Dino Velvet
11-10-2011, 09:35 AM
Did you know that the lady that played Mrs Lee was not Chinese but Japanese? What were they thinking back then? The 70s were a different time.
Calgon Water Softener Commercial 1970s - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjNRXfRXnoc)
Busted, right???
Calgon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgon)
A famous commercial from the early 70s that ran for years was for Calgon Water Softener.
A Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee" (played by Calvin Jung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Jung)), a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinglish), "Ancient Chinese secret."
The scene changes to Mrs. Lee, who is in an adjoining room. Mrs. Lee (Japanese-American actress Anne Miyamoto) appears ethnically (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnically) Chinese, but she speaks English with a thoroughly American accent, and explains to the audience that her husband's "ancient Chinese secret" is that he uses Calgon water softener.
Mrs. Lee ultimately gives the secret away by sticking her head into the front room where Mr. Lee and the customer are standing, and shouts "We need more Calgon!" To which the customer replies "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?" while Mr. Lee accepts the exposure with good humor.
Calgon Water Softener Commercial 1970s - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjNRXfRXnoc)
Busted, right???
Calgon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgon)
A famous commercial from the early 70s that ran for years was for Calgon Water Softener.
A Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee" (played by Calvin Jung (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Jung)), a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinglish), "Ancient Chinese secret."
The scene changes to Mrs. Lee, who is in an adjoining room. Mrs. Lee (Japanese-American actress Anne Miyamoto) appears ethnically (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnically) Chinese, but she speaks English with a thoroughly American accent, and explains to the audience that her husband's "ancient Chinese secret" is that he uses Calgon water softener.
Mrs. Lee ultimately gives the secret away by sticking her head into the front room where Mr. Lee and the customer are standing, and shouts "We need more Calgon!" To which the customer replies "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?" while Mr. Lee accepts the exposure with good humor.