Sylvia Wu, whose famed Southern California restaurant drew Hollywood's biggest stars for four decades, has died at age 106, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Madame Wu’s Garden on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica became a dining destination shortly after it opened in 1959, popular for its cuisine and pagoda-style decor featuring jade statues, a stone waterfall and a koi-filled fountain.
Madame Wu herself was known for wearing a floor-length silk gown while alternately greeting Tinseltown's elite and picking up the phone to take to-go orders.
She died on September 19, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
Madame Wu said she was inspired to open the restaurant after arriving from China and finding only heavy faux-Cantonese dishes.
“Chop suey everywhere,” she complained to USA Today. “All you see are chop suey houses.”
At Madame Wu's Garden, Mae West favoured the cold melon soup, Gregory Peck and Paul Newman enjoyed the shrimp toast and crab puffs, while Princess Grace of Monaco preferred the Peking roast duck, according to the LA publication.
“Everybody in this town knows Madame Wu,” the late television host Merv Griffin once told the newspaper. “One of the dearest, sweetest, most elegant women I’ve ever known.”
After she closed the restaurant in 1998, she immediately regretted the decision and opened Madame Wu’s Asian Bistro & Sushi. That restaurant didn't last, but affection for Madame Wu persisted. When she turned 100 in 2014, her old customers filled up a hotel ballroom for her birthday party.
Born Sylvia Cheng on October 24, 1915, she grew up in Jiujiang, a city south-west of Shanghai where she learnt to cook while watching the maid prepare meals for her well-to-do family.
The family moved to Shanghai and then Hong Kong. During the Second World War, she took an ocean liner to New York City.
“I don’t know how I had the courage,” she later recalled. “I had no family in America. The trip took 40 days, and because of the war, there was a blackout all the way.”
While pursuing an education degree at Columbia University, she met King Yan Wu, a successful chemist. They married, had three children and moved to LA, where he took an engineering job at Hughes Aircraft Co and she became a restaurateur.
She also wrote cookbooks, appeared regularly on television and became active with charity work, particularly at City of Hope cancer centre after her daughter, Loretta, died of breast cancer at 34.
Wu is survived by sons George and Patrick and numerous grandchildren, according to the Los Angeles Times. Her husband died in 2011. The two had been married 67 years.
Scroll through the gallery below to see more famous people we've lost this year
-
Korean actress Kim Mi-soo died aged 29 on January 5, 2022. Photo: Landmark Entertainment -
Actor Sidney Poitier died aged 94 on January 6, 2022. Getty Images -
Director Peter Bogdanovich died aged 82 on January 6, 2022. AP Photo -
Oscar-winning composer Marilyn Bergman, pictured with her husband, Alan Bergman, died aged 93 on January 8, 2022. AP Photo -
American comedian Bob Saget died aged 65 on January 9, 2022. AP Photo -
Actor Gary Waldhorn died aged 78 on January 10, 2022. Getty Images -
Rock 'n' roll singer Ronnie Spector died aged 78 on January 12, 2022. AFP -
Designer Nino Cerruti died aged 91 on January 15, 2022. EPA -
Andre Leon Talley, fashion journalist and former editor-at-large for US Vogue, died aged 73 on January 18, 2022. EPA -
French actor Gaspard Ulliel died aged 37 on January 19, 2022. AFP -
Marvin Lee Aday, better know as the singer Meat Loaf, died aged 74 on January 20, 2022. EPA -
Actor Louie Anderson died aged 68 on January 21, 2022. Reuters -
Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, died aged 95 on January 22, 2022. EPA -
Director Bassam Al Mulla died aged 66 on January 22, 2022. Photo: Sana -
Fashion designer Thierry Mugler died aged 73 on January 23, 2022. AFP -
Actor Moses J Moseley died aged 31 on January 26, 2022. Photo: Instagram / Moses J Moseley -
Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst died aged 30 on January 30, 2022. AFP -
Legendary Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar died aged 92 on February 6, 2022. AFP -
