captivating beauty though throughout her career she was considered a sort of poor man\u2019s Irene Tsu.<\/p>\n

Lee made her film debut playing a hooker in the obscure comedy The Troublemaker<\/em> (1964).\u00a0 She then joined a gaggle of starlets as anonymous gold lame bikini-clad robots in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine<\/em> (1965) a takeoff on James Bond\u2019s Goldfinger<\/em>. \u00a0The following year Lee kept busy in a string of minor roles beginning with Harper<\/em>\u00a0starring Paul Newman;\u00a0The Swinger<\/em>\u00a0starring Ann-Margret; and Paradise<\/em>, Hawaiian Style<\/em>\u00a0starring Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n

But the film that brought China the most notoriety was Woody Allen\u2019s spy spoof, What\u2019s Up, Tiger Lily?<\/em> (1966).\u00a0 Allen took a serious Japanese spy adventure, threw out the original dialog and plot, and re-dubbed it turning the movie into a comedy about an agent trying to foil an evil organization from getting their hands on the world\u2019s best egg salad recipe.\u00a0 China Lee doesn\u2019t appear until the very end in a new scene added with Allen.\u00a0 As he lounges on a sofa munching on an apple, the curvy lass dressed in a tight black dress begins stripping for him as the end credits start to roll.\u00a0 Just as she is about to remove her black panties, Allen stops her and says directly to the audience, \u201cI promised I\u2019d put her in the film\u2026somewhere\u201d as the screen freezes and then fades to black.\u00a0 Lee\u2019s curvaceous bikini-clad figure was prominently displayed on the movie\u2019s poster art.\u00a0 Though the movie brought Lee to the masses as the still of her in her swimsuit was used to promote the movie worldwide it didn\u2019t bring her any significant film roles.<\/p>\n

China was back playing bits in the Sonny and Cher musical Good Times<\/em> (1967) and in the satire on Southern California lifestyles\u00a0Don\u2019t Make Waves<\/em> (1967) starring Tony Curtis and Sharon Tate.\u00a0 Lee\u2019s last film role was a minor bit as a rowdy roller derby patron sitting next to Robert Forster and Marianna Hill in Haskell Wexler\u2019s groundbreaking film Medium Cool<\/em> (1969). She retired from show business shortly after.<\/p>\n

You can read more about China Lee and past birthday girl Bettina Brenna in my book Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n