Charlie Chan Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional character created by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers loosely based Chan on Honolulu, Hawaii, detective Chang Apana, and conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Chan is a detective for the Honolulu police, though many stories feature Chan traveling the world as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes. Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels, then was featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan were made, beginning in 1926. The character was first portrayed by East Asian
Charlie Chan in an American film, a departure from the sinister East Asian stereotypes in earlier movies like "Thief of Baghdad" and "Welcome Danger", which incited riots that shut down the Shanghai theater showing it." Oland's visit to China was reported extensively in Chinese newspapers, and the actor was respectfully called "Mr. Chan". In Neil Simon's "Murder By Death", Peter Sellers plays a Chinese detective called Sidney Wang, a parody of Chan. In 1980, Jerry Sherlock began production on a comedy film to be called "Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady". A group calling itself C.A.N. (Coalition of Asians to Nix) was