Shirley Temple of the East- Fung Bo Bo

Fung Bo Bo (inset), a popular child star of Chinese cinema, most notably in Cantonese black and white movies of the sixties, started acting at six and was often hailed as the Shirley Temple of the East. I remember seeing and being mesmerized by her in reruns in TV long ago and later caught her when she was older in a colored Shaw Brother melodrama Pink Tears, playing the daughter of popular film stars, Julie Yeh Fung and Ling Yun . While Shirley Temple, the iconic American child star tapped danced to stardom in a string of successful movies in the 30s, Fung Bo Bo talked her way in more than a hundred dramas into the heart of adults, kids and teenagers alike and the general description was that she’s so sweet and endearing that she could talk the bird into coming down from the tree and perch on her hand! In fact,she was so sweet and endearing that every mother who had seen her in a movie wanted to have her as a daughter and many rich ladies did indeed had her as a goddaughter, among whom was the famous 60s actress Lin Dai. While Shirley Temple grew up to lose her glitters as a star, becoming an ambassador and diplomat in her later life, Fung Bo Bo was still in demand in the film world as an adult star. She was active and popular until the 90s after which, she married a Malaysian and retired in Malaysia. It's therefore sometimes strange why she was labeled Shirley Temple of the East. Unlike Shirley Temple, Fung Bo Bo didn't lose her glitters. Both are stars in their own right.