Agnes Lum

Agnes Nalani Lum (born May 21, 1956) is an American gravure idol, singer, actress, and bikini model popular in Japan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At that time, she was nicknamed "Lum-chan" in Japan, though now that nickname can be confused with that of the fictional character Lum Invader from Urusei Yatsura.Lum was the inspiration for the name of this character as she was well-known at the time the manga was first released (1977). In order to avoid confusion with Agnes Chan, another popular idol at the time, "Lum-chan" was used, though many fans called both "Agnes". Lum has appeared in numerous calendars, on posters, and magazine spreads, and these items regularly fetch high prices in the collectors market.

Lum was born to a Chinese father and a mother of Hawaiian ancestry.While attending Kailua High School, Lum worked as a model and became well known in Hawaii. She was named Miss Hawaii USA in 1974, but the title was taken away because she was too young to compete in the Miss USA contest. Lum became an overnight success in Japan after becoming the first Clarion Girl in 1975, hired to promote Clarion products in a television and print advertising campaign.

In 1976, she released her first single, titled Downtown After the Rain. That same year, she made her debut appearance on NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen variety show. In 1996, Lum appeared, along with her twin sons, in a television commercial for the Daihatsu Pyzar.

The 12.20.2011 "Super Lucky" edition of Weekly Playboy features Lum. She has appeared on the cover of the publication six times.

Singles

• Downtown After the Rain (雨あがりのダウンタウン, Ame-agari no Dauntaun)

  Keisuke Yamagawa (lyrics), Yūzō Kayama (composition)

  Reached 79 on the Oricon charts

• I Won't Say Goodbye (さよならは言わない, Sayonara wa Iwanai)

  Mayo Shōno (lyrics), Masami Koizumi (composition)

Albums

• Downtown After the Rain (雨あがりのダウンタウン, Ame-agari no Dauntaun)
• With Love
• I Am Agnes Lum

Listed chronologically, with newest at bottom.

• Agnes Lum, ISBN 4-584-17079-7, ¥2500, 2000, KK Bestsellers, 82 pages
• South of Eden: My Hawaiian Way of Life (エデンの南-My Hawaiian Way of Life, Eden no Minami – Mai Hawaiian Uei obu Raifu), ISBN 4-916115-12-0, ¥2381, 1998, Saibunkan,
• When Agnes Lum Was Here (アグネス・ラムのいた時代, Agunesu Ramu no Ita Jidai), Kenji Nagatomo and Miho Osada, ISBN 978-4-12-150238-4, ¥840, 2007, Chuokoron Shinsha
• Dankai Punch #4 (団塊パンチ４号, Dankai Panchi Yon-gō), ISBN 978-4-87031-784-0, ¥1200, 2007, Asuka Shinsha