Patrick Adiarte, a Filipino-born dancer and actor known for The King and I, Flower Drum Song, and MASH*, has died at 82.
His niece, Stephanie Hogan told the Hollywood Reporter, he died of pneumonia at a hospital near Los Angeles. He passed away on April 15.
Patrick Adiarte was a Filipino-American actor and dancer whose career spanned Broadway, Hollywood, and television. He was born in Manila, Philippines on August 2, 1942. Adiarte’s early life was marked by hardship; during World War II, he, his sister Irene, and their mother Purita were imprisoned by Japanese forces in 1945, and his father, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers captain, was killed that same year. In 1946, the family immigrated to New York, seeking medical treatment for Irene’s injuries sustained during their imprisonment.
We're so saddened to hear the news of Patrick Adiarte's passing. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time. 🤍
— Rodgers & Hammerstein (@RnH_Legacy) April 17, 2025
A native of the Philippines, Patrick moved to New York with his family in 1946, when he was three years old. Six years later, in 1952, he joined the cast of… https://t.co/FPZK1YVJL0 pic.twitter.com/ykO8Zegi0H
Adiarte’s performing career began early. At age 10, he joined the Broadway cast of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I in 1952. He later portrayed Prince Chulalongkorn in the 1956 film adaptation, acting alongside Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr . In 1958, he was cast as Wang San in the Broadway production of Flower Drum Song, directed by Gene Kelly, who became a mentor to Adiarte. Kelly praised him as a potential successor to Fred Astaire and featured him in the NBC special Omnibus . Adiarte reprised his role in the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song.
Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Adiarte appeared in various television shows, including The Brady Bunch, Hawaii Five-O, Bonanza, and Kojak. He is perhaps best remembered for his role as Ho-Jon, the Korean houseboy, in seven episodes of MASH* from 1972 to 1973 . He also showcased his dance talents as a regular on the NBC musical variety series Hullabaloo.
After retiring from screen work in the mid-1970s, Adiarte focused on teaching dance. He was married to actress Loni Ackerman from 1975 until their divorce in 1992. He is survived by his niece, Stephanie Hogan, and his nephew, Michael .
