McCarthy was born Nobu Atsumi in Ottawa, Ontario, the daughter of Masaji and Yuki Atsumi. Her father was a Japanese fashion designer and diplomatic attaché stationed in Canada at the time.[1] She was raised in Japan, where she studied ballet. A modeling career eventually led to a beauty pageant in which she won the title of "Miss Tokyo".[2]
She starred with Lloyd Bridges in a 1959 Sea Hunt television episode as a Hawaiian woman fighting to protect pearl beds from poachers. She appeared in the 1960 episode "Princess of Crazy Creek" of the syndicatedwestern TV series Pony Express, starring Grant Sullivan. In 1961, she appeared as Haru in the Laramie TV series episode "Dragon at the Door". She also appeared in the ABC adventure dramas Adventures in Paradise and The Islanders. In 1962 she appeared in the television series Wagon Train in the episode "The John Augustus Story" as Mayleen. She made two guest appearances on Perry Mason: in 1959 she played defendant Mitsou Kamuri in "The Case of the Blushing Pearls," and in 1965 she played Sally Choshi in "The Case of the Wrongful Writ".
She also guest starred on ABC's The Bing Crosby Show in the 1964–1965 season. In the final, 1966, season of Mister Ed, she played Mei Ling, a Chinese restaurant manager and spy. She starred with Robert Conrad in the final episode of the first season of The Wild Wild West, dated April 22, 1966 "The Night of the Sudden Plague" as a Chinese woman "Anna Kirby", who is the daughter of a mad professor breeding bacteria for a serum that causes temporary paralysis. She also made appearances in Batman, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Hawaii Five-O. In 1973, she appeared in a second-season episode of Kung Fu. In 1976, she appeared in an episode of Barney Miller as prostitute/robbery victim Dorothy Murakami. She then starred in the television movieFarewell to Manzanar, based on the novel of the same title. She made an appearance in an episode of the television sitcomsHappy Days and Diff'rent Strokes. She appeared in three episodes of The Love Boat. In the 1980s she appeared in episodes of T.J. Hooker, Magnum P.I., and China Beach.
Her starring role in the indie featureThe Wash, opposite Mako, earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination in 1989. That same year she replaced Mako as artistic director of East West Players, a position she held until 1993. During this time, McCarthy also taught theatre at California State University, Los Angeles and UCLA. East West Players presented McCarthy with a lifetime achievement award in 1996,[3] and the Visionary Award in 1999.[4] McCarthy also did the voice-overs at the beginning and end of Picture Bride.
Personal life
In 1955, she married David McCarthy, with whom she had two children. They divorced in 1970.[5] In 1976, she married William Cuthbert, though she kept McCarthy as her stage name.[6]
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