Chang Apana, The Real Charlie Chan?

I first heard about Chang Apana in a featurette on one of the Charlie Chan DVD sets.  I knew a real life detective inspired Earl Derr Biggers to create Charlie Chan.  I did not know who the man was.  Chang Apana was that man.

Chang Apana (born Ah Ping Chang) on December 26, 1871 on the island of Oahu was the son of Chinese-Hawaiian parents,  Chang moved back and forth between China and Hawaii as a child before returning to Hawaii for good as a teenager.  He worked as a cowboy before becoming a humane society officer in 1894.  Animal enforcement was part of the Honolulu Police, where he would serve for the next 34 years.

Chang spoke Hawaiian, Hawaiian Pidgin and Chinese.  He was also the only Chinese member of the police department.  After a few years, he was promoted from animal enforcement to Chinatown patrol.  Eventually, he would become a detective specializing in gambling and smuggling.  Unlike Charlie Chan, he rarely worked a murder case.

Chang still holds the record for most arrests in one case, when he arrested 70 offenders.  He walked the group down the main street to the police station.  The local newspaper commented on being treated to “yesterday’s parade courtesy of Officer Apana”.

Chang Apana was well established as a detective, when Earl Derr Biggers visited the island in 1919 and was inspired to write House Without a Key.  He continued to read the Honolulu newspapers after returning to New York.

He wrote a letter in 1932, which acknowledged Chang Apana as the inspiration for Charlie Chan.  Derr Bigger’s wife said she always believed Charlie Chan was based on Derr Bigger’s himself.  The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Chang Apana was a thin, tough man, who carried a bull whip instead of a gun.  His face bore the marks of his profession as he had been slashed on the face a couple of times and stabbed more than five time.

The Charlie Chan character seems to resemble Derr Bigger’s physique and reported character.  I think Derr Biggers blended his own qualities with Chang Apana’s exploits and character to create Charlie Chan.

Interestingly, 1933 would be the year both men succumbed to illness.  Derr Biggers, who was born on August 26, 1884, suffered a fatal heart attack on April 5, 1933.  He was dead at 48 years of age.

On December 8, 1933, Chang Apana died from the effects of gangrene.  He had been injured in a car accident in 1932.  His leg was amputated on December 7, 1933 but he died the next day.  He was 61 years of age.

Chang Apana and Earl Derr Biggers both left a lasting legacy.  Charlie Chan was part of this legacy.

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