Richard Ng Yiu-hon (27 December 1939 – 9 April 2023), also known as Richard Woo, was 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 ...

actor known for playing comedic roles, particularly in Hong Kong films of the 1980s and 1990s.

Film and television career

Ng appeared in 80 films to date. He was twice nominated for the Best Actor Award at the

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 1991. The a ...

, for his roles in '' Winners and Sinners'' and '' Beyond the Sunset''. He worked alongside some of the biggest names in

Hong Kong action cinema Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures, including Chinese opera, storytelling a ...

including

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

Michelle Yeoh Yeoh Choo Kheng (; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh (), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has appeared Michelle Yeoh filmography, in projects encompassing a wide array of genres, a ...

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

, and

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean Martial arts, martial artist and actor. With a Jet Li filmography, film career spanning more than forty years, Li is re ...

1970s, 80s, and 90s

Ng's first role was in the 1976

Michael Hui Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942; also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, scriptwriter and Film director, director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky Hui, ...

comedy film '' The Private Eyes''. It was the first of many films Ng would appear in with

Sammo Hung Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a figh ...

throughout the next 30 years. In 1979, Ng made his only film as director, ''Murder Most Foul''. He also starred in the film and co-wrote it with Wong Jing. In 1983, he appeared as "Exhaust Pipe" in Hung's film '' Winners and Sinners'', a template to the '' Lucky Stars'' series. He would go on to appear in all of the subsequent Lucky Stars films throughout the 1980s, in fundamentally the same role, though his character name in the later films was "Sandy". Ng came to the fore in all 4 of the Pom Pom series, alongside fellow Lucky Star,

John Shum John Sham Kin-Fun (born 1952) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. His English name is sometimes written as John Shum. Whilst known primarily for his comedic acting roles in Hong Kong cinema, he also spent time as a political activist. Biog ...

. The ''Pom Pom'' films were something of a spinoff from the Lucky Stars series, though more comedy than action-orientated. Sammo Hung worked as producer on the first three, and as action director on the first two, and all four films were released by Hung's production companies, Bo Ho Films and D&B Films. The first film, '' Pom Pom!'', featured cameos from Sammo Hung, Charlie Chin and Stanley Fung as their characters from '' Winners and Sinners''. Jackie Chan and

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one o ...

, who had also appeared in the Lucky Stars films also made cameo appearances. In the series, Ng plays "Ng Ah Chow" (or Ng Ah Chau), whilst Shum plays "Beethoven", a pair of inept and lovelorn cops. The first three Pom Pom films fared well at the domestic box office, taking between HK $17 and HK $20 million each, a sum comparable to contemporaries such as the original ''Lucky Stars'' trilogy, Chan's '' Project A'' and Hung and Biao's ''

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain ''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' ( zh, t=新蜀山劍俠) is a 1983 Hong Kong supernatural ''wuxia'' fantasy film directed by Tsui Hark and based on the xianxia novel '' Legend of the Swordsmen of the Mountains of Shu'' by Huanzhulouzh ...

''. Ng became an established actor, and was given supporting roles in a number of popular Hong Kong action comedies including ''

Wheels on Meals ''Wheels on Meals'' () is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written and directed by Sammo Hung, with action choreographed by Jackie Chan. The film stars Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lola Forner, Benny Urquidez, and J ...

'' (1984), '' Millionaire's Express'' (1986) and

's '' Miracles'' (1989). Throughout the 1990s he appeared in at least 8 further films with Sammo Hung, including ''

Once Upon a Time in China and America ''Once Upon a Time in China and America'', also known as ''Once Upon a Time in China VI'', (Chinese: 黃飛鴻之西域雄獅) is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts western film directed by Sammo Hung, who also worked on the film's fight choreogr ...

''.

2000s: British TV and Father & Son films

As of 1997, Ng moved from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and was said to be semi-retired. However, he was clearly still very active, having made several appearances on

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television since that time, and he also continued to work on

films. Since it started in 2002, Ng appeared in several episodes of the ongoing

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

soap, ''

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera created by Stephen Greenhorn which has been broadcast on BBC One Scotland since September 2002. Since 2019, the show has aired episodes a day earlier on the new BBC Scotland channel. Set in ...

