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Jimmy Wang Yu

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.
Jimmy Wang Yu
王羽
Wang in 1960s
Born
Wang Zhengquan

(1943-03-28)28 March 1943
Shanghai, Republic of China
Died5 April 2022(2022-04-05) (aged 79)
Cheng Hsin Hospital, Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan
NationalityTaiwanese
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1960–2013
Spouses
Jeanette Lin Chui
​
​
(m. 1969; div. 1975)​
Wang Kaizhen
​
​
(m. 1978; div. 1997)​
Children3, including Linda Wong
Chinese name
Chinese王羽
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWáng Yǔ
Wade–GilesWáng Yǚ
IPA[wǎŋ ỳ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationWòhng Yyúh
JyutpingWong4 Jyu5
IPA[wɔ̏ːŋ jy̬ː]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJÔng-Ú
Wang Zhengquan
Traditional Chinese王正權
Simplified Chinese王正权
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWáng Zhèngquán
Wade–GilesWáng Chèng-ch'ǘan
Tongyong PinyinWáng Jhèngcyuán
Yale RomanizationWáng Jèngchywán
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationWòhng Jeng Kyùhn
JyutpingWong4 Zeng3 Kyun4
IPA[wɔ̏ːŋ tsɛ̄ːŋ kʰy̏ːn]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJÔng Chèng-kôan

James Wang Yu (28 March 1943 – 5 April 2022)[1] was a Hong Kong-Taiwanese martial artist, actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. Initially a contract player for Shaw Brothers, he rose to fame for his starring role in The One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and its sequels, and was one of the first major stars of martial arts and wuxia cinema. At the height of his fame in the 1970s, he was the highest-paid martial arts actor in the world. According to The New York Times, Wang was "the biggest star of Asian martial arts cinema until the emergence of Bruce Lee."[2]

Wang Yu was well known for his volatile personality and ties to organized crime off-screen. He was a suspected member of the Bamboo Union triad, and was charged in the 1981 murder of several Four Seas Gang members, though he was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

Early life

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Born Wang Zheng Quan (王正權) in Shanghai in 1943, Wang and his family moved to Hong Kong when he was still a child. From a young age, he trained in karate, tai chi, Wudang quan and taijijian. For a time he served in the National Revolutionary Army, and was also a competitive swimmer and a car racing enthusiast.

Film career

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Wang joined Shaw Brothers Studio in 1963 as a stunt performer, and had his first acting role in the 1965 film Temple of the Red Lotus. In 1968, he acted with Cheng Pei-pei in the wuxia film Golden Swallow, directed by Chang Cheh.[3] Following that, Wang starred in many other wuxia films, including One Armed Boxer (1971), Master of the Flying Guillotine[1] (1976) and Return of the Chinese Boxer (1977).

If The One-Armed Swordsman was the movie that launched Wang's acting career, The Chinese Boxer was the film that sealed his fame in Hong Kong cinema. The latter has been credited[citation needed] as being the first Hong Kong martial arts film that kickstarted the unarmed combat genre, mainly kung fu. It also triggered a phenomenon that filled the ranks of many Chinese martial arts associations across Southeast Asia. Chinese youths, in their bid to emulate Wang, took to punching sandbags, and reading up on the history of Shaolin Kung Fu.

Controversy dogged Wang after the fame that exploded with The Chinese Boxer. He broke his contract with the Shaw Brothers Studio, and was promptly slapped with a lawsuit. The legal tussle that ended in the studio's favour led to Wang being banned from making films in Hong Kong. Wang then looked to Taiwan for better career prospects, linking up with Golden Harvest and other independent film outfits. His subsequent works were mostly filmed in Taiwan.

With the success of The Chinese Boxer, Wang stood unchallenged in Southeast Asia for a short time as the Chinese actor with the most formidable fists and legs. But beginning in the 1970s, Wang's star began to be eclipsed with the entry of new actors, many with superior martial arts training such as Ti Lung, David Chiang, and especially Bruce Lee, whose role in The Big Boss (1971) revolutionised the martial arts film genre.