Funk singer Betty Davis, ex-wife of jazz musician Miles Davis, died aged 77 on February 9, 2022. Photo: Fin Costello / Redferns -
Filmmaker Ivan Reitman died aged 75 on February 12, 2022. Reuters -
American satirist P J O'Rourke died aged 74 on February 15, 2022. AP Photo -
Bollywood singer and composer Bappi Lahiri died aged 69 on February 15, 2022. AFP -
Jordanian-Lebanese sculptor Mona Saudi died aged 76 on February 16, 2022. Photo: Lawrie Shabibi Gallery -
Singer Jane Marczewski, known as Nightbirde, died aged 31 on February 19, 2022. Photo: NBC -
Lebanese singer Sammy Clark died aged 73 on February 20, 2022. Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi -
British entrepreneur and YouTube star Jamal Edwards died aged 31 on February 20, 2022. AP Photo -
Mark Lanegan, of grunge band Screaming Trees, died aged 57 on February 22, 2022. AP Photo -
Children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes died aged 94 on February 25, 2022. Getty Images -
Australian cricketer Shane Warne died aged 52 on March 4, 2022. AP Photo -
Emilio Delgado, who played fix-it shop owner Luis on Sesame Street, died aged 81 on March 10, 2022. AP Photo -
Actor William Hurt died aged 71 on March 13, 2022. AP -
Pro wrestler Scott Hall, best known for his time in WWE and WCW, died aged 63 on March 14, 2022. Photo: BANG Showbiz -
Ukrainian actress Oksana Shvets died aged 67 on March 17, 2022. Photo: Twitter -
Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, died aged 84 on March 23, 2022. Reuters -
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died aged 50 on March 25, 2022. AFP -
Actor Paul Herman died on his 76th birthday on March 29, 2022. AFP -
British singer Tom Parker died aged 33, on March 30, 2022. AP Photo -
Rock 'n roll star Bobby Rydell and star of the movie musical Bye Bye Birdie, died aged 79, on April 5, 2022. AP Photo -
US actor and comedian Gilbert Gottfried died aged 67 on April 12, 2022. AFP -
US country music star Naomi Judd died aged 76 on April 30, 2022. AP -
South Korean actress Kang Soo-youn died on May 7, 2022, aged 55. EPA -
The late UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, died aged 73 on May 13, 2022. AP Photo / Wam -
US actor Ray Liotta died on May 26, 2022 aged 67. Reuters -
Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, known professionally as KK, died aged 53 on May 31, 2022. AFP -
Alec John Such, right, founding member of the group Bon Jovi, died aged 70 on June 4, 2022. Getty Images -
Cooper Noriega, a popular TikTok content creator, died aged 19 on June 9, 2022. Photo: Instagram /@cooper.noriega -
Philip Baker Hall died aged 90 on June 12, 2022. Invision / AP, File -
Actress Mary Mara died aged 61 on June 26, 2022. WireImage -
Theatre and film director Peter Brook died aged 97 on July 2, 2022 -
Manga star and inventor of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Japanese cartoonist Kazuki Takahashi, died aged 60 on July 4, 2022. EPA -
US actor James Caan of Godfather fame died aged 82 on July 6, 2022. AFP -
Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe died aged 67 on July 8, 2022. AP Photo -
Soprano star Tony Sirico, left, died aged 79 on July 8, 2022. AP -
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's first wife, died aged 73 on July 14, 2022. Reuters -
Pop artist Claes Oldenburg died aged 93 on July 18, 2022. Archive Photos / Getty Images -
Actress Shonka Dukureh died aged 44 on July 21, 2022. Photo: Warner Bros -
Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino died aged 83 on July 25, 2022 -
US actress Nichelle Nichols died aged 89 on July 30, 2022. Photo: Bettmann / Corbis -
US actress Pat Carroll died aged 95 on July 30, 2022. AFP -
Basketball champion and the first black coach for any US professional sports team Bill Russell died aged 88 on July 31, 2022. AP Photo -
Australian singer Judith Durham died at the age of 79 in Melbourne on August 5, 2022. EPA -
Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake died aged 84 on August 5, 2022. AFP -
British-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John died aged 73 on August 8, 2022. EPA -