'' (under the name ''Richard Woo''). His character was "Johnny Wu", the owner of the "Wok My World" takeaway. In 2003 he appeared in the second Tomb Raider film, '' The Cradle of Life''. In 2004, he appeared in a deleted scene in an episode of '' Black Books''. He also appeared in the commercial for the video game '' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks''. Ng also appeared in an episode of ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' in 2005, and an episode of the

Nickelodeon UK Nickelodeon (commonly shortened to Nick) is a British pay television network. It launched on 1 September 1993, as a localised version of the Nickelodeon, American channel of the same name in the United Kingdom and launched in Ireland in 2004. I ...

series, '' Genie in the House'' in 2006. In 2009, he played in Red Dwarf: Back to Earth as Swallow the Nose Maker, a maker of prosthetics. Ng could be seen on British television, playing a shopkeeper in an advertisement for RAC, alongside

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

, and in another advertisement for satellite television, dressed as an eskimo. He also played the emperor of

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 ...

in a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

docu-drama, ''The Great Wall of China''. It was first shown on 1 October 2007 at 9pm. In 2008, he appeared as Sifu Chien, the Shaolin master of Hong Kong policeman, Terry Phoo ( Eddie Shin) in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

of the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

program, '' Phoo Action''. In 2000, Richard Ng appeared alongside his son, Carl Ng, in the film ''Love at First Sight'' a.k.a. '' Sausalito''. The two have since appeared together several more times, including in

Dante Lam Dante Lam Chiu-yin (, born 1 July 1964) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, actor and action choreographer. Background He was trained in the tradition of John Woo as an assistant director and worked as an actor and producer. He often writes and supervises ...

's '' Jiang hu: The Triad Zone'' (2000), ''Lemon Crush'' (2002), Sammo Hung's ''Legend of the Dragon'' (2004) and the

Jingle Ma Jingle Ma Cho Shing (; born 1957) is a Hong Kong–based writer and director, best known for his action films such as ''Tokyo Raiders ''Tokyo Raiders'' is a 2000 Hong Kong action film set in Hong Kong and Tokyo, directed by Jingle Ma and s ...

film ''Happy Birthday'' (2007). Ng and son would also appear together in three forthcoming films. The first of these is ''Magazine Gap Road'', which is completed and due for release in 2007. This would be followed by ''Bodyguard: A New Beginning'', and in 2008, ''Jessica Caught on Tape''. Ng had a cameo appearance in the 2016 film Skiptrace.

Personal life and death

Ng was educated in

whilst moving from

in 1997. Ng was married to his wife, Susan, a

woman who was a stylist for Vidal Sassoon in

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She ran HAIR BY SUSAN, where she worked as

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 ...

's hair stylist in the 1970s. Together, they had four children, live event producer Alex Ng who runs a concert production company INTERNATIONAL FIXER, Zoe Ng, a professional dancer who studies nature and travels the world, Louise Ng who is a professional photographer, and mother, and actor Carl Ng. In March 2021, one of his daughters was arrested for trafficking marijuana in a village house. Later on 26 March 2021, Ng's second daughter was arrested. Ng died at the age of 83. He had been suffering health problems for years. In 2019 he disclosed he had to undergo dialysis treatments daily due to kidney problems. In 2021 he told media that he had undergone surgery for a cardiac embolism. According to Hong Kong media outlet HK01, which was first to report his death, doctors advised Ng's family members to visit him in hospital on 9 April to say their last goodbyes. Ng was hooked up to several tubes and his family prayed for him. A family member was told that the doctors tried to resuscitate Ng after his heart stopped, but to no avail. Later papers were signed by the doctors to confirm his death.

Filmography

*'' Golden Needles'' (神奇奪命計) (1975) - Lin To's man *'' The Private Eyes'' (半斤八兩) (1976) - Police Officer *''The Pilferer's Progress'' (發錢寒) (1977) - Dragon Ng *''Murder Most Foul'' (慌失失) (1979, director and co-writer) *''Itchy Fingers'' (神偷妙探手多多) (1979) - Tiny *'' Carry On Pickpocket'' (提防小手) (1982) - Wu *'' It Takes Two'' (難兄難弟) (1982) *'' The Return of the Condor Heroes'' (1983, TV Series) - Luk Koon Ying *'' Winners and Sinners'' (奇謀妙計五福星) (a.k.a. ''5 Lucky Stars'') (1983) - Exhaust Pipe *''

'' (快餐車) (a.k.a. ''Million Dollar Heiress'') (1984) - Brilliant Patient *''Heaven Can Help'' (上天救命) (1984) - Chan Siu-Ming *'' Pom Pom'' (神勇雙響炮) (1984) - Chau / Walker *'' The Return of Pom Pom'' (雙龍出海) (1984) - Chau *'' My Lucky Stars'' (福星高照) (a.k.a. ''Lucky Stars Superior Shine'') (1985) - Sandy *'' Mr. Boo Meets Pom Pom'' (智勇三寶) (1985) - Chau *'' Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars'' (夏日福星) (1985) - Sandy *''

Yes, Madam Yes, Madam may refer to: * ''Yes, Madam'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1942 film), an Italian romance film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1985 film), a Hong Kong action film * '' Yes, Madam?'', a 1938 British musical comedy film * '' ...