In 1975, Wang starred in the Australian action film The Man from Hong Kong.[4] In 1976, Wang appeared alongside Jackie Chan in Lo Wei's Killer Meteors. In the late 1970s, Wang helped Chan when then the latter sought his help in settling a dispute with Lo Wei that allegedly involved Triads. Chan eventually repaid the favor with his roles in Wang's films, Fantasy Mission Force (1982) and Island of Fire (1990).

In 1986, Sammo Hung cast Wang as Wong Kei-ying (the father of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung) in Millionaire's Express. In the years that followed, Wang kept a low profile, making a rare public appearance in 2002 at the funeral of Chang Cheh.

Footage from Wang's 1976 film, Tiger & Crane Fists (also known as The Savage Killers), was used in the 2002 film Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, alongside new footage shot by Steve Oedekerk to create an original plot unrelated to the original film. In the film itself, Oedekerk, who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film, digitally inserted himself over Wang in many scenes where the Tiger & Crane Fists footage is used.

Organized crime

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Wang often associated with members of the Bamboo Union, a Taiwan-based triad, though his status as a made man was never confirmed.[5][6]

In a 2007 interview with the Liberty Times, Wang claimed that Bai Wan-hsiung, the Kuomintang Director of Mainland Affairs, had asked him and another Bamboo Union member to assassinate Democratic Progressive Party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang in 1979.[7] The Kuomintang long held ties to Bamboo Union. At the time, Hsu was living in exile the United States. In the same interview, Wang implicated the Kuomintang in the murder of Henry Liu.[8]

Xinghua Pavilion incident

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On April 23, 1976, Wang invited Hong Kong film mogul Charles Heung and several friends, including Bamboo Union members, to the Xinghua Pavilion restaurant in Taipei. Several members of the Four Seas, a rival triad, were also present. Wang allegedly instigated a fight between the two groups that ended in the deaths of Four Seas members Qiu Wenxiang and Gao Wenzhang.

The incident attracted much media attention, and Wang fled to Hong Kong to avoid arrest. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to a five months in prison, which was reduced to a fine on appeal.[9]

Tianchu Restaurant case and murder trial

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On January 10, 1981, Wang and a group of friends were eating at the Tianchu Restaurant on Nanjing Road, when they were ambushed by members of the Four Seas triad in an apparent assassination attempt. Wang survived, but three of his friends were killed. Wang had previously had a falling out with the Four Seas after losing 1 million Yuan at a casino owned by Four Seas leader Liu Weimin, and his life had been repeatedly threatened.[10] Wang reached out to Bamboo Union leader Chen Chi-li, requesting protection.[11] Following a meeting between Bamboo Union leadership and Wang, the Union carried a string of retaliatory killings against the would be assassins. One of the targeted perpetrators, Liu Tieqiu, survived albeit with significant injuries.

The murders led to a crackdown on triads by Taiwanese authorities. Chen Yonghe, a Four Seas higher-up, asked Flying Eagle Gang member Liu Taisheng to act as an intermediary between the Four Seas and Wang, but Wang berated him and offered 400,000 Yuan for Liu's leg.

On May 8, Wang and Bamboo Union members Huang Shaocen was charged by the Taipei District Court for first-degree murder. The hearing was attended by Bamboo Union, Four Seas, and Flying Eagle members. During a recess, Liu Taisheng attempted to negotiate with Wang. The conversation escalated into a fistfight, and Liu was stabbed by one of Wang's bodyguards. Wang and the other Bamboo Union members were subsequently taken into custody.[12]

Wang was eventually acquitted due to a lack of evidence, though Huang Shaocen was sentenced to two years in prison for the attempted killing of Liu Tieqiu.

