Lam Ching-ying

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lam.

Lam Ching-ying
林正英
Lam Ching-ying
Born	Lam Gun-bo (林根寶) (1952-12-27)27 December 1952 British Hong Kong
Died	8 November 1997(1997-11-08) (aged 44) St Teresa Hospital, Kowloon City, Hong Kong
Occupation(s)	Actor, Martial artist, Film director and Producer, Action choreographer
Years active	1970–1996
Spouse	Cheng Bing Bing ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1988)​
Partner	Kingdom Yuen (1995–1996)
Children	Lam Sik-nga (daughter) Lam Ka-yiu (son)
Awards	Hong Kong Film Awards – Best Action Choreography 1983 Prodigal Son (Won) 1984 Winners and Sinners (Won) 1986 My Lucky Stars (Nominated) Best Supporting Actor 1985 Mr. Vampire (Nominated)
Chinese name
Chinese	林正英
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lín Zhèngyĩng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lam4 Zing3 jing1
Lam Gun-bo
Traditional Chinese	林根寶
Simplified Chinese	林根宝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lín Gēnbǎo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lam4 Gan1bou2

Lam Ching-ying (Chinese: 林正英; pinyin: Lín Zhèngyĩng; born Lam Gun-bo (simplified Chinese: 林根宝; traditional Chinese: 林根寶; pinyin: Lín Gēnbǎo); 27 December 1952 – 8 November 1997) was a Hong Kong stuntman, actor, martial artist and action director. As a practitioner of martial arts Lam starred in a number of notable films that found recognition outside Hong Kong including Encounters of the Spooky Kind, The Prodigal Son and his best-known role in Mr. Vampire.

Biography

Childhood years

He was born Lam Gun-bo (林根寶) on 27 December 1952 in the year of the Dragon, in Hong Kong. His family originated from Shanghai, in the People's Republic of China. Both of his parents made a living by doing catering services. Lam was the third child of six children. His family was poor, and his parents weren't educated. Lam attended Shun Yi Association Elementary School in Hong Kong, but eventually dropped out after 2 years. His father sent him to Chun Chau Drama Society to learn the Peking Opera style under the guidance of Madame Fan Fok Fa.

Due to his slender and fragile body structure, Lam specialized in female roles and often performed stunt-doubling for actresses. However, he was reported as a mischievous and disobedient child. Thus, after half a year of training, Madame sent him on stage to express himself and control his drive. Lam's first show was called "White Beach", but his Beijing Opera career only lasted for 5 years. He realized that there was not much demand for opera styles anymore. Through a friend's introduction, Lam joined the film industry.

Early life

At age 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 HK$60 a day, HK$20 of which went to his master, and another HK$20 he took home to his parents. Lam used the remaining money to treat his brothers to snacks. Lam once mentioned those were his happiest days in his life.

There was a story that Lam challenged Bruce Lee in a hotel room because he didn't believe Lee was as strong as the rumors said. Lam put a pillow over his chest and stomach, then Bruce struck the pillow and sent him flying across the room. Bruce Lee was so impressed that he hired Lam as his personal assistant. Lam was 19 at the time.

Lam started to work as an co-action choreographer, and personal assistant to Bruce Lee on Lee's movies including The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death. In his youth, Lam seemed to have quite a temper and always got into fights. During the filming of The Big Boss, Lam was arrested for fighting, and Lee had to bail him out of jail.

Despite having little education, Lam impressed Lee with interesting philosophical discussions. Although they hardly talked about their relationship, Lee liked good conversations, and this self-willed young man soon became Lee's favorite.

When Lee died, Lam was devastated. He later joined Hung's stuntman association (known as the Hung Kar Pan).

1980s

Lam worked behind the camera as assistant director and became Sammo's right-hand man of the stunt team. His talent as an actor and martial artist was revealed in The Magnificent Butcher. Lam played the fan-wielding assassin who fought against Yuen Biao.

In 1982, Lam won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Director, in the film Prodigal Son. Prodigal Son featured what is widely acknowledged as among the best Wing Chun caught on film, performed by Lam. Lam played the strict kung fu master Leung Yee-tai. This was probably his most historic role. Lam even shaved his own eyebrows to give Master Leung a more feminine portrayal. He was able to bring a cool, sweet quality to this sharp and hard-nosed character.

