Samuel “Sam” Wu was born on February 19, 1919 at Boston, Massachusetts according to his birth certificate and World War II draft card. His Chinese name was “Wu (Ng) Shue Wah”.
The 1920 United States Census, enumerated in January, counted Wu, his father, “Shee Yin Wu” and mother, “Shee Yong Wu”, at 10 Oxford Street in Boston. Both parents were born in China and immigrated in 1900. Wu’s father was an import merchant.
In the summer of 1921 Wu and his parents made preparations to travel to China. Wu’s Form 430 application was dated July 21, 1921. At the bottom of the form was his Boston Chinese Exclusion Act case file number 2500/4100.
On August 11, 1921 the family boarded the Boston & Maine Railway and traveled through Canada to Vancouver where they boarded a steam ship to Hong Kong.
Twenty-years later Wu returned to the United States. Wu was aboard the steam ship President Coolidge when it departed Hong Kong on August 10, 1941. The passenger list said he lived with his mother, “Young Shee”, at 25 Fook Lo Village Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Wu arrived at San Francisco, California on August 28. After a short interview he was admitted that day. His Chinese Exclusion Act case file number was 41235/12-21. Wu’s final destination was to a friend, B.S. Fong at Ye On & Company at 749 Clay Street in San Francisco. His testimony revealed his education and employment.
Q What are all your names?
A Wu, Samuel or Wu (Ng) Shue Wah.
Q What is your age and birthplace?
A 22, born at Boston, Massachusetts
Q Is either parent a national of China?
A Both parents are nationals of China.
Q Of what country are you a citizen?
A I am an American citizen.
Q Did you last depart from the United States August 11, 1921?
A Yes, at the port of Boston.
Q Where have you lived since going to China in 1921?
A I resided in Canton City up to 1938. Since then I have been living in Hong Kong?
Q What occupation have you followed since January 1, 1941?
A I have been working in the Hong Kong Nail factory one year after my graduation from Lingnan University Middle School in 1938.
Q Have you ever joined or served in the armed forces of any country?
A No.
Q Have you ever had any military service in any country?
A No.
Q Did you ever accept or perform the duties of any office, post, or employment of a governmental nature?
A No.
Q Did you ever take part in any political activities in China?
A No.
Q Have you ever done anything to expatriate yourself?
A No.
Q Have you anything further to state?
A No.
Wu’s Certificate of Identity, number 85668, was issued on September 12, 1941 and mailed in care of Mrs. Choy at 1124 Clay Street in San Francisco.
On September 27, 1941 Wu signed his draft card. His San Francisco address was 1124 Clay Street. Wu’s description was five feet six inches, 106 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He worked at the Wing On Company.
On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day Japanese forces began its invasion of Hong Kong.
It’s not known if Wu served during World War II.
Wu’s photography career started in China. The 1960 publication,
Photo Study Techniques by Sam Wu, said
Sam Wu was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Canton, China. Art was his favorite school subject and his interest in photography grew out of his passion for painting. ...
Sam Wu’s Hollywood Figure Studies, published in 1967, said
... Sam Wu was born in Boston, but spent his youth in China, returning to this country just before Pearl Harbor. In Canton, he developed his natural Oriental penchant for art and began to paint in water colors. He thought seriously of a career as an artist and, when he returned to the United States to live, he settled in Los Angeles and attended the Art Center School. Here, as an adjunct to his art, he began to train himself to use a camera. It was love at first sight, however, and he soon abandoned the brush for the camera. So quickly did he develop his photographic skill that when America became involved in World War II just three months after he arrived in Los Angeles [sic], he was hired by Lockheed Aircraft as an industrial photographer. ...
Wu’s photographic talent was recognized in Hong Kong. The
Hongkong Telegraph, October 9, 1939, said he received a commendation in the newspaper’s competition. The
Hongkong Daily Press, June 8, 1940, said Wu was awarded a Certificate of Merit at the Annual Overseas Competition of 1939–40. The
Hongkong Telegraph, October 12, 1940, said Wu was the second prize in winner in the section for Still Life and Table Top Studies.
One of Wu’s photographs, “Uncle”, was published in the
Detroit News Pictorial, June 7, 1942.
Wu submitted the
same photograph to
Popular Photography’s picture contest. The
December 1942 issue said Wu was awarded a U.S. War Savings Stamp.
Wu’s San Francisco address, 1124 Clay Street, was listed in
The American Annual of Photography 1943, Volume 57 (1942). The same address was in the 1943 San Francisco city directory which said his employer was the U.S. Forest Service. Later in 1943 Wu moved to Los Angeles.
Wu’s “Flowers” was published in
The Camera, September 1943. He was awarded a cash prize in the magazine’s September War Bond Contest.
The
Dallas Morning News, January 9, 1944, reported
Camera Magazine’s exhibition which included Wu’s “Son of China”. The reviewer praised Wu’s photograph for “superior photographic portraiture”.
Minicam Photography, March 1945, published Wu’s photograph which was composed of seven exposures. This image was also published in László Moholy-Nagy’s 1945 book,
Vision in Motion.
