Lam Ching Ying

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lam Ching-ying (林正英 real name: Lam Gun-bo 林根寶) (born: December 27, 1952 in Shanghai; died November 8, 1997 in Hong Kong) was a Chinese actor, action director and director. A graceful martial artist and one of the most physically-talented bodies to have graced the screens, Lam was best-known for playing the stoic taoist priest in Mr. Vampire (1985). Lam died in 1997 of liver cancer.

1 The early years
2 The 1980s
3 The 1990s
4 Related
5 Select filmography
6 External links and references

[edit] The early years

A young Lam Ching-Ying.

The third of seven children, Lam attended Shun Yi Association Elementary School in Hong Kong for two years before leaving school. In 1963/4, he joined the "other" Peking Opera School in Hong Kong: that of Madame Fan Fok-fa (Fun Guk-fa), the "rival" of Yu Jim Yuen where Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung were trained at around the same time. In actuality, the schools were friends and students from both schools often mingled. A year after joining, Lam made his first public appearance. Madame reported Lam as a disobedient student who was beyond her ability to handle.

At 17, Lam became a stuntman and martial arts coach at the Shaw Brothers Studio. Due to his slender build, he was often called upon to substitute female actors. He received $HK60 a day, $HK20 of which went to his master.

At 19, he was hand-picked by Bruce Lee for the role as assistant action director on The Big Boss. After The Big Boss, Lam continued to work with Lee until Lee's death. Lam later joined Hung's stuntman association (known as the Hung Kar Pan).

[edit] The 1980s

In 1982, Lam won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Direction, in the film Prodigal Son. Prodigal Son featured what is widely acknowledged as amongst the best Wing Chun caught on film, performed by Lam. He also underlined his acting talent by convincingly playing a frail, elderly Taoist priest in The Dead And The Deadly (1983).

Lam's star did not rise until 1985, with the release of Mr. Vampire, the movie that fueled the hopping vampire genre. Lam was nominated for Best Actor for his role as the taoist priest. The character was an engaging mixture of naivety and stoic authority, and became a favourite for audiences. Lam was to reprise this role many times throughout his career.

Shortly after the release of Mr. Vampire, the Golden Harvest film company attempted to make an English version of the movie with Tanya Roberts (of Charlie's Angels) and Jack Scalia. Lam's role was played by long time kung fu film actor Yuen Wah. Due to various difficulties, the film was never made.

[edit] The 1990s

The success of Mr. Vampire eventually became burdensome on Lam, who found himself typecast in the role. As the hopping vampire genre began to lose its popularity, quality roles for Lam also began to dry, aside from small roles in Swordsman (1991) and a supporting role in Pom Pom and Hot Hot, most of his roles were in low-budget movies. Lam also briefly became a director in the film, Green Hornet (1994).

In 1995, Lam was offered the starring role in a television series called Vampire Expert. Shown on ATV, the series was a success and revived Lam's career. A second series aired in 1996, and in 1997, production on the third series began. The production was halted when Lam was informed he had liver cancer. Contrary to rumours that the cancer was caused by years of heavy drinking, the cancer was hereditary.

On November 8th, 1997, Lam died at St Theresa's Hospital in Hong Kong.

The first series of My Date with a Vampire produced by ATV was dedicated to him, and the entire series was loosely based in the future of Vampire Expert.