I thought I saw the image of Chan Hung-lit, better known as Chen Hung Lieh, in TV but no, it was not a tribute to the man who at 7.11 p.m. on 24 November 2009, passed away after complaining of chest pains and falling into a coma while waiting to tape an episode of Off Pedder. It was a trailer of this last TVB series that the Shanghai-born former Shaw Brothers actor acted in. The man was more famous portraying villains from the 60s to 80s in Mandarin movies. I remember his pale, thin face in the 1966 Come Drink With Me, a King Hu's sword fighting flick, said to be one of the best Hong Kong martial arts movie ever where he played Jade-Faced Tiger. Chen Hung Lieh left the entertainment scene for a while during which time, he was involved in the garment industry. Then, the public got to see a meatier and better looking Chen Hung Lieh when he acted in Hong Kong TV series. He joined TVB in 1995, left it and rejoined in 2003. The actor's death reminds me of more villains in the Chinese celluloid world, most notably Lo Lieh who was also a Shaw Star and Shek Kin who traumatises heroes and heroines in Cantonese movies. Those were the days when Dallas, the long-running American TV series was not around yet and there was no Larry Hagman's evil Jr character (inset) for fans to shoot at... Chen Hung Lieh...
Lo Lieh...
Shek Kin...
Trailer of King Hu's Come Drink With Me which made a star of the female lead, Cheng Pei Pei. Can you spot Jade-faced Tiger?
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