The Untimely Death of Jack Soo from Barney Miller

Jack Soo is best remembered as Sergeant Nick Yemana on the Barney Miller show from the 1970s.

His comedic timing and quirky character made him a fan favorite on the series. But there’s much more to Soo’s career than Barney Miller.

Jack Soo was born Goro Suzuki on October 28, 1917, on a ship sailing its way to Japan. His parents lived in Oakland, California but wanted their son to be born in Japan. They just didn’t quite make it in time.

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Suzuki wanted to become an entertainer from an early age and during his family’s internment during World War II, he became a popular entertainer at the “camps.” After the war ended, he continued performing as a comedian in nightclubs and other venues throughout the Midwest and Eastern states.

It was during these years that Suzuki took on the stage name of Jack Soo, which is how he’ll always be remembered. He was an accomplished singer, being nicknamed the “Asian Bing Crosby.” He performed in stage and film musicals, most notably The Flower Drum Song.

He appeared in films and television shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s, most famously Barney Miller when it premiered in 1975. Soo’s character, Nick Yemana, was a philosophical, wisecracking detective known for his shoddy paperwork, gambling habit, and extraordinarily bad coffee.

The “bad coffee” bit was a running joke throughout the series, with the rest of squad room constantly having to suffer through it. Shortly before Jack Soo’s untimely death in 1979, he was being wheeled into the operating room and referenced the joke in a comment to his co-star, Hal Linden.

After his death in 1979 due to esophageal cancer, the rest of the Barney Miller cast paid tribute in a memorial episode to end the fifth season. Afterward, Sergeant Yemana’s coffee mug was donated to the Smithsonian to be immortalized in pop culture history.

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The Untimely Death of Jack Soo from Barney Miller
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