'' (皇家師姐) (a.k.a. ''Police Assassins'') (1985) - Old Master's Roommate *''The S.I.B. Files'' (1986, TV Series) *'' Lucky Stars Go Places'' (最佳福星) (a.k.a. ''The Luckiest Stars'') (1986) - Sandy *'' Pom Pom Strikes Back'' (雙龍吐珠) (1986) - Chau *''From Here to Prosperity'' (奪寶計上計) (1986) *'' Millionaire's Express'' (富貴列車) (a.k.a. ''Shanghai Express'') (1986) - Han *'' The Wrong Couples'' (不是冤家不聚頭) (1987) *'' Mr. Vampire 3'' (靈幻先生) (1987) - Mao Ming *''Mr. Handsome'' (美男子) (1987) - Dr. Richard Chow *''My Cousin, the Ghost'' (表哥到) (1987) - Cousin Ng Dut Dai *'' Magnificent Warriors'' (中華戰士) (a.k.a. ''Yes, Madam 3'' a.k.a. ''Dynamite Fighters'') (1987) - Paulina Wong *'' The Haunted Island'' (鬼猛腳) (a.k.a. ''Spooky, Spooky'') (1988) - East Bay Station Commander *''Mistaken Identity'' (烏龍賊替身) (1988) - Cheung Kan-Sing *'' Gaston en Leo in Hong Kong'' (Belgian film, 1988) - Agent 008 *'' King of Stanley Market'' (褲甲天下) (1988) *'' Golden Swallow'' (金燕子) (1988) - Hsiang Yu *'' Yes, Madam 2'' (皇家師姐 III 雌雄大盜) (a.k.a. ''In the Line of Duty Part 3'' a.k.a. ''Force of the Dragon'') (1988) - Neddy the Ninja *'' Keep on Dancing'' (繼續跳舞) (1988) *'' Faithfully Yours'' (最佳女婿) (1988) - Ying's Father *'' Miracles'' (奇蹟) a.k.a. ''Mr. Canton and Lady Rose'' (1989) - Captain Ho *'' Run, Don't Walk'' (老虎出監) (1989) - Ng Shing-Choi *'' Beyond the Sunset'' (飛越黃昏) (1989) - Wong *'' Excuse Me, Please!'' (猛鬼山墳) (1989) - Cock *'' Unfaithfully Yours'' (花心三劍俠) (1989) *'' Return of the Lucky Stars'' (福星闖江湖) (1989) - Tai-Shan *'' Mr. Sunshine'' (開心巨無霸) (1989) *'' Demon Intruder'' (夜魔先生) (a.k.a. ''The Nocturnal Demon'') (1990) - Cab Driver *'' Family Honour'' (無名家族) (1990) - Ming's Husband *'' Red Dust'' (滾滾紅塵) (1990) - Yu *'' License to Steal'' (龍鳳賊捉賊) (1990) - No. 1 (Inspector Tam) *'' Till Death Shall We Start'' (衰鬼撬牆腳) (1990) *'' Slickers vs. Killers'' (黐線枕邊人) (1991) - Chow *'' Ghost Punting'' (五福星撞鬼) (1991) - Da Shan-Di *'' The Gambling Ghost'' (洪福齊天) (1991) - Roadblock Cop *'' Son on the Run'' (帶子洪郎) (1991) *'' The Banquet'' (豪門夜宴) (a.k.a. ''Party of a Wealthy Family'') (1991) - Siu-Chi's Father *'' Handsome Siblings'' (絕代雙驕) (1992) *'' Banana Spirit'' (精靈變) (1992) - Tang *'' Saviour of the Soul II'' (九二神鵰之痴心情長劍) (1992) - Devil King *'' Boys Are Easy'' (追男仔) (1993) - Ching Sing *'' Kung Fu Cult Master'' (倚天屠龍記之魔教教主) (a.k.a. ''Evil Cult'' a.k.a. ''Lord of the Wu Tang'' a.k.a. ''Kung Fu Master'') (1993) - King of Green Bat: Wai Yat Siu *'' Future Cops'' (超級學校霸王) (1993) - Uncle Richard Yu/Green Wolf/Blanka *'' Perfect Couples'' (皆大歡喜) (1993) *''

