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		Wong Yu

Other names :	汪志权汪禹 Wang Yu Wong Chi Kuen Young Wong Yu Wong Yue Yung Wong Yu

Birthdate :	26/10/1955
Date of death :	1/5/2008
Nationality :	China
Workplace :	Hong Kong
Activities :	Action Director (1), Actor (65), Brief appearance (6), Cameo (1), Stuntman (1)

	Biography
Largely forgotten nowadays, Wong Yu was kung fu cinema’s first comic jester. Alexander Fu Sheng my have been the genre’s first naughty kid, but he was still starring in quite straightforward and bloody potboilers. Wong Yu on the other hand was a real clown who starred in the first patented k-f comedy back in 1975 with master martial filmmaker Lau Kar Leung’s brilliant, groundbreaking directorial debut SPIRITUAL BOXER. The film was made a full two and a half years before Jackie Chan starred in SNAKE IN THE EAGLE, which while indeed a landmark k-f comedy was not the very first one as later incorrectly credited by many. Some of them even called Wong Yu, Shaw Brothers' answer to Jackie, while in fact he preceded him. Wong Yu has a similar name as the early swordplay/k-f star Jimmy Wang Yu, Wong being the Cantonese pronunciation of the same name. He also bears something of a passing resemblance to him. That’s no coincidence. The story goes that Run Run Shaw, the Shaw Studio’s owner, was so angry at Wang Yu for leaving him in 1970, that he hired a look-alike - originally a luggage clerk - gave him a stage name mimicking the one of his former star and had him play the buffoon in the movies so as to embarrass his former star. That’s a nice story, one however that sounds a little too good to be completely true. Regardless, if Wong Yu was originally meant to ridicule Wang Yu, he developed in a short period an original screen persona of his own, as a goofy, puppy eyed mischievous trickster, that was a far cry from being a mere parody. In truth, both Wang and Wong were very much the product of their time. In the late sixties-early seventies Wang Yu echoed Hong-Kong’s own restless angst-filled youth with his stoic, grim faced, fierce heroic image. Later on in the seventies Wong Yu’s persona as a mischievous trickster trying to survive by way of his quick wit and fast mouth through swindling and cheating was the ideal hero for HK’s working class youth caught in HK’s hard struggle for life. Wong Yu’s beginnings are a bit clouded; his first recorded appearance was as an extra in the independent production BLOODY FISTS (72), which suggests that he most likely had a background as a stuntman. About one year later Wong appeared either as an extra or in a bit part in the Shaw Brothers adult period film GOLDEN LOTUS (74). The next thing we know though was that Wong was the lead player in a pair of movies that by judging from the titles would appear to be youth oriented romantic dramas THIRTEEN (starring a young Tien Niu) and YOUNG PASSION. Such a sudden rise may suggest that there is some truth to the idea that he was chosen for his resemblance to Wang Yu. Considering the nature of his first couple of films though it seems unlikely that he played a Wang Yu parody in them, more likely he would have played a puppy eyed youngster in love with the film’s leading lady. Wong Yu could also be seen in THE FLYING GUILLOTINE as a victim of the titular device. Wong Yu’s real breakthrough role however was in the Shaw Brother’s house choreographer Lau Kar Leung aforementioned directorial debut SPIRITUAL BOXER (75). At the time k-f cinema had been in a creative quagmire, getting quite stale with it’s done to the death formulaic angst-filled tales of revenge that always ended in carnage. Kung Fu was out of the public’s favour while irreverent burlesque comedy was in. Lau, a genuine kung fu master and a descendant of Cantonese legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hung came-up with this oddball mixture of kung fu and slapstick comedy with a tale of a young folk magician with expertise in exorcism as well as spiritual boxing. He is actually a con-martial artist using his skills to earn some money but also to help some local people against a ruthless landowner. This was the first genuine kung-fu comedy and Wong Yu truly excelled in it. Rather scruffy looking he might not have had the physical presence of Shaw’s earlier martial stars such as Ti Lung or Chen Kuan Tai (who made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the film) but he was quite agile and through Lau Kar Leung’s training he was made to look at least like a passable screen fighter. His great talent though wasn’t in straight kung fu fighting but in his great comic flair, which allowed him to both effectively parody the original Wang Yu when the occasion demanded it, to engage in some wicked monkey like antics and to create his endearing good-hearted goofy character. SPIRITUAL BOXER ranked 7th in that year’s box-office chart - the highest kung-fu film of the year. Wong Yu’s next role in a Lau Kar Leung picture CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS (76) was as a dead serious elder student of a kung-fu school, but he became a goofy oddball again in Lau’s third entry EXECUTIONERS OF SHAOLIN (77) as Hung Wen-Deng the “effeminate” son of Chen Kuan Tai and Lily Li who battles and baffles the invincible white haired Taoist priest Bai-mei using his father’s Tiger claws and his mother’s Crane techniques. In 1977 Wong Yu strayed outside of Shaw for the first time as he starred in the independently produced directorial debut of Lau Kar-leung’s younger brother Lau Kar Wing: HE HAS NOTHING BUT KUNG FU which paired him with the Lau’s siblings adopted brother Lau Kar-fei (better known in the west as Gordon Liu). As in SPIRITUAL BOXER, Wong Yu played another mischievous trickster but a pick-pocketing one instead of being a fake spiritualist. That Wong Yu was able to work outside of the studio showed that he was not a contract player because Shaw imposed strict contracts on their actors including a rule to never act for any other company. Wong Yu worked again for the younger Lau the following year in DIRTY KUNG FU (78). 