Comedienne Cathy Tanaka comes from a multinational family. Her Japanese-American father met her Vietnamese mother when he was drafted and sent to Vietnam; she was an 18-year-old typist who didn’t socialize with American military personnel, and it took him four years to convince her to marry him. Tanaka grew up in Aiea in the shadow of her “really, really smart” perfectionist older sister but was smart enough to graduate from ‘Iolani School. After several years in San Francisco, and a few back home, she moved to Los Angeles, where she established herself as an actor and stand-up comedienne.
Tanaka, 39, opened for Andy Bumatai’s 65th-birthday show at the Blue Note Hawaii last month.
One of your sketches at the Blue Note was about one of your friends asking you to join her in pretending the two of you were immigrants who didn’t speak English, and then when some white guys fell for it they tried to communicate with you in stereotypical Asian-immigrant broken English. True story?
Yes. Once in San Francisco and another time here in Honolulu.
On a more serious subject, you talked about a day you were sent out to audition for the roles of “Asian prostitute,” “Asian masseuse” and “Prostitute Number Three.” Have you seen Hollywood make any progress in moving beyond those stereotypes and casting Asians in roles where race is not part of the character description?
Yes. Whereas before it was (only) “Asian masseuse” or “sushi chef” or “bar girl” or “Asian prostitute,” they’re casting Asians in comedic roles, or as the funny side-kick friend, and it’s exciting to see. In my last role on “Five-0” I was a DMV inspector — which was fun, I got to fake-vomit in front of Alex (O’Loughlin) — and the character could have been any (race or ethnicity).
How do your parents feel about being subjects of your stand-up act?
They love it. I remember my mother after one show saying “That’s me! I do squat (down) all the time,” and sometimes my dad will request that I tell a joke about him.
What do you like to do when you don’t have to do anything?
I love to watch “The Office” all day long, and watch cat videos on my phone at the same time. That’s really living!
What is something that might surprise people who know you as a comedienne?
I’m interested in medical aesthetics — anti-aging. I think that is the wave of the future.
Do you have much contact with the Vietnamese side of your family?
I’ve visited Vietnam once. Meeting my family was the best part, but it was so hard to communicate. When I was growing up my mom was too worried that I wouldn’t be Americanized enough so she didn’t teach me any Vietnamese. I have cousins who are moving here and are learning to speak English, but it would be nice to learn Vietnamese so I can communicate better with my cousins.
If you could give your 20-year-old self some advice what would it be?
Success depends on how much work you put in, on leading with positivity, setting goals for yourself, and being able to say “yes” to things when opportunities come up even if it seems a little scary to just go for it. There’ve been many times when I’ve been scared, but I’ve never regretted saying yes. Anything that I ever suffered led to some of the good that I have today.
