Shelby (Ruth Coughlin) breaks the news that she is pregnant to her mother, M’Lynn (Yasutake), in a scene from “Steel Magnolias” at East West Players in 2013.
Actress Patti Yasutake, best known for her roles in “Beef” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” passed away peacefully on Sunday surrounded by friends and family after a long, brave battle with cancer. She was 70.
Her career originated at East West Players in Los Angeles, where she worked with the legendary Mako for six years on stage, on staff and on the board performing over a dozen shows, including “Steel Magnolias” with an all-Asian cast in 2013.
Her stage work spanned three decades and included New Mexico Repertory Theatre, American Southwest Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory Theatre, and The Westwood Playhouse (now The Geffen Playhouse).
One of her early roles was in Luis Valdez’s “I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges” at Los Angeles Theater Center in 1986. One of her most recent roles was in L.A. Theatre Works’ touring production of “Steel Magnolias,” which traveled to 28 cities across the country in 2019.
“I met Patti at East West Players when we were young actors at the beginning of our careers,” recalled actress and playwright Karen Huie. “I last worked with her in ‘Steel Magnolias’ at East West Players. She was a fierce and driven person who forged accomplishments.”
Film and television audiences best know Yasutake for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Fumi, mother-in-law of Amy (Ali Wong), on Netflix’s “Beef”; and the beloved Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (16 episodes, including the series finale, plus two movies, “Star Trek: Generations” and “Star Trek: First Contact”). She appeared at Star Trek conventions, starred in a Hallmark commercial for a USS Enterprise keepsake ornament, and an action figure of her character was produced.
At a mini-convention benefiting the Japanese American Collections at CSU Sacramento, Yasutake was featured along with George Takei (Sulu from the original series) and Cynthia Gouw (Caithlin Dar from “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”).
Yasutake was an Independent Spirit Award nominee for best supporting actress in “The Wash,” a film adaptation of Philip Kan Gotanda’s play. She played a daughter of a Nisei couple (Mako and Nobu McCarthy) going through a divorce.
She then made her major feature debut in Ron Howard’s “Gung Ho” — a comedy about a Japanese company taking over a U.S. auto plant — where her work as Umeki, the relocated Japanese wife earnestly trying to Americanize, led to starring in an ABC sitcom based on the movie. Gedde Watanabe played her husband in both the film and the TV series.
Her countless guest-starring roles included “The Closer” (as Kathy Tao, wife of Lt. Michael Tao), “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Bones,” “Flash Forward,” “The Unit,” and “Cold Case” — in an episode about the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. She was in such films as “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” “Blind Spot” and “The Road to Galveston.” The latter two enabled her to work with her acting idols, Joanne Woodward and Cicely Tyson, respectively.
As a theater director, Yasutake developed and staged world premieres at East West Players (“Doughball”), the Richmond Shepherd Theater (“The Single Man”), and Ensemble Studio Theater (“Father, I Must Have Rice”), along with a highly praised remount of “Tea,” Velina Hasu Houston’s drama about Japanese war brides, at the Odyssey Theater. She directed workshop presentations at the Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theater Company, Los Angeles Theater Center, East West Players, Odyssey Theater, and Westwood Playhouse.
Yasutake was born and raised in Gardena and Inglewood, then graduated UCLA with honors in theater. She was preceded in death by her parents, Michael and Jean Yasutake, and her sister, Irene Hirano Inouye, a leader of the Japanese American National Museum and U.S.-Japan Council. She is survived by siblings Linda Hayashi and Steven Yasutake, a large extended family of nephews and nieces, and a family of friends and colleagues including Kyle Fritz and Jonathan Del Arco.
In a statement, her family said, “Patti was a loving daughter, sister and aunt and we will miss her. We are deeply grateful to her friends and colleagues for their love and support throughout her accomplished career.”
Her manager, Kyle Fritz, shared that “Patti was my first client when I began over 30 years ago. We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit, talent and tenacity, but most of all her friendship.”
A memorial open to her colleagues and fans will be held at East West Players. In lieu of flowers, a contribution to EWP would be appreciated. When details are finalized, they will be shared at: https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries/sherman-oaks-ca/patricia-yasutake-11927218