1978 saw the full blossoming of kung-fu comedy as well as Wong Yu’s career with PROUD YOUTH (78), SPIRITUAL BOXER 2 (79), KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR (same), YOUNG AVENGER (80, probably Wong’s last venture outside of Shaw) and KID WITH A TATTOO (same). His best role though would find him again with Lau Kar Leung in DIRTY HO (79), which paired him again with Gordon Liu, playing a bumbling, arrogant scoundrel who becomes the devoted servant bodyguard of a Manchurian Prince. From the early eighties on and for the next several years Wong Yu made an average of three movie a year as the star or a supporting player in various genres ranging from typical kung-fu comedy KID FROM KWANGTUNG, YOUNG VAGABOND (both 82), TALES OF AN EUNUCH (83), to more straight-forward martial art pictures ROAR OF THE LION (81), CRAZY SHAOLIN DISCIPLE, MASTER STRIKES BACK (both 85), rompish farces THE SHY BOY (83), HOW TO CHOOSE A ROYAL BRIDE (84)), historical dramas BATTLE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (81) and so forth. Wong continued to be a regular for Lau Kar Leung (LADY IS THE BOSS (83), EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER (84) but also made several films with the Shaw Brother's notable veteran director Sun Chung (PROUD YOUTH, KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR, KID WITH A TATOO, RENDEZVOUS WITH DEATH (80), MASTER STRIKES BACK. But while Wong was settling comfortably within the cocoon-like Shaw lot, things were not going well for the studio itself. Indeed as the seventies winded down and the eighties began, a new wave of fresh, vigorous talents, trends and film companies started to emerge and met instant success while Shaw on the other hand was still stuck with their obsolete and stale studio bound practices. Thus Shaw saw its share of the HK movie market melt away like ice in summer so that within only a few years it had become a minor player in the HK film industry. Jackie Chan and Cinema City caper comedies were in, Shaw Brothers and their martial art films were out. Shaw tried to cope by making kung-fu caper comedies of their own, many of them starring Wong Yu (hence the idea that he was a reply to Jackie Chan) but to little avail. On July 2 1983 a terrible tragedy occurred when Wong Yu with follow Shaw Brothers Alexander Fu Sheng and the latter’s brother Chan Cheng-po were in a terrible car-crash. Both Wang and Chan survived but Fu Sheng later died of his injury at the hospital. Wong Yu was quite close to Fu Sheng and was very affected by the tragedy. Months later in the kung-fu production DISCIPLES OF SHAOLIN (85) he would play the part of the mischievous kung-fu kid Fan Sai-Yu a role which had been Fu Sheng’s own martial art debut in HEROES TWO (74) nearly a decade earlier. After a couple more years and its market share continuing to decline Shaw at long last realised it was fighting a losing battle, and shut down its movie making facilities. One of Wong Yu’s last Shaw pictures was GIRL WITH THE DIAMOND SLIPPER (85) starring a perky looking young Miss Hong Kong named Maggie Cheung. The studio closure left Wong Yu and his fellow Shaw players out on a limb in a movie world that had long passed them by. Not helping matters, Wong Yu was having serious drinking and drug problems. It seems Wong Yu found work doing TV and from then on made only sporadic appearances in the movies, generally in bit parts. Thus he can be seen in a handful of action films many of them starring Japanese female nutcracker Yukari Oshima - FRAMED (89), GODFATHER'S DAUGHTER MAFIA BLUES (91), SPIRITUALLY A COP (same). He had also bit parts in Stanley Kwan’s great cinematic masterpieces ROUGE (87) and CENTER STAGE (92). Interestingly, many of Lau Kar Leung’s regular players found their way some how into a Kwan movie (Wong Yu, Lau Kar Wing, Kara Hui in ROUGE, Gordon Liu in ISLAND TALES (2000) most likely because Kwan started out at the Shaw studio himself. Wong Yu’s last couple of movies were in Category III soft-porn adult productions POWER OF LOVE, PEACH SEX NOXIOUS STAR (both 93). Wong was also credited as action choreographer for the former, his only one it would seem. His glory days as one of HK’s great mischievous trickster long behind him now, Wong Yu eventually left the movie industry altogether. Eventually Wong overcame his drug problem and came to be regarded as a role model by the police narcotics department. He serves today as deputy boy-scout commissioner for a HK district. Wong Yu later engaged in several business ventures unfortunately without much success. It is said that he works as a factory worker now. Thus having once been plucked out of obscurity Wong Yu has now sadly returned to it. Yves Gendron ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Shaw Brothers was the professional home of Wang Yu (born 1955) from his late teens till the age of 30. In 1972 he was selected for the studio's acting training course and upon graduation was given a supporting role in "The Two Faces Of Love". His first lead was the precocious teenage hero of "Thirteen" and he fulfilled many a teenager's dream when he was cast as Jenny Hu's young lover in "Young Passion". He achieved true stardom with "The Spiritual Boxer" and thereafter was featured primarily in martial arts films. Wang made approximately thirty films at Shaw Brothers, concluding with "The Young Vagabond". He gradually quit the film after the contract expired with Shaw Brothers and was involved in various business pursuits. He also has occasional roles, including a part in the television series "Legend Of The Warring States". His own personal favorites from his Shaw Brothers years are The Spiritual Boxer and "The Kid With A Tattoo". Wang Yu died in may 2008. (IVL)
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Filmography

