Celebrities who adopted English names or shortened their real names before fame

George’s father was born in Yamanashi, Japan and immigrated to the United States when he was about 10 years old. His mother was born in California after his parents emigrated from Hiroshima, Japan. In 1942, shortly before George turned 5, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. As a result, George and his family—and roughly 120,000 Japanese people (most of whom were born in the United States)—were forcibly sent to a Japanese internment camp.

George’s maternal grandparents before World War II came back Hiroshima’s mother with her younger siblings. Although his grandparents survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, his aunt and 5-year-old son died. After the war ended, George and his family were released from the camp and lived on Skid Row in Los Angeles for five years.

“Our bank accounts were seized, our home was repossessed, our business was out of business, and the only place we could find an apartment was on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, which for us kids—I mean, I was 8 years old at the time—was. just as traumatic as the day the soldiers came and took us away” – George He told CBC.

In 1960, George graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree, and a few years later he was cast as Hikaru Sulu. Star Trek. When talking about his success as an actor and platform, George said“It is my responsibility as an American who lived through and was shaped by my childhood incarceration to do what I can to bring our democracy closer to the ideals he cherished.”