I was working as a photographer at the East-West Center in 1970 when I met Charlie Chang, Jr. He billed himself as a steeplejack, although he wrote it out in two words, “Steeple Jack.” Chang had apparently been hired to fix the flagpoles outside Jefferson Hall. Chang’s van was a bit of local folk art, and the man himself was as well. What a show!
I don’t know who does this kind of work today, but I bet they’re nowhere near as colorful!
A reader provided some key background on “Charlie Chang.” He wrote:
That fellow’s real name was Sam Apana, son of former HPD detective Chang Apana. The latter was said to have been the inspiration for the Charlie Chan character immortalized in books and film. Very clever for Sam to bill himself as “Charlie Chang Jr.”
I had forgotten about these photos until I recently came across them in a box of the papers. I scanned a couple from enlargements, the others from a contact sheet. Not ideal, but enough to tell the tale!
–> See more photos of Charlie Chang at work!
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That fellow’s real name was Sam Apana, son of former HPD detective Chang Apana. The latter was said to have been the inspiration for the Charlie Chan character immortalized in books and film. Very clever for Sam to bill himself as “Charlie Chang Jr.”
Thanks so much for that background. I searched for “Charlie Chang, Jr.” and came up blank. By my figuring, Apana must have been about 70 when I watched him at the EWC.
Amazing series of photos. That cigar looks surgically attached.