[ 2000 - 1990 - 1980 - 1970 ]

Alternate lists by alpha / genre / year

Title ( HK - All )		Year	Activity

	Dance Of A Dream	2001	Actor
	Easy Money	1994	Actor
	Peach Sex Noxious Star	1993	Actor
	Power Of Love	1993	Action Director, Brief appearance
	Center Stage	1992	Actor
	Handsome Siblings	1992	Brief appearance
	Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues, The	1991	Actor
	Spiritually A Cop	1991	Actor
	Framed	1989	Actor
	Dragons Forever	1988	Stuntman
	Mistaken Identity	1988	Actor
	Rouge	1988	Actor
	Innocent Interloper, The	1986	Cameo
	Seventh Curse, The	1986	Brief appearance
	Crazy Shaolin Disciples	1985	Actor
	Flying Mr. B, The	1985	Brief appearance
	Girl With The Diamond Slipper, The	1985	Actor
	Master Strikes Back, The	1985	Actor
	Why Me ?	1985	Actor
	Young Vagabond	1985	Actor
	Comedy	1984	Actor
	Dress Off For Life	1984	Actor
	How To Choose A Royal Bride	1984	Actor
	Wits Of The Brats	1984	Actor
	Big Sting, The	1983	Actor
	Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, The	1983	Actor
	Lady Is The Boss	1983	Actor
	Mercenaries From Hong Kong	1983	Actor
	Shy Boy, The	1983	Actor
	Take Care, Your Majesty	1983	Actor
	Tales Of A Eunuch	1983	Actor
	Kid From Kwangtung	1982	Actor
	Winner Takes All	1982	Actor
	Battle For The Republic Of China, The	1981	Actor
	Challenge Of The Gamesters	1981	Actor
	Lion Vs Lion	1981	Actor
	Notorious Eight	1981	Actor
	Kid With A Tattoo	1980	Actor
	Rendezvous With Death	1980	Actor
	Swift Sword	1980	Actor
	Young Avenger, The	1980	Actor
	Dirty Ho	1979	Actor
	Kung Fu Instructor, The	1979	Actor
	Shadow Boxing, The	1979	Actor
	36th Chamber Of Shaolin, The	1978	Actor
	Dirty Kung Fu	1978	Actor
	Proud Youth, The	1978	Actor
	Adventures Of Emperor Chien Lung, The	1977	Actor
	Call Girls, The	1977	Brief appearance
	Executioners From Shaolin	1977	Actor
	He Has Nothing But Kung Fu	1977	Actor
	Challenge Of The Masters	1976	Actor
	Criminals, The	1976	Actor
	Emperor Chien Lung	1976	Actor
	King Gambler	1976	Actor
	Last Tempest, The	1976	Actor
	Snake Prince, The	1976	Actor
	White Butterfly Killer	1976	Actor
	Big Brother Cheng	1975	Actor
	Cuties Parade	1975	Actor
	Flying Guillotine, The	1975	Actor
	It's All In The Family	1975	Actor
	Spiritual Boxer	1975	Actor
	That's Adultery !	1975	Actor
	Golden Lotus	1974	Actor
	Gossip Street	1974	Actor
	Hong Kong 73	1974	Actor
	Tea House, The	1974	Actor
	Thirteen	1974	Actor
	Two Faces Of Love, The	1974	Actor
	Young Passion	1974	Actor
	Facets Of Love	1973	Brief appearance
	Bloody Fists, The	1972	Actor