Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-Hawaiian detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. He is the hero of a number of books and dozens of movies. At first a sergeant (but later promoted) in the Honolulu Police Department, he and his wife have eleven children and live in a house on Punchbowl Hill. He is a large man but moves gracefully.
Charlie Chan appeared in six novels by Earl Derr Biggers:
- House Without a Key (1925)
- The Chinese Parrot (1926)
- Behind the Curtain (1928)
- The Black Camel (1929)
- Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)
- Keeper of the Keys (1932)
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, an animated series made in the 1970s by Hanna-Barbera Productions, was note-worthy only because it was the only occasion on which Charlie Chan has been played by an actor of Chinese descent: Keye Luke, who had earlier appeared in the 1930s movies as Charlie Chan's eldest son. (Two Charlie Chan films made in the 1920s had starred Japanese actors.)