Before comic actor Jack Soo rose to stardom as the relaxed and wry Detective Nick Yemana in the sitcom BARNEY MILLER, he was the favorite entertainer at a Japanese internment camp in Topaz, Utah; performing jokes and songs, he took other internees' minds off their troubles. After World War II, he turned a stand-up comedy career (he was billed in San Francisco's Chinatown as China's funniest comedian) into roles on Broadway, television and film, and became arguably the best-known Asian American comic of the post-war generation. But what was a Japanese American actor doing with a Chinese name?

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK reveals the inspiring story of Soo, who grew up in Oakland as Goro Suzuki. Remembered by many as gracious and, as one interviewee recalls, not so star-struck on himself, Soo, a six-foot-tall man who was turned down for hundreds of roles because he was too tall for an Oriental, is an extraordinary example of someone who followed his dreams to be an actor, but refused to play stereotypical roles. The first to portray an Asian American hipster on television and in movies, Soo brought unique characters to life in hits such as FLOWER DRUM SONG, VALENTINE'S DAY, THE GREEN BERETS, and BARNEY MILLER.

An intimate look at comedy, community and ethnic identity, the film features rare photographs of Soo's life and career, and fond recollections by his daughter, fellow cast members, high-school friends and fans. Filmmaker Jeff Adachi (THE SLANTED SCREEN, SFIAAFF '06) has created a film that demands not only that we know Soo and his legacy, but also learn from his spirit, which was alive and unyielding, in spite of the discrimination of his time.

In Person: Jeff Adachi