Author and illustrator Raymond Briggs died aged 88 on August 9, 2022. PA -
Actress Anne Heche died aged 53 on August 11, 2022. AP -
Former Pop Idol contestant and theatre star Darius Campbell Danesh died aged 41 on August 11, 2022. PA -
Director Wolfgang Petersen died aged 81 on August 12, 2022. Reuters -
South African actress and model Charlbi Dean Kriek died aged 32 on August 29, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
The last leader of the Soviet Union, former president Mikhail Gorbachev, died aged 91 on August 30, 2022. AP Photo / Boris Yurchenko -
British TV presenter and journalist Bill Turnbull died aged 66 on August 31, 2022. PA Media -
Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 on September 8, 2022. Photo: Royal Household / Ranald Mackechnie / PA Wire -
Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock was fatally shot during a robbery aged 30 on September 12, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP, File -
French film director Jean-Luc Godard died at age 91 on September 13, 2022. AFP -
US lawyer and judge Kenneth Starr died aged 76 on September 13, 2022. AFP -
Author Dame Hilary Mantel died aged 70 on September 22, 2022. Getty Images -
American actress Louise Fletcher died aged 88 on September 23, 2022. Photo: AP, File -
Yemeni oud player Ahmed Alshaiba died aged 32 on September 28, 2022. Getty Images -
US rapper Coolio died aged 59 on September 28, 2022. Photo: Brenda Chase Online USA Inc -
US activist Sacheen Littlefeather died aged 75 on October 2, 2022. AFP -
South Korean comic book artist Kim Jung Gi died aged 47 on October 3, 2022. Photo: Kim Jung Gi -
Grammy Award-winning singer Loretta Lynn died at age 90 on October 4, 2022. Getty Images via AFP -
Dame Angela Lansbury died of natural causes aged 96 on October 11, 2022 -
British actor Robbie Coltrane died at the age of 72 on October 14, 2022. PA Media -
Former Pentagon chief Ash Carter died aged 68 on October 24, 2022. EPA -
US actor Leslie Jordan died aged 67 on October 24, 2022. EPA -
Egyptian writer Bahaa Taher died at 87 on October 27, 2022. EPA -
American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis died aged 87 on October 28, 2022. Reuters -
US rapper Takeoff, born Kirshnik Khari Ball, died aged 28 on November 1, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP, File -
Singer Aaron Carter died aged 34 on November 5, 2022. EPA -
American actor John Aniston, father of Jennifer Aniston, died aged 89 on November 11, 2022. AP Photo -
The Clash guitarist Keith Levene died aged 65 on November 11, 2022. Mirrorpix -
American actor Jason David Frank died aged 49 on November 19, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
Latin Grammy-winning balladeer Pablo Milanes died aged 79 on November 22, 2022. AFP -
Fleetwood Mac keyboardist and singer-songwriter Christine McVie died at age 79 on November 30, 2022. Photo: Invision / AP -
Veteran Filipina actress Sylvia La Torre died aged 89 on December 1, 2022. Photo: Facebook -
Actor, musician and children's author Bob McGrath died aged 90 on December 4, 2022. AP Photo -
American actress Kirstie Alley died at aged 71 on December 5, 2022. EPA -
Filipino musician Jovit Baldivino died aged 29 on December 9, 2022. Photo: Jovit Baldivino / Instagram -
Composer Angelo Badalamenti died aged 85 on December 11, 2022. AP -
Stephen 'tWitch' Boss died aged 40 on December 13, 2022. AFP -
Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials, died aged 63 on December 18, 2022. PA -
Primal Scream and The Charlatans keyboardist Martin Duffy died aged 55 on December 18, 2022. Getty Images -
Maxi Jazz, lead singer of British group Faithless, died aged 65 on December 23, 2022. EPA -
British actor and comedian John Bird died aged 66 on December 24, 2022. PA -
Musician Joseph 'Jo Mersa' Marley, grandson of Bob Marley, died aged 31 on December 27, 2022. Getty Images -
Brazilian football legend Pele died aged 82 on December 29, 2022. Reuters -
British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood died aged 81 on December 29, 2022. Getty Images -
US television journalist Barbara Walters died aged 93 on December 30, 2022. EPA -
Former pope Benedict XVI died aged 95 on December 31, 2022. AFP
