George Kuwa
George Kuwa (born Keichii Kuwahara) was a Japanese and American Issei (Japanese immigrant) film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1931. He was the first actor to portray Charlie Chan on-screen in the 1926 film serial The House Without a Key.
George Kuwa

Exhibitors' Trade Review · Exhibitors' Trade Review page 39 · Public domain
- Name
- George Kuwa
- Birth Name
- Keiichi Kuwahara
- Born
- 7 April 1885
- Birthplace
- Hiroshima, Japan
- Died
- 13 October 1931
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, US
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- Japan · United States
- Languages
- English
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — George Kuwa • Birth Name — Keiichi Kuwahara • Born — 7 April 1885 • Birthplace — Hiroshima, Japan • Died — 13 October 1931 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, US • Years Active — 1916–1931 • Occupation — Actor
Early life
Early life
According to contemporaneous reports, Kuwa was born in Hiroshima, Japan on 7 April 1885. His father was a judge and wanted George to follow suit.
Career
Career
Kuwa moved to the U.S. around 1916 or 1917 and began a career in Hollywood. Like many Japanese actors of the era, he often played Chinese characters. He made several films in Japan as well before returning to the U.S.
Death
Death
He died in Los Angeles on October 13, 1931 at the age of 46.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• The Soul of Kura San (1916) • The Yellow Pawn (1916) • The Bottle Imp (1917) • The Countess Charming (1917) • Rimrock Jones (1918) • The Woman in the Web (1918) • Toby's Bow (1919) • The Willow Tree (1920) • Sick Abed (1920) • The Round-Up (1920) • Officer 666 (1920) • Midsummer Madness (1921) • The Invisible Fear (1921) • Nobody's Fool (1921) • Five Days to Live (1922) • Moran of the Lady Letty (1922) • Bought and Paid For (1922) • Sherlock Brown (1922) • The Half Breed (1922) • Enter Madame (1922) • The Beautiful and Damned (1922) • The World's Applause (1923) • Daddy (1923) • The Eternal Struggle (1923) • The Storm Daughter (1924) • Curlytop (1924) • The Man from Wyoming (1924) • Broken Barriers (1924) • Oh Doctor! (1925) • Head Winds (1925) • A Son of His Father (1925) • The Enchanted Hill (1926) • A Trip to Chinatown (1926) • The Dice Woman (1926) • The Silver Treasure (1926) • The Nutcracker (1926) • That Model from Paris (1926) • The House Without a Key (1926) • Melting Millions (1927) • Perch of the Devil (1927) • White Pants Willie (1927) • The Night Bride (1927) • The Chinese Parrot (1927) • The Warning (1927) • The Secret Hour (1928) • The Showdown (1928) • Chinatown Charlie (1928) • After the Storm (1928) • Wicked (1931)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article George Kuwa, revision 1356944852 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
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