Betty Ting Pei
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Betty Ting (; born Tang Mei-li (); 19 February 1947) is a Taiwanese former actress who was mainly active in the 1970s. Ting is best known for being the center of international speculation regarding the untimely death of
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
in her apartment. Ting is credited with over 50 films.


Early life

Ting was born as Tang Mei-li in
Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
on 19 February 1947. Ting comes from a medical family of the three generations. Ting's uncle was
Zhang Xueliang Zhang Xueliang ( zh, t=張學良; June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also commonly known by his nickname "the Young Marshal", was a Chinese general who in 1928 succeeded his father Zhang Zuolin as the commander of the Northeastern Army. He is bes ...
and her maternal grandfather was Bao Yulin, the chief police officer of the
Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...
Police Bureau during the
Warlord era The Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1928, when control of the country was divided between rival Warlord, military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions. It began after the de ...
.


Career

Ting started her acting career with
Central Motion Picture Corporation Central Motion Picture Corporation (CMPC; ), also known as Zhong Ying () was established in 1954. It was formed through the merger of the Agricultural Educational Film Company and Taiwan Film Corporation. Like the China Television Company and the ...
in 1963. In January 1967, after acting in seven Taiwanese films, she was spotted by
Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, operating from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...
'
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
, Peter Pan Lei, and thereafter adopted the screen name of Ting Pei. Her first film in Hong Kong was ''The Purple Shell'', where she acted as a dance hostess. Although Ting had acted in
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
s,
comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...
,
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
s, and
martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...
s films, she is better known in Asia for her
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
roles and her many steamy bedroom scenes. She was a regular of director Inoue Umetsugu, for whom she performed in the musicals, ''The Millionaire Chase'', ''The Yellow Muffler'', and ''The Steam Stealers''. In 1973, Ting became a freelance actress and continued to make films both in her native Taiwan and Hong Kong. She retired from acting in 1985. Ting is credited with over 50 films.


Personal life

In 1972, just after her six months in Switzerland, Ting first met Bruce Lee at the original Hyatt Regency Hong Kong (1969–2005) while he was with his wife Linda Emery and
Raymond Chow Raymond Chow Man-wai ( zh, t=鄒文懷; 8 October 1927 – 2 November 2018) was a Hong Kong film producer, and presenter. He was responsible for successfully launching martial arts and the Hong Kong cinema onto the international stage. As ...
, the owner of Golden Harvest. Ting and Lee quickly became friends and they would later go on dates. On 20 July 1973, Ting received media attention when Lee died in her apartment at 67 Beacon Hill Road,
Kowloon Tong Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It ...
, Hong Kong. According to press reports, Lee was going over the
script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
of ''
Game of Death ''Game of Death'' () is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, of which portions were filmed between September and October 1972, and was planned and scheduled to be released by 1973, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee. Th ...
'' in Ting's apartment, a film in which she was reported to have a lead role, when he complained of a
headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...
. She gave him a single tablet of Equagesic, a strong
aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...
-based
drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
that she often used herself. He then went to sleep, but when she could not wake him up for a dinner appointment with Raymond Chow, (disputed timeline; Raymond Chow came to Ting's apartment and attempted to call Lee's personal doctor at least 20 times. Failing to connect Chow, then, called Ting's personal doctor who arrived 20 minutes later. He detected no heartbeat or breathing. He attempted CPR before calling for an ambulance. Lee did not arrive at the hospital until after 11:00 p.m. 6 hours after Lee took a pain pill provided by Ting and laid down to take a nap. Former Hong Kong Police Detective, Philip Chan) Ting called an
ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...
. Lee was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Death was allegedly caused by an
allergic reaction Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...
that resulted in
brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...
edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...
(swelling of the brain). The
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
described his passing as "death by misadventure." Having lost her friend and while being blamed and also receiving death threats by his fans for his death, Ting had
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. In 1976, Ting married
Charles Heung Charles Heung Wah-keung ( zh, c=向華強) is a Hong Kong actor-turned-film producer and presenter. As founder of Win's Entertainment in the 1980s and China Star Entertainment Group in the 1990s, he has helped establish the careers of variou ...
and they had a daughter Candy Heung in 1977, Ting and Heung divorced in 1980, after which she would devoted her time to Buddhism practices and helped the local Buddhist community in Hong Kong. On the 30th anniversary of Bruce Lee's death in 2003, Ting made an announcement at a press conference of her plans to write her autobiography. In 2006, during a radio interview Ting admitted that she and Lee had been lovers for more than a year before his death. In 2008, she revealed that she had already written more than 7,000 words and that Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Overseas authors had offered to serve as her co-author, the project was halted indefinitely as Ting said that it was not "the right time" due to its complicated contents which involved other people. In 2013, forty years after Lee's death, although Ting admitted that she had an intimate relationship with Lee, she said that she did not engage in any sexual activity with him on the day that he died. On 20 July 2015, the 42nd anniversary of Bruce Lee's death, ''The Best Time With Bruce Lee'', the biography of Ting's relationship with Bruce Lee was published by the Beijing Times Chinese Press.