He also played 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 favorite 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 longtime kung fu film actor Yuen Wah. Due to various difficulties, the film was never made.

In the following years, Lam starred as the Taoist Priest in countless sequels and spin-offs of Mr. Vampire such as Mr. Vampire II (1986), Mr. Vampire III (1987), Vampire Vs. Vampire (1989), Magic Cop (1990), Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (1990)

He also appeared in different movie genres such as The Return of Pom Pom (1984), School on Fire (1988), Painted Faces (1988), and Her Vengeance (1988). Lam proved that his dramatic acting skill was just as good as his kung fu skill. It is argued that whether the huge success of Mr. Vampire was the best thing that happened in his career because it forever typecast him as the vampire slayer. Yet Lam had many heartbreaking and mind-stirring portrayals in other movie genres.

In 1989, Lam directed his first movie Vampire Vs. Vampire. The movie starred him as the usual One Eyebrow Priest, Chin Siu Ho and Liu Fong as his naughty disciples. Due to the production cost going over budget, he didn't take his director's fee. The movie showed light of his moving-making style which was prone to realistic fights and dark humor. The movie didn't become a huge success, but his candor made people re-think the purposes of film-making. It also suggested new ideas in the genre which later influenced other Hong Kong ghost movies. Vampire Vs. Vampire offered a new look about the encounter between Chinese and Western culture. The One Eyebrow Priest also raised a vampire kid in his own house. This went against traditional rules of Maoshan Taoism. Even until now, people often find Lam Ching Ying's shadow in later Chinese ghost movies.

1990s

The success of Mr. Vampire eventually became burdensome on Lam, who found himself typecast in the role. As the Hong Kong movie industry began to experience a decline, quality roles for Lam also began to dry. However, he continued to take on his usual role as the Taoist priest as well as supporting roles in low budget movies.

In 1990, Lam became the film producer for Magic Cop (1990), an underrated action movie. He starred in and action directed the movie. The fight scenes between him and the Japanese again showed his excellence as an action choreographer.

Some of his other ghost movies during these years are Crazy Safari (1991), An Eternal Combat (1991), The Ultimate Vampire (1991) Spiritual Trinity (1991), Mad Mad Ghost (1992), Banana Spirit (1992). Again, his serious acting side can be seen in Pom Pom and Hot Hot (1992), Lover's Tear (1992). He had supporting roles in these movies, but his roles are very memorable.

In 1995, although the film market was in depression, ATV offered Lam the starring role in a television series called Vampire Expert (殭屍道長). He was hired with a million HK dollars salary to work in the series. It was a far cry from his time as HK$60 a day stuntman. The series was a success and revived Lam's career. The story followed Mo Siu Fong (Lam Ching Ying) who destroyed ghosts and saved the day. During the filming, Lam developed a relationship with his co-star Kingdom Yuen. In the series, Yuen played a female priest who fell in love with Mo Siu Fong (Lam Ching Ying). At the end of the filming, they were actually in love.

The second series was filmed and aired in 1996. The series starred Lam Ching Ying again as the humble priest, Mang Hoi, Frankie Lam and Annie Man as his disciples. Like the first series, the second series received high ratings and support from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Soon after that, Lam signed for another TV series called Coincidentally (情定阴阳界). The series borrowed the cast of Vampire Expert and had Lam in a supporting role. Lam played a priest who tried to prevent a man from becoming a cruel spirit. However, this series didn't mark the end of his career. Lam's last role was in A Monk at Thirty (一枝花和尚). The role was so heartbreaking that many of his fans doubted he was actually playing his own death.

In 1996, production on the third series of Vampire Expert began. The production was halted due to Lam's health condition.

Family

Lam Ching-ying married Cheng Bing Bing in 1983. They had two children, a daughter Lam Sik-nga (林式瓦) in 1985 and a son Lam Ka-yiu (林家耀) in 1988. The children loved to watch their father's movies. The couple divorced in 1988. Child custody was given to the father. Lam sent his children to the U.S to study.

