Birth Name: Kenneth Glenn Dickerson
Date of Birth: August 25, 1916
Place of Birth: Spring Lake, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of Death: October 25, 1991
Place of Death: Mesa, Arizona, U.S.
Ethnicity: African-American, as well as one eighth African-Cuban
Khigh Dhiegh was an American actor and Taoist rector. He was known for his recurring role as Wo Fat on the series Hawaii Five-O, from 1968 to 1980. He also appeared in films such as The Destructors, How to Murder Your Wife, and The Hawaiians. He also starred in the short-lived series Khan. He exclusively played characters of East Asian descent. He was also credited as Kaie Deei. He legally changed his name to Khigh Alx Dhiegh.
Khigh was the son of Capitola and Nathaniel Dickerson. His father was born in New York. His mother was born in Pennsylvania. He grew up in New York City. He publicly claimed that his father was of “Portuguese, Italian, and South African Zulu” descent, and that his mother was of “Sp
anish, English, Egyptian, and Chinese” descent. This does not appear to be accurate, and none of these various ethnicities have been verified. On a 1943 ship’s manifest, he listed his race as Egyptian.
Khigh was married to Mary K. (Pearman) Dickerson, with whom he had two children.
Khigh’s paternal grandfather was named William Dickerson. William was born in New Jersey, to a father from Maryland and a mother from New Jersey.
Khigh’s paternal grandmother was Clara Williams (the daughter of Jose Molina/Joseph Williams and Amelia). Clara was born in New York. Jose/Joseph was born in Cuba. He changed his surname to Amelia’s maiden name. Amelia was born in either New York or Maryland.
Khigh’s maternal grandfather was named Theodore Pyror. Theodore was born in South Carolina.
Khigh’s maternal grandmother was named Grace Rogers (the daughter of William Rogers and Adelaide). Grace was born in New York. William was born in New York. Adelaide was born in New York or Canada. On the 1910 U.S. Census, Grace listed her and her parents’ birthplace as Cuba, but this does not appear to be accurate.
Source: Genealogy of Khigh Dhiegh – https://www.familysearch.org
The post Khigh Dhiegh appeared first on Ethnicity of Celebs | EthniCelebs.com.