Chen Kuan-tai (; born 24 September 1945) is a
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
actor, director, and action choreographer. Chen rose to fame in the early 1970s for his movies with the
Shaw Brothers Studio
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 Shang ...
and is credited as being one of the film company's first professionally trained martial artists.
Early life
Chen was born in
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. At age 9, he was accepted as a pupil of kung fu practitioner
Chan Sau Chung, founder of the Tai Sing Pek Kwar Martial Arts Association which specializes in
monkey style kung fu.
While studying in
Pui Kiu Middle School, he excelled in athletics, notably in
javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...
and soccer. After graduating, he worked as a stuntman and action director, his first project being
Chor Yuen's 1970 film, ''
Cold Blade''.
Chen attracted the attention of Cantonese filmmakers in 1969 after winning a light-weight division championship in Singapore's National Skills Competition.
He eventually signed with the
Shaw Brothers Studio
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 Shang ...
in November of 1971. Unlike his contemporaries, Chen did not adopt a stage name.
Career
Chen had been cast in some two dozen films with Shaw Brothers playing tertiary roles, amongst them
Jimmy Wang Yu's ''
The Chinese Boxer'' (1970) and
Chang Cheh's ''
Vengeance'' (1970) before he was cast in the role of Ma Yung Chen by Chang in the latter's kung fu film, ''
The Boxer from Shantung.'' The film was his first lead role. At the time, Chen had been working with
Ng See-yuen on his independent film, ''
The Bloody Fists'' (1972) and left mid-production to film Chang's movie. Released in 1972, ''The Boxer From Shantung'' was a commercial success, netting over HK $2 million in ticket sales and launched Chen into stardom overnight.
By the mid-1970s, he had become one of Hong Kong's most famous kung fu stars and achieved several hits including ''
The Teahouse'' (1974), ''
Heroes Two'' (1974), ''
Big Brother Cheng'' (1975), and ''The Flying Guillotine'' (1975). At the 20th
Asia-Pacific Film Festival
The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific (FPA). The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954.
History
The festival was first he ...
, Chen was awarded Most Popular Male Actor by the Taipei Press Association.
In 1976, the actor expanded his career into directing and in February that year, made his directional debut with the comedy film, ''The Simple-Minded Fellow''. The film was a moderate success at the box office.
In October, Chen continued directing and filming with independent film companies in Taiwan, resulting in the Shaw Brothers Studio filing and winning a temporary injunction against the actor that prohibited him from making movies with any other company other than Shaw Brothers. Chen was also ordered to pay HK $700,000 in subsidies.
The dispute lasted for nearly two years resulting in him briefly leaving Shaw studio after completing
Lau Kar-leung's ''
Challenge of the Masters'' (1976) and ''
Executioners from Shaolin'' (1977). Due to his legal dispute, the five films he made in Taiwan, including his second directional project ''
Iron Monkey'' (1977), were withheld or frequently pulled from theaters''.'' The case was eventually settled in 1978 and Chen would return to Shaw Brothers after signing a new four-year contract requiring him to make at maximum two films per year with the company.
Upon his return, Chen starred in Chang Cheh's ''
Crippled Avengers'', a film credited as revitalizing the actor's career. He would remain with the Shaw Brothers until their closure in 1985. His 1980 film, ''
Killer Constable'', has been praised as one of the studio's best ''
wuxia'' films.
To date, Chen has starred in 164 films, around 80 of which were with Shaw Brothers. He has gone on to direct five more films including ''
Return to Action'' (1990) while his starring roles often focused on action, crime and, occasionally, comedy. He remains active in the Hong Kong film industry.
Personal life
Chen was close friends with Chang Cheh and
Ku Feng. He has cited Chang as his favorite director and credited Ku as helping him learn Mandarin.
Chen has been married four times. In 1976, he married fellow Shaw Brothers actress Cai Zhen-ni (stage name Ying Ying), with whom he has a daughter, Chen Yong-xi. Chen and Cai divorced in the following year. His second marriage was to Taiwanese actress and singer, Fong Yee-chun, with whom he has a son, Chen Jun-xiang. Chen and Fong later divorced. In 1990, he married Zhao Ting-ting in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, but the couple divorced a few years later. Chen married his fourth wife Tang Liping in 2017.
He owns a restaurant called Jimmy's Kitchen in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
In 2012, Chen was expelled from the Tai Sing Pek Kwar Martial Arts Association due to a dispute with his mentor, Chan Sau Chung.
Filmography
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Kuan-Tai
1945 births
Living people
Shaw Brothers Studio
Hong Kong male film actors
Hong Kong male television actors
Male actors from Guangdong
20th-century Hong Kong male actors
21st-century Hong Kong male actors