Personal life

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In 1969, Wang married actress Jeanette Lin Chui , who was nine years his senior. Before that, Wang had an affair with the wife of film director Chun Kim. Chun Kim hanged himself before a divorce took place. Jeanette Lin, who had a high profile in Hong Kong cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, left the industry almost immediately after her marriage. Marriage turned out to be tumultuous for both Wang and Lin. Amid allegations of domestic violence by Wang, the marriage crumbled in 1975. Wang and Lin had three daughters; their eldest daughter Linda Wong became a popular Cantopop singer in the 1990s. Lin migrated to the United States in 1977 and died in 1995 from an asthma attack.

Wang later remarried in 1978 to air hostess Wang Kaizhen. This marriage too proved to be a stormy relationship, and Wang Kaizhen filed for divorce. Possibly out of frustration, Wang Kaizhen started an affair with a young businessman Zhang Zhao (張昭). Having gotten wind of it, Wang, accompanied by reporters and the police, surprised the couple at their lodging and publicly exposed his wife. After public humiliation was heaped on the couple, Wang divorced his second wife in 1997.

Wang's involvement in public brawls also made headlines from time to time.

Health issues and death

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In 2011 Wang suffered a stroke which caused him to lose much of his strength in the left side of his body. However, he worked vigorously in physical therapy, even exceeding the doctor's recommended pace. He would reportedly lift his arm 1000 times a day instead of 200, and walk three times the suggested distance. As a result of his efforts he regained most of his ability to walk and talk, and he could lift his left arm, though he could no longer use its full strength.

Since his recovery Wang tried to live as normal a life as possible, and had even returned to film work. In an interview he admitted to even driving to his physical therapy session with the use of only one arm, but explained that his daughter put a stop to it when she found out, and that she had hired a driver for him.

Wang died on April 5, 2022, in Cheng Hsin Hospital, Beitou District, Taipei at the age of 79.[13][14]

Filmography

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Actor

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Producer

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Director

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Action director

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Screenwriter

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1977 15th Golden Horse Awards Best Actor Brotherly Love Nominated
2011 48th Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor Dragon Nominated
2012 31st Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2013 15th Taipei Film festival Best Actor Soul Won
2013 50th Golden Horse Film Awards Best Leading Actor Soul Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jimmy Wang Yu". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24.
  2. ^ Sandomir, Richard (2022-04-21). "Jimmy Wang Yu, Seminal Figure in Kung Fu Films, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  3. ^ Dan Pavlides (2015). "Golden Swallow". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-06-30.
  4. ^ Mark Deming (2015). "The Man From Hong Kong". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25.
  5. ^ Films, Follow mePhil MillsSupreme dark overlord of Far East. "Taiwanese actor Jimmy Wang Yu dies at the age of 80". Far East Films. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  6. ^ "王羽自爆刺許案難善了_時報周刊_雜誌頻道_新浪網-北美". 2019-08-07. Archived from the original on 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2022-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ "Prosecutors launch investigation into Jimmy Wang 'murder contract\' case - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  8. ^ "Chen wants apology for assassinations - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  9. ^ "國家圖書館數位影音服務系統". 2018-02-13. Archived from the original on 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2022-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "當年遭四海幫追殺，陳啟禮出面相助… 王羽爆秘辛：因欠陳恩情 - 焦點 - 自由時報電子報". 2019-09-14. Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2022-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "【刀王豪落魄】陳啟禮拉入竹聯 富豪男星被砍了7刀沒事 - 鏡週刊". 2018-04-01. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2022-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ "兩場喋血案… 武打天王光環褪色 - 焦點 - 自由時報電子報". 2019-06-11. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2022-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ ""独臂刀王"王羽今晨病逝享寿80岁". 聯合早報. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  14. ^ Chang, Ya-chin; Wang, Hsin-yu; Yeh, Kuan-yin; Shih, Hsiu-chuan (April 5, 2022). "Veteran Taiwanese martial arts actor Jimmy Wang dies at 79". Central News Agency. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
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