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

'' 流氓醫生 (1995) (a.k.a. ''Dr. Mack'') (1995) - Professor Bao *'' Don't Give a Damn'' (方面俾) (a.k.a. ''Burger Cop'') (1995) - Old Bluffer on Bus *'' Once in a Lifetime'' (終身大事) (1995) *'' Heaven Can't Wait'' (救世神棍) (1995) - Taoist *'' Whatever Will Be, Will Be'' (仙樂飄飄) (1995) - Wing's Dad *'' How to Meet the Lucky Stars'' (運財五福星) (1996) - Dee *''Ah Kam'' (阿金) (1996) - Detective *''

'' (黃飛鴻之西域雄獅) (1997) - Han *''Hong Kong Night Club'' (香港大夜總會) (1997) - Yu Ten-sen *'' Under One Roof'' (同在屋簷下) (1999-2001, TV Series) - Bobby Chow *'' Sausalito'' (一見鍾情) (a.k.a. ''Love at First Sight'') (2000) *'' Jiang hu: The Triad Zone'' (江湖告急) (2000) *'' The Monkey King'' (a.k.a. ''The Lost Empire'') (2001, TV Series) - Communist Official *'' Beijing Rocks'' (北京樂與路) (2001) - Wu De-hui *''Lemon Crush'' (2002) *'' My Wife Is 18'' (我老婆唔夠秤) (2002) *''My Dream Girl'' (炮製女朋友) (2003) - Cheung Tin *'' Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life'' (2003) - buyer (as Richard Woo) *''Brothers 4'' (2003, TV series) *''Legend of the Dragon'' (龍威父子) (2004) *'' Mr. 3 Minutes'' (3分鐘先生) (2006) - Chung Gai-cheung *''Happy Birthday'' (生日快樂) (2007) - Xiao Mi's Dad *'' Phoo Action'' (2008, TV Series) - Sifu Chien *'' Red Dwarf: Back to Earth'' (2009, TV Series) - The Nose Maker *'' Here Comes Fortune'' (財神到) (2010) *''Silver Lining'' (2010, TV Series) *'' Flirting Scholar 2'' (2010) *''

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame ''Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame'' () is a 2010 action film, action-Adventure film, adventure Gong'an fiction, gong'an film directed and produced by Tsui Hark. A Chinese-Hong Kong co-production, the film stars Andy Lau, Carin ...

'' (2010) *'' Perfect Wedding'' (2010) *'' Men Suddenly in Love'' (2011) *'' The Fortune Buddies'' (2011) *'' Supercapitalist'' (2012) - Donald Chang *''

Rigor Mortis Rigor mortis (), or postmortem rigidity, is the fourth stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemical changes in the muscles postmortem (mainly calcium ...

'' (2013) - Uncle Tung *'' Little Big Master'' (2015) *'' Lost in Hong Kong'' (2015) *'' Skiptrace'' (2016) *''100 Days Of Love'' (閃婚100天) (2017, TV Series) *'' Vampire Cleanup Department'' (救僵清道夫) (2017) *''20:16'' (2017) *''Bio Raiders'' (2017) *''Crazy This Year'' (2018) *''Hotel Soul Good'' (2018) *''Dearest Anita'' (2019) *''A Lifetime Treasure'' (2019) *'' The Invincible Dragon'' (2019) *'' Walk with Me'' (2019) *'' Go Back to China'' (2019) *''All's Well End's Well 2020'' (2020) - cameo *'' Where the Wind Blows'' (2023) - filmed in 2017 Richard Ng at chinesemov.com
/ref>

References

External links

*
Richard Ng at HKCinemagic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ng, Richard 1939 births Chaoshanese people 2023 deaths Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong Chinese emigrants to the United Kingdom Hong Kong male film actors British people of Hong Kong descent Hong Kong male television actors Male actors from Guangdong Male actors from Guangzhou Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors 20th-century Chinese male actors 21st-century Chinese male actors 20th-century Hong Kong male actors 21st-century Hong Kong male actors People educated at Eton College Hong Kong male comedians