Jack Soo

Jack Soo (born Goro Suzuki, October 28, 1917 – January 11, 1979) was an American actor and singer. He was best known for his role as Detective Nick Yemana on the television sitcom Barney Miller. Early life Soo was born Goro Suzuki on a ship traveling in the Pacific Ocean from the United States to Japan in 1917. His parents lived in Oakland, California, and they decided that as he was the oldest boy, they wanted to have him born in Japan. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in English. He lived in Oakland until ordered into internment along with other Japanese Americans during World War II and the signing of Executive Order 9066. He was sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. His fellow internees recalled him as a "camp favorite," an entertainer singing at dances and numerous events. Soo's career as an entertainer began in earnest at the end of the war, first as a stand-up nightclub performer primarily in the Midwestern United States. He changed his name to Jack Soo while working at a Chinese night club called Chin's in Cleveland to avoid prejudice against him as a Japanese-American. During his years playing the nightclub circuit, he met and became friends with future Barney Miller producer Danny Arnold, who was also a performer at the time.