Minicam Photography
Vision in Motion
Wu received an honorable mention in the cover contest hosted by
Minicam Photography as noted in the December 1945 issue.
He did it again one year later and his photograph was published. A photograph of the California cover contest winners, including Wu, appeared in
Minicam Photography, January 1947.
Minicam Photography, February 1947, published Wu’s photograph on the contents page.
I believe Wu also did some cartoons for
Popular Photography,
March 1947 and
December 1947.
The
Hollywood Citizen-News, March 15, 1947, featured four photographs by Wu on its women’s page.
Wu shot the cover of
Minicam Photography, May 1947. The following month
Popular Photography printed his merry-go-round picture.
In 1949 Wu was a winner in the
Minicam Photography cover contest and
Popular Photography’s picture contest. His winning continued in
Popular Photography for
1951 and
1953. Wu had a photograph in
Popular Photography for
May 1950 and
September 1950.
The 1950 census counted Wu (line 27) at 628 South Ardmore in Los Angeles. He was a commercial photographer.
The newspaper magazine supplement
Parade used Wu on three assignments for
hospitals (January 14, 1951),
medicine (May 26, 1951) and four actresses (July 18, 1954)
here and
here.
Mesa of Lost Women was a low-budget, black-and-white horror film released in 1953. (Descriptions are at
The Exhibitor (June 17, 1953),
Scifist,
Psychotronic Video #30, page 13, and
Son of Golden Turkey Awards, page 156.) The
National Legion of Decency reviewed the film and rated it Class B because of “suggestive sequence and situations.” I believe Wu was the servant in the film. Compare his 1941 photograph to the film close-up.
Who cast Wu is not known. The movie is at the
Internet Archive. Wu made his first appearance at the 23:26 mark. His screen credit appeared not at the opening but at the end of the film. Wu was credited on the
poster.
In
Popular Photography, May 1957, Wu (above) described how he used a 35mm camera for glamour photography. Wu was included in the 1959 publication,
10 Top Glamour Photographers. Wu photographed Nobu McCarthy,
Greta Chi and other women for
Photo Study Techniques by Sam Wu (1960).
Wu pictures were featured in Figure Annual, Summer 1964, and Figure Photo Ideas by Noted Camera Artists. Two more publications focused on Wu’s women: Sam Wu’s Hollywood Figure Studies (1967) and Glamor Photography #5 (1968) which included a profile.
All About Sam Wu
Sam Wu, one of America’s most famous glamor photographers, was born in Boston. He spent most of his youth in China, but returned to this country just before World War II.
While in the Orient, he developed a natural taste and talent for art and devoted himself to water colors. It is not difficult to see this early gift for composition and delicate but precise effects expressed in the glamor photos for which he is known around the world.
He attended the Art Center School in Los Angeles, but gradually gave up brush and palette for camera and tripod. During World War II he was employed by Lockheed Aircraft as an industrial photographer.
When the war ended, Sam Wu established his own studio in Los Angeles. Industrial assignments led to adverting work. This, in turn, introduced him to the glamor field, although the bulk of his work is still in advertising.
The student of photography—and particularly of glamor photography—will be interested in tracing the various influences in Wu’s work to his past career. As we said, the composition and subtle imagery of Oriental brushwork is present in his glamor photos of today. Similarly, it is not difficult to see the influence of his industrial work, for his prints have a crisp precision that belongs to blueprints and engineering mock-ups.
And finally, his work in advertising has taught him the very basic motivations of any visual art—what interests people and what moves them. All these factors—Oriental painting, industrial photography and advertising work combine with Wu’s innate sense of style and good taste to produce glamor photos of unique airiness, grace and a beauty that, in some prints, approaches the ethereal.
Like most professionals, he works with a battery of cameras that would be the envy of almost any beginning amateur. His favorites are his Hasselblad and Rollei, though he sometimes uses a Mamiyaflex when working outdoors with 120. He also uses a Pentax and Nikon, mostly for glamor portraits, to which a special chapter is devoted in this book.
Throughout the book you will find valuable tips and hints for the beginner, distilled from Sam Wu’s many years in several fields of photography. But perhaps his most trenchant contributions are the photos themselves, displaying a very personal and individual combination of the simple and the subtle.
They are precise photos, beautifully lighted, professionally printed, artistically composed. But they are also warm and intimate photos that cross the line from a craft to an art. The amateur may learn much from studying them, and the professional can appreciate once again the importance of a unique style and approach to a familiar field.
Here, then are the glamor photographs of Sam Wu, an artist with a camera who has created pictures of enduring beauty stamped with his own masterful technique.
Wu passed away on August 19, 2005 in Los Angeles. He was laid to rest at
Rose Hills Memorial Park.
Find a Grave said Wu was married to
Grace Chunfan Wu (December 25, 1925–February 19, 2008). A record of their marriage has not been found. At Ancestry.com Grace and
Chingtung Wu (February 13, 1919–October 12, 1998) filed naturalization petitions at the same time in 1984: her petition number was 38242 and his 38243. They had the same address, 1909 Rockbridge Road, Sacramento, California. It’s not clear if they were married or siblings.
