The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 132

Irene Yah-Ling Sun and Evan Kim co-star as Anna and Kim, offspring of Kahn. (high Dhiegh: (SfocacDDe (Ream's hope I would be just playing a human being afflicted with certain cultural traditions, as is the case with all of us." Dhiegh launched into his concepts of humanity, the races and cultures. It was all very scholarly. One could almost hear temple bells and gongs ringing in pagodas somewhere in the middle distance. Dhiegh says he belongs to no specific religion anymore than he is a member of a particular race.

But he is the rector of a Taoist sanctuary in North Hollywood. He is the author of "The Eleventh Wing," dealing with the ancient Chinese teachings of I. Ching. Although he appears to be imperturbable, Dhiegh is far more scrutable than most fictional Orientals and he hopes to play "Khan" with much more animation than the likes of Chan and Moto. ANEW sort of television hero lumbers across the tube in the person of Khigh Dhiegh, starring in the title role of "Khan!" Khigh Dhiegh (pronounced Ki Dee) is a beefy, bald man of 64 years who has been married 40 years and is a great-grandfather.

Normally his chances for stardom in a weekly TV drama (in this case CBS) would be virtually nil. But Dhiegh is a man of extraordinary dimensions. An actor for 35 years, he is given personally to meditation, philosophic conversation and the formal manners of the Orient. But he was born in New Jersey and is blessed with an American sense of humor. He plays Khan, a San Francisco Chinatown-based detective.

Not since "Charlie Chan," "Fu Manchu" and "Mr. Moto" has an Asian sleuth or, in the case of Fu Manchu, a villain, really captured the American fancy. Caucasian actors Warner Oland and Sidney Toler played inscrutable old Charlie Chan. Peter Lorre was the super-polite Mr: Moto. Oland, Boris Karloff and Nils Asther played the dastardly Fu Manchu.

All three were Occidentals. Asther is a Scandinavian. Dhiegh whose pate is as bereft of cover as those of Telly Savalas and Yul Brynner is somewhat touchy about his own racial background. But it is safe to say he is not Scandinavian. His real name is Ken Davis.

"Khan is a Mongolian name," he said in his precise English, "but it is not listed among the 100 classical Chinese family names. "I do not like to be labeled myself. Let us say I am part Asian, African and European. It is my Dhiegh is somewhat unsettled by the fact people mistake him for another actor named Harold Sakata who played the character of Odd Job in "Goldfinger." He is the weirdo who chopped down his enemies with a steel-brimmed ra. "I don't know about starring on TV," Dhiegh said.

"I've been happy to go my own way with no one paying much attention to me. I seldom watch television and avoid watching myself at all costs." His face will be familiar to viewers who have seen him as the recurring villain in "Hawaii Five-O" and in dozens of other TV shows. "There are ethnic touches in the new series. Mostly Chinese because of the setting," Khigh Dhiegh said. "And while I wasn't sure television needed another private eye, I'm sure 'Khan' will be different." By Vernon Scott El TIH Rio A ME EL ONjNjT A TWA" actlE LlElApCI LIU I IN A alTMe pieItiee NEW RO RGE olsr rTaIy AND ElPlS I IMP ACROSS 16 Open space 17 Printer's measure 18 Miss Louise's initials 19 Lloyd's last name 21 Erickson's cufflink letters 22 Dine 24 Liqht brown 25 TV commercials 26 Little 29 Zack Wheeler has three 31 Miss Address' towel marks 32 Girl My Life 33 TV movie spool 35 Let's Make a 38 Serling or Taylor 39 Feminine (ab.) I Pictured, a TV vet.

Janssen 6 Hit role is Orwell 1 1 Story 12 Miss Learned' TV name 14 Certain railway (coll.) 15 Mile Stone, for one (si.) EAL FUJA QEMMlQMlLlE atrip YEASTY ED Answer to last week's punle mmmx w7 Mm 13 Ed or Nancy 20 Ayres' note signature 23 Musical note 25 Article 27 TV actor's signal 28 Holbrook or March 29 Caesar 30 Life to Live 33 Terry Webster, for one 34 McMahon's first name 36 the World Turns 37 The House on the Prairie 38 Romper 39 Public exhibitions 40 Borqnine's laundry marks 41 Mary T. or Roger 43 Mr. Randall 45 Campbell 46 Regretted 49 Guido's note 51 Disencumber 54 55 (Rom.) 56 Chinese distance unit 42 Take a chair 44 Scoreless tie 45 Eva or Zsa Zsa 47 Tell the Truth 48 Approve, for short 49 Wallach 50 Days of Lives 52 Weiqht unit (ab.) 53 Cheryl or Roger 55 Charles Nelson 57 Good Times family name 58 Albert DOWN 1 The 6 Million Man 2 Trumpeter Hirt 3 Morrow 4 Sacred image 5 Train station 6 Crane's onetime role 7 Mr. Alda 8 Torn 9 Vauqhn's stationery insigne 10 Gives forth 1 1 Nickname for a Graves 1 12 13 14 15 I 16 17 18 19 110 FT 12 13 14 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 128 29 30 31 oft 32 33 134 23 35 36 137 38 39 40 141 42 43 44 (45 46j 47 48 49 50 5T 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 I I I I See next week's issue for solution TV 5 I San Francisco serves as the backdrop for "Kahn!" with Khigh Dhiegh starring in the CBS show Friday at 8 p.m. THE PITTSBURGH PRESS, FEBRUARY 23, 1975.