China Lee

China Lee
Playboy centerfold appearance
August 1964
Preceded by	Melba Ogle
Succeeded by	Astrid Schulz
Personal details
Born	September 2, 1942 (1942-09-02) (age 69) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.[1]
Measurements	Bust: 35"[1] Waist: 22" Hips: 35"
Height	5 ft 4.5 in (1.64 m)[1]
Weight	112 lb (51 kg; 8.0 st)

China Lee, born Margaret Lee, (born September 2, 1942)^[1] is an American model and actress. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for the August 1964 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar.^[1] She was the first Asian American Playmate. According to her Playmate profile, her name is pronounced "chee-na" to rhyme with "Tina".

Early life

Lee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Chinese parents who had emigrated to the United States after their marriage. The family owned a laundry. She is the youngest of eight children and the younger sister of Harry Lee, who served as the sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana for about 28 years.^[2]

Career

Lee worked as a hairstylist and waitress, then as a Playboy Club Bunny, before appearing in Playboy. She had been a "Training Bunny," which required her to travel to different Playboy Clubs to teach prospective Bunnies their duties.

Lee appeared at the end of Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, performing a striptease.

Personal life

She married comedian Mort Sahl in 1967. They divorced in 1991. Their only child, Mort Sahl, Jr. died on March 27, 1996 at the age of 19.^[3]

Partial filmography

• Medium Cool (1969)
• Don't Make Waves (1967)
• Good Times (1967)
• The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967)
• The Swinger (1966)
• What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
• Harper (1966) .... Dancer
• Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
• The Troublemaker (1964)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Playmate data". http://wekinglypigs.com/cgi-bin/nand/search/pmstat?browse=%3A%3ACONFIG%3A%3Amodelbrowse&key=lee%2C+china&limit=0. Retrieved 2 February 2011. 
2. ^ Feng, Rex (12 November 2007). "Showdown With The ‘Chinese Cowboy’: Wrangling with the legacy of late Louisiana Sheriff Harry Lee". AsianWeek. http://www.asianweek.com/2007/11/12/showdown-with-the-%E2%80%98chinese-cowboy%E2%80%99-wrangling-with-the-legacy-of-late-louisiana-sheriff-harry-lee/. Retrieved 1 May 2011. 
3. ^ Army Archerd (June 21, 1996). "Copperfield Act Could Blow Away Auds". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117862937?categoryid=2&cs=1. Retrieved 2006-11-09. "Mort Sahl, "picking up the pieces" since the March 27 death of his son, Mort Jr., returns to the stage, with a four-week stand at the Tiffany, starting July 17." 

External links

• China Lee at Playboy.com
• China Lee at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Lee, China
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 2, 1942
Place of birth	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death