During the filming of Vampire Expert in 1995, Lam and his co-star Kingdom Yuen developed a relationship. However in 1996, Lam broke up with Yuen when they were in love. He then packed up and moved to his sister's house. Yuen talked about Lam after his death:

"In fact, he was sick. I always knew it. But he didn't want to be disturbed, so he moved to a place where no-one could see him. He also didn't allow me to visit him. Before leaving, he said: "I cannot stay by your side anymore. Take good care of yourself. If you have problems, ask your brother to help you." I was reluctant to let him leave, but I respected his choice. He was the kind of man that when he decided something, it would be impossible to stop him... As an actor, he wanted people to see the most beautiful, brilliant moments. He didn't allow me to visit him. Because he knew that if I had seen him like this, it would have been very painful".

Death

Rumor about cancer

During the summer of 1997 Lam had been repeatedly going to the hospital for tests. Rumours were spreading that he had liver cancer. He stubbornly insisted on leaving the hospital immediately and finishing his job, unwilling to be hospitalised. He received worried phone calls from friends, but he told them not to listen to gossip.

It is unknown when Lam was diagnosed with cancer for the first time since he forbid his close family to reveal his illness. Some of his close friends stated that they noticed his illness, but no-one dared to ask him directly. Chin Kar Lok said in an interview:

"One time I had to break through a 10 ft glass wall and before that, I had to work on a ship to jump from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor. Everyone knew it was a painful shot. Hung Kam Bo wanted me to do that job. But Lam refused to let me do that and he took that action…it was really a big pain shot. He was hurt after he did that shot. Like what I said before, working as a stuntman in the 80s is like a family and there is no selfishness.

He was very kind to me, even in a later movie, he found me for the main actor. He really took care of me. He had the spirit. He was not a smooth talker. But he used his brain a lot. He taught us not to be lazy, to give 100% every time, no tricks. He set a very good example to us. He had a good heart for movies, even when he was sick at the end of his life. He didn't show to us he was in pain. He was even shooting a movie with us. I think he is really the real hero. I miss him very much."

Final weeks

Lam broke up with his girlfriend Kingdom Yuen. Two weeks before his death, Lam moved to his sister's house. He refused visits from his children and friends. Lam started to lose his consciousness over and over again at the beginning of November. His family moved him to the St. Teresa Hospital in Kowloon. He was already in a semi-comatose state, and his situation gradually declined.

Lam died on November 8, 1997, at 12:30 am at St. Theresa's Hospital in Hong Kong, the cause of death being cancer of the liver. He was 44 years old. Ricky Hui who was Lam's partner in "Mr. Vampire", died on November 8, 2011, the same date, 14 years later.

The funeral

Lam's request was to have a low-profile funeral. His funeral was attended by his parents, close family and school-mate friends. The Buddhist ceremony was held in the evening of the 13th at around 7 am. His Priest robe, shoes and top-hat were buried with him, along with his favorite clothes and sunglasses. Lam's pallbearers were Yuen Shiu Hung, Chin Yuet Sun, Ng Ming Hoi, Lam King Chu, Chan Wui Ngai, Chung Fat, Sammo Hung, Chan Wing Hong, Chin Kar Lok and Wu Ma.

After the funeral his remains were cremated and buried in the U.S. with a calligraphy:

"One Smile Returns To The West"

Tribute

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.

