Mai Tai Sing

Mai Tai Sing was a Chinese-American actress and businesswoman.

She got her start as a chorus girl at Forbidden City in San Francisco, a nightclub featuring all-Chinese shows.

In 1956, Sing moved to Las Vegas, where she starred in an all-Asian revue at the Thunderbird Hotel.

Three years later, she went into business with her three brothers. They opened the Ricksha bar in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where Sing was the hostess until 1970. The cocktail lounge had a piano and attracted many celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, and the Beatles.

While running her business, Sing took acting roles in movies, including The Golden Horde (with Ann Blyth and Richard Egan), Forbidden (with Tony Curtis), and Strange Portrait (with Jeffrey Hunter). Television appearances include episodes of Mr. & Mrs. North, Hong Kong, Hawaii Five-0, and Jake and the Fatman.

In 1976, Sing moved to Hawaii, where she became the manager and hostess of Trappers, a bar and jazz lounge at the Hyatt Regency in Waikiki, which drew prominent musicians such as Stan Getz, Herbie Mann, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett and Wynton Marsalis. She was hostess and manager there until her retirement in 2003 at age 79.

Sing died July 11, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was 93.