fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Johnny Yune (born Yoon Jong-seung, October 22, 1936 – March 8, 2020) was a Korean-American actor, singer, and comedian.[1][2] He played the lead in the 1980s films They Call Me Bruce?[3] and They Still Call Me Bruce.[4]

Johnny Yune
자니윤
Born	윤종승 Yoon Jong Seung (1936-10-22)October 22, 1936 Eumseong, Korea
Died	March 8, 2020(2020-03-08) (aged 83) Alhambra, California, United States
Occupation	Actor, singer, comedian, writer, host
Years active	1974 - 2004
Spouse	Julia Yune ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2010)​

Early life

Johnny Yune was born Yune Jong-seung in 1936 in Eumseong County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea[5] (then under Japanese rule). He graduated from Sungdong High School[6] in Sindang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, and came to Massachusetts, U.S. on an ROK Navy scholarship in 1962. He studied vocal music at Ohio Wesleyan University.[7] He became a U.S. citizen in 1978, at which point he Anglicized his first name to "John", due to its phonetic similarity.[8]

Career

In 1964, Yune practiced his stand-up routine in places such as the Cafe Tel Aviv at 250 West 72nd Street, New York City. In 1977, he was discovered at a Santa Monica comedy club by comedian Johnny Carson and was invited to appear on his talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[7] His first appearance on the show, in February 1979, became his big break because actor Charlton Heston, who was supposed to be the main guest for the night, did not arrive on time. As a result, Yune was given over 20 minutes on the show, during which he performed a stand-up set, spoke with Carson and sang "'O sole mio".[9] Carson liked Yune and had him on the show 34 times in the 1970s and 80s, making Yune one of the show's most frequent guests for a stand-up comedian.[10][11]

Yune also appeared in his own special on NBC.^{[citation needed]}

He played a Mongolian named "Jon Yune" in the 1979 movie Meteor, and performed as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s.

Yune performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics at Seoul, along with Bob Hope and Brooke Shields.

From 1989-90, he hosted The Johnny Yune Show (자니윤쇼), the first Americanized talk show in Korea.[10] Singer Jo Young-nam was a co-MC.[12] The show was a hit, but only after a year, Yune decided to leave KBS due to limited freedom of the media.

Politics

Yune was an alternate delegate at the 1988 Republican National Convention, where he sang the US National Anthem on August 16, 1988.[13]

He was appointed auditor of the Korea Tourism Organization in 2014 by the Park Geun-hye administration.[11] His appointment provoked controversy, as his critics questioned his lack of business experience and close ties to the then president.[2] He held the job for two years.[7]

Personal life

He married a Korean-American named Julia Yune in 1999; they divorced in 2010. Yune regained his Korean citizenship in 2013.[10]

Yune was diagnosed with dementia in 2017.[7] He died in Southern California on March 8, 2020 at the age of 83; per his wishes his body was donated to medical science.[11]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Meteor	Siberian man	(as Jon Yune)
1980	The Love Boat	Korean Stand-Up Comedian	Episode: "Not So Fast, Gopher/Haven't We Met Before?/Seoul Mates" (not "Foreign Exchange", per The Love Boat opening credits)
1981	The Cannonball Run	TV Talk Show Host
1982	They Call Me Bruce?	Bruce / Grandfather
1985	Gidget's Summer Reunion	Johnny Soon	TV movie
1986	Nothing in Common	Mr. Yung
1987	They Still Call Me Bruce	Bruce
1988	Hamburger Johnny
1989	The Johnny Yune Show	TV Talk Show Host	KBS
1993	Western Avenue

References

Further reading

• Profile in Little White Lies

External links

• Johnny Yune at IMDb

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