Partial filmography

* 1963 ''Oyster Girl'' * 1965 ''Beautiful Duckling'' * 1965 ''Four Loves'' * 1965 ''The Silent Wife'' * 1965 ''The Monument of Virtue'' * 1966 ''Qiao'' * 1966 ''Poisonous Rose'' - Woman in hotel. * 1967 ''The Purple Shell'' * 1968 ''Tomorrow is Another Day'' * 1968 ''The Brain-Stealers'' * 1969 ''Dear Murderer'' * 1969 ''The Singing Escort'' * 1969 ''The Millionaire Chase'' * 1970 ''Hellgate'' * 1970 ''
Apartment For Ladies ''Apartment for Ladies'' or ''Nu zi gong yu '' is a 1970 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Umetsugu Inoue. It was produced by Run Run Shaw of Shaw Brothers Studio. Plot Songstress Betty Ting Pei travels from Hong Kong to Taiwan in search of ...
'' - Yau Suk Man. * 1971 ''The Night is Young'' * 1972 ''The Yellow Muffler'' * 1972 '' The Fourteen Amazons'' * 1972 ''Stranger in Hong Kong'' * 1972 ''Madness of Love'' * 1973 ''Love Across the Seas'' * 1973 ''Adultery Chinese Style'' * 1973 ''The Call Girls'' * 1973 ''The Rendezvous of Warriors'' * 1974 ''The Chinese Godfather'' * 1974 '' Naughty Naughty'' * 1974 '' Stoner'' * 1974 ''The Looks of Hong Kong'' * 1974 ''
Games Gamblers Play ''Games Gamblers Play'' () is a 1974 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui, with action direction by Sammo Hung. The film also co-stars Sam Hui, who also served as one of the film's music composers. Although very successf ...
'' * 1975 ''A Debt of Crime'' * 1975 ''The Playboy'' * 1975 ''The Evidence'' * 1975 ''Old Master Q'' * 1976 ''
Bruce Lee and I ''Bruce Lee and I'' (, released in the United States as ''Bruce Lee: His Last Days, His Last Nights'') is a 1976 Hong Kong biographical action film directed by Lo Mar, and starring Betty Ting Pei and Danny Lee. The film was released in Hong ...
'' * 1978 ''My Darling Girls'' * 1978 ''The Mysterious Footworks of Kung Fu'' * 1981 ''Mahjong Heroes'' * 1982 ''The 82 Tenants'' * 1985 ''My Name Ain't Suzie''


Works

* 2015: ''The Best Time With Bruce Lee'' (李小龙和我的旧时光:半生修行,一生怀念), with Yuan Tai Ji (圆太级)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ting, Betty 1947 births Living people Taiwanese film actresses Chinese Buddhists 20th-century Buddhists Taiwanese people from Beijing 20th-century Chinese people People with schizophrenia