Short Rounds real name?

Short Round

  • Is Shorty's real name

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Hanselation

New member
This morning I've ask myself, what is Short Rounds real name? Not the name of the actor but of the role of Short Round's birthname. In Temple of Doom he always is called Short Round or Shorty. I didn't' find the answer, so I'm asking here.
Does anybody know and/or has a source for the answer?

Short Round is the name of a dog of one of the Indy-making persons Lucas, Marshall and Kennedy (even like Indiana and Willie) -We all know.

But it would be nice for the story that shorty's real name would be let's say "Shao Huan", a name that sounds similar like Short Round and Shorty would like to spell it in an american way, so he called himself "Short Round" - because it's his showbiz-name. ;)

What do you think?
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Hanselation said:
This morning I've ask myself, what is Short Rounds real name? Not the name of the actor but of the role of Short Round's birthname. In Temple of Doom he always is called Short Round or Shorty. I didn't' find the answer, so I'm asking here.
Does anybody know and/or has a source for the answer?

Short Round is the name of a dog of one of the Indy-making persons Lucas, Marshall and Kennedy (even like Indiana and Willie) -We all know.

But it would be nice for the story that shorty's real name would be let's say "Shao Huan", a name that sounds similar like Short Round and Shorty would like to spell it in an american way, so he called himself "Short Round" - because it's his showbiz-name. ;)

What do you think?

According to the West End Games Temple of Doom Sourcebook, Short Round's real name is Wan Li, which even Indy doesn't know.
 

Chewbacca Jones

New member
...and according to my research his real name is Kennon Wong.

Perhaps, like any street criminal, he goes by many names. But he prefers Short Round. :hat:
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Chewbacca Jones said:
...and according to my research his real name is Kennon Wong.

Perhaps, like any street criminal, he goes by many names. But he prefers Short Round. :hat:

Wan Li seems to be the officially accepted 'real name', though as you say he probabaly went under numerous aliases as an orphan pickpocket and burglar.

The Kennon Wong name seems to come from one source (when searching "Short Round" + "Kennon Wong"), and they refer to him as a taxi-cab driver, so that sounds like an early misinterpretation of his character. He only had the car in TOD because he 'borrowed' it from the house of a German diplomat who was out of town for a fortnight.

The sources seem to lead back to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indiana_Jones_characters

Short Round

Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), aka "Kennon Wong" was orphaned when the Japanese bombed Shanghai in 1932, and is a young taxicab driver in Shanghai, who helps Indiana escape from Lao Che. Despite being an eleven-year-old boy, he is able to stick by Indy through his adventures and is even able to drive (since he is short, he wears wooden block shoes when driving). He is essential in freeing Indiana and Pankot's Maharaja from Mola Ram's psychic control. The novelization details Short Round was born Wan Li in 1927. Despite attending a Christian school, he respects Chinese mythology, and believes the baby elephant that transports him in India is a reincarnation of his brother Chu. He immigrates to the United States with Jones following his adventure.[38] In the film, Short Round is frequently heard speaking the Cantonese dialect of Chinese, as well as English.

Short Round was named after Temple of Doom screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz's dog.[18] Lucas's initial idea for Indiana's sidekick was a virginal young princess, but Huyck, Katz and Spielberg disliked the idea.[42] The character's name may also have been an homage to the early Samuel Fuller film The Steel Helmet, in which a young Korean boy of the same name acts as a guide for the protagonist. Around 6000 actors auditioned worldwide for the part: Quan was cast after his brother auditioned for the role. Spielberg liked his personality, so he and Ford improvised the scene where Short Round accuses Indiana of cheating during a card game.[6] Quan had a martial arts instructor to help him on set.[18]

The character cameoed in an issue of Marvel Comics' The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, rescuing Indiana from a pirate attack in the Caribbean, before he returns to boarding school.[43] The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones, published in 2008, detailed Short Round became an archaeologist and tracked down the Peacock's Eye (the diamond from Doom's opening sequence) to Niihau.[44]

He also appeared in the non-canonical crossover story in Star Wars Tales, where he and Indiana discover the remains of Han Solo in the crashed Millennium Falcon in the Pacific Northwest.[45] A Short Round action figure was made by LJN in 1984, but was never released,[40] although an unpainted metal miniature of him was released by TSR that year.[12] He is in the 2009 Lego set Shangai Chase. Empire named Short Round as their sixteenth favorite element of the films, explaining "you could argue that Shortie is the real hero of Temple of Doom ? while the titular relic hunter is off searching for fortune and glory, it's Short Round's moral compass that keeps the adventure on the right track".[46] In 2008 a poll conducted by movietickets.com to coincide with the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, named Short Round "favorite Indy sidekick".[47]
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Wan Li seems to be the officially accepted 'real name', though as you say he probabaly went under numerous aliases as an orphan pickpocket and burglar.

The sources seem to lead back to Wikipedia:
Wan Li was used Shorty's biography on the old version of the Official Indiana Jones Website (which is, sadly, now defunct since the new movie came about).
 

DoomTown

Member
Hanselation said:
This morning I've ask myself, what is Short Rounds real name? Not the name of the actor but of the role of Short Round's birthname. In Temple of Doom he always is called Short Round or Shorty. I didn't' find the answer, so I'm asking here.

There is ONE time in the film where he may have revealed his name. Shorty tells Indy in the Shamans hut, "You listen to So Wa Mu, you'll live longer..."
Anybody know anything about THAT? I know in the novelization, Shorty prays to several gods, and I can't recall if So Wa Mu is one of them...
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Stoo said:
Wan Li was used Shorty's biography on the old version of the Official Indiana Jones Website (which is, sadly, now defunct since the new movie came about).

I went to that site hoping to find some definitive information, only to discover that it had become a flashy promo. :( What a waste of an "official" site.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
DoomTown said:
There is ONE time in the film where he may have revealed his name. Shorty tells Indy in the Shamans hut, "You listen to So Wa Mu, you'll live longer..."
Anybody know anything about THAT? I know in the novelization, Shorty prays to several gods, and I can't recall if So Wa Mu is one of them...

The novel reads: "Bad news. You listen to Short Round, you live longer."

The 'Wong' name may stem from the fact that Shorty tells Indy that he's going to "get my Uncle Wong's car". That was a complete fabrication on Shorty's part since he was just covering up the fact that he was going to borrow the 1934 Duesenberg Auburn from the German diplomat's garage, knowing the man was away visiting relatives in Alsace for a couple of weeks. He had already 'borrowed' the same car several times for Indy's use.
 
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