Filmography

Main article: Lam Ching-ying filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Actor	Notes
1969	The Whirlwind Knight		Yes
1970	The Golden Knight	Shaolin Monk at temple	Yes
1970	Brothers Five	Minor Role	Yes
1970	Wrath of the Sword	Minor Role	Yes
1971	The Invincible Eight	Whip-wielding henchman	Yes
1971	Six Assassins	Lord Li's soldier	Yes
1971	The Blade Spares None	Prince's fighter	Yes
1971	The Golden Seal	Thug	Yes
1971	The Crimson Charm	Crimson Charm thug	Yes
1971	Lady with a Sword	Minor Role	Yes
1971	The Big Boss	Ah Yen	Yes
1971	A Touch of Zen	East Chamber guard	Yes
1971	The Long Chase	Minor Role	Yes
1971	The Lady Hermit	Horse thief	Yes
1971	The Angry River	Minor Role	Yes
1972	Fist of Fury	Susuki's student	Yes
1972	The Casino	Casino thug	Yes
1972	The Way of the Dragon	Thug	Yes	Uncredited
1972	The Deadly Knives	Japanese	Yes
1972	Hapkido	Black Bear student	Yes	Uncredited
1972	The Imperial Swordsman	Bandit	Yes
1972	The Thunderbolt Fist	Japanese fighter on stage	Yes
1972	The Fugitive	Ma's thug	Yes
1972	Treasure Castle		Yes
1973	A Man Called Tiger	Blue Shirt thug	Yes
1973	Iron Bull	Thug	Yes
1973	Seaman No 7	Golden Hair's thug	Yes
1973	None But the Brave	Masked patriot	Yes
1973	The Rendezvous of Warriors	Minor Role	Yes
1973	Enter the Dragon	Guard / Chief double for Sek Kin	Yes	Uncredited
1973	Tiger	Japanese	Yes
1973	Bruce Lee, the Man and the Legend	Himself	Yes
1973	Back Alley Princess	Rascal	Yes
1973	When Taekwondo Strikes	Japanese	Yes
1974	The Skyhawk	Woodland attacker	Yes	Uncredited
1974	Chinatown Capers	Gangster	Yes
1974	Dynamite Brothers	Thug in white	Yes
1974	Yellow Faced Tiger	Slaughter's man	Yes
1974	Tornado of Pearl River	Minor Role	Yes
1974	Bloody Ring		Yes
1974	The Sharp Fists in Kung Fu
1975	The Man from Hong Kong	Minor Role	Yes	Uncredited
1975	The Spiritual Boxer	Ruei's thug	Yes
1976	Hot Potato	Leopard Man		Uncredited
1976	Challenge of the Masters	Master Pang's student	Yes
1976	Bruce's Deadly Fingers	Brown Shirt Fighter	Yes
1976	End of the Wicked Tigers	Villager	Yes
1977	Executioners from Shaolin	Pai Mei's monk	Yes	Uncredited
1977	The Shaolin Plot	Soldier	Yes
1977	The Pilferer's Progress	Hitman	Yes
1977	Judgement of an Assassin	Bai Du Clan member	Yes
1977	The Iron Fisted Monk		Yes	Brief cameo
1977	The Sentimental Swordsman	Yun's man	Yes
1977	The Amsterdam Kill	Police Officer	Yes
1977	Broken Oath	One of Qi's men	Yes
1977	Money Crazy		Yes
1977	He Has Nothing But Kung Fu		Yes
1978	Clan of Amazons	Red Shoe Society's man	Yes
1978	The Game of Death	Macau fighter	Yes	Uncredited
1978	The Proud Youth	Minor Role	Yes
1978	Amsterdam Connection	Mr Hung's henchman	Yes
1978	Kung Fu Stars		Yes
1978	Enter the Fat Dragon	Fighter on movie set	Yes
1978	Legend of the Bat	Han's sword troop	Yes
1978	Warriors Two	Thunder's men / Leung's student	Yes
1978	Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog!	One of Panther's men	Yes
1978	Kung Fu Means Fists, Strikes and Swords	Thug	Yes
1978	Gee and Gor		Yes
1979	The Incredible Kung Fu Master	Fu student	Yes
1979	Knockabout	Casino fighter	Yes
1979	Odd Couple	Ha (Scarface's fighter)	Yes
1979	His Name Is Nobody	Wears black wig	Yes
1979	The Magnificent Butcher	Fan Man	Yes
1979	Dragon Fist		Yes
1979	Crazy Partner
1980	The Victim	Jo Wing's man / double	Yes
1980	From Riches to Rags	Knife killer	Yes
1980	By Hook or by Crook	Skinny's hired thug leader	Yes
1980	Two Toothless Tigers		Yes
1980	Encounter of the Spooky Kind	Inspector	Yes
1980	The Killer in White
1981	The Prodigal Son	Leung Yee-tai	Yes
1982	The Dead and the Deadly	Uncle Yee	Yes
1982	Carry On Pickpocket
1983	Winners and Sinners	Chan	Yes
1984	Hocus Pocus	Master Sheng	Yes
1984	Pom Pom	Police Sgt	Yes	Cameo
1984	The Return of Pom Pom	Flying Spider Lo Chien	Yes
1984	Hong Kong 1941
1984	The Owl vs Bombo
1985	My Lucky Stars	Corrupted HK policeman	Yes
1985	Those Merry Souls	Tak's father	Yes
1985	Heart of the Dragon	SWAT Commander	Yes
1985	Mr Vampire	Uncle Ko / Master Kau	Yes
1985	Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars
1986	The Millionaires' Express	Bank robber	Yes
1986	Where's Officer Tuba?	Taoist priest	Yes	Cameo
1986	Mr. Vampire II	Lam Ching Ying / Lin Cheng-ying	Yes
1986	Heroes Shed No Tears	Viet Colonel	Yes
1986	Rosa
1987	Eastern Condors	Lieutenant Lam	Yes
1987	Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch	Liu Chang-Fu	Yes
1987	Cold-blooded Man (Naenghyeolja)	Chiang Fu	Yes
1987	Mr. Vampire III	Uncle Nine	Yes
1988	Paper Marriage
1988	Shy Spirit	Taoist Priest	Yes
1988	I Love Maria	Master	Yes	(Guest star)
1988	School on Fire	Hoi	Yes
1988	Painted Faces	Wah	Yes
1988	Her Vengeance	Hung	Yes
1989	Pedicab Driver	Uncle Sheng	Yes	Cameo
1989	Vampire vs Vampire	One Eyebrow Priest	Yes
1989	Armageddon
1990	The Swordsman	Elder Kuk	Yes
1990	Stage Door Johnny	Liu	Yes
1990	Goodbye Hero	Frank	Yes
1990	Magic Cop	Uncle Feng	Yes
1990	Prince of the Sun	Khenlun	Yes
1990	Encounter of the Spooky Kind II	Master Jiao	Yes
1991	Spiritual Trinity	Tien Lung	Yes
1991	The Ultimate Vampire	Master Chiu	Yes
1991	An Eternal Combat	The Master	Yes
1991	Red and Black	Lin Chiang	Yes
1991	Gambling Ghost	Exorcist	Yes
1991	Money Maker	Master Chu	Yes
1991	Crazy Safari	Master HiSing	Yes
1991	The Tantana	Mud Yuet	Yes
1991	Slickers vs Killers	Owl	Yes
1991	Shy Spirit		Yes
1991	Midnight Conjure	Taoist	Yes	Cameo
1992	Wizard's Curse	Taoist priest	Yes
1992	Mr. Vampire 1992	Master Lam Ching Ying	Yes
1992	The Musical Vampire	Uncle Master	Yes
1992	Skin Striperess	Taoist Lam	Yes
1992	Pom Pom and Hot Hot	Lam Ho-Yang	Yes
1992	Painted Skin	Purple monk	Yes	Cameo
1992	Mad Mad Ghost	Uncle Ying	Yes
1992	Martial Arts Master Wong Fei Hung	Jiubinku Kyoto	Yes
1992	Banana Spirit	Master Chen Sheng	Yes
1992	Legend of Wong Tai Sin	Wong Cho Pin [title char]	Yes
1992	China Dolls	Motorcycle policeman	Yes
1992	Lover's Tear	Cheng Ying	Yes
1992	Forced Nightmare		Yes
1993	The East Is Red	Zither player	Yes	[footage from 'Swordsman']
1993	Rape in Public Sea	Nan	Yes
1993	Exorcist Master	Uncle Nine	Yes
1994	The Green Hornet	Uncle	Yes
1994	The Chinese Ghostbuster		Yes
1994	Kung Fu Kid		Yes

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995-1996	Vampire Expert	Taoist Priest Mo Siu Fong	80 episodes
1996- 997	Coincidentally	Priest
1997	A Monk at Thirty		30 episodes

Awards

1983 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated and won "Best Action Choreography" in Prodigal Son

1984 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated and won "Best Action Choreography" in Winners And Sinners

1986 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated for "Best Action Choreography" in My Lucky Stars

1986 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" in Mr Vampire

See also

• Sammo Hung
• Wu Ma
• Chin Kar Lok

External links

• Lam Ching Ying Memorial network
• Lam Ching Ying, Master For All Seasons - Unofficial Site
• Memory of Lam Ching Ying
• The Place For Lam Ching Ying Fans - Forum
• Lam Ching Ying's channel on YouTube
• Lam Ching Ying Tribute Page on Myspace
• Top Classic Kung Fu Artist of all time at KungFuMovieMadness.com
• Lam Ching-ying at IMDb