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Ray Cordeiro

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Ray Cordeiro
MBE SBS
Cordeiro in 2008
Born
Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro

(1924-12-12)12 December 1924
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Died13 January 2023(2023-01-13) (aged 98)
Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong
Other namesUncle Ray
Occupations
  • Broadcaster
  • disc jockey
  • actor
Chinese name
Chinese郭利民
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationgwok leih màhn
JyutpingGwok3 Lei6 Man4
Websitewww.uncleraydj.com Edit this at Wikidata

Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro MBE SBS (Chinese: 郭利民;[1] 12 December 1924 – 13 January 2023), known professionally as Uncle Ray, was a Hong Kong broadcaster, disc jockey and actor.[2] He was known for hosting All the Way with Ray on RTHK Radio 3 from 1970 to 2021, which was the longest-running radio programme in Hong Kong. He was named "The World's Most Durable DJ" in 2000 by the Guinness Book of World Records.[3]

Early life and career

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Born Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, on 12 December 1924, Uncle Ray was one of six siblings.[4] His family descended from Portuguese immigrants to China. Cordeiro's paternal grandfather was born in Shanghai and met his grandmother in the Portuguese colony of Macau, before moving to Hong Kong in 1868.[5] Cordeiro's father was born in Hong Kong while his mother immigrated from Macau to Hong Kong in the early 20th century.[5] His father abandoned the family when Cordeiro was six, leaving his mother to take on extra work to raise the family, which lived in poverty.[5] Cordeiro went to St Francis' Canossian School as a child. He recalled being mocked for his stuttering, which he eventually overcame with the help of his mother.[5]

Cordeiro attended St Joseph's College shortly before World War II. During the war, his mother and sisters moved to Macau while Cordeiro stayed with his father, who worked with HSBC in Hong Kong. In 1943, Cordeiro joined the rest of the family living at a refugee camp in Macau.[5] A big band performed at the camp on New Year's Eve in 1944, which developed Cordeiro's interest in the drums.[5]

After the war, Cordeiro worked as a warden in Stanley Prison. He befriended a young prisoner, but left the job after he refused to help the prisoner escape.[5] On the advice of his father, Cordeiro got a job at HSBC, while also moonlighting as a drummer.[5] He described two jobs as a "pretty good life", though he was "bored to death working at the bank."[5]

Radio career

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In 1949, at the age of 25, he started his broadcasting career as a scriptwriter with Radio Rediffusion.[3] He eventually became a DJ and hosted a programme called Progressive Jazz.[5] He joined Radio Television Hong Kong (then known as Radio Hong Kong) in 1960 as a light music producer.[5] In 1970, he started the series All the Way with Ray, the longest-running radio programme in Hong Kong which ran for 51 years until 15 May 2021.[6][7] He had also cameoed in various Hong Kong films in the 1970s and 80s.[8]

Through the years, Cordeiro had interviewed many prominent musicians, including the Beatles. He was recognised by Elvis Presley Enterprises for his lifelong contribution to Presley. He was voted top DJ in Hong Kong for four consecutive years. He was awarded an MBE in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace.[2]

Cordeiro received an honorary fellowship from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts in 2012 and an honorary doctorate of Social Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2022.[9]

On 15 May 2021, Cordeiro retired at the age of 96 after hosting his final radio show, which had been running on public broadcaster RTHK since 1970.[6][10]

All the Way with Ray: My Autobiography, a career-focused memoir by Cordeiro, was published in 2021 by Hong Kong-based Blacksmith Books.[11]

Death

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Cordeiro died at the CUHK Medical Centre in Hong Kong on 13 January 2023, aged 98.[9][12][13] Government officials expressed their condolences with the news of his death.[14][7]

Programmes hosted

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Radio Rediffusion

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  • Progressive Jazz (1949–1960)[5]
  • Talent Time[12]
  • The Beginners Please[12]
  • The Diamond Music Show[12]
  • Shriro Hit Parade[12]
  • Rumpus Time (1950s)[12]
  • Swing and Sway with Ray (–1960)[5]

RHTK

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  • From Me To You[12]
  • Hit Parade[12]
  • Lucky Dip[12]
  • All the Way with Ray (1970 – 15 May 2021)[5]
  • Just Jazz with Uncle Ray[15]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1974 Games Gamblers Play [8]
1975 Let's Rock [8]
1975 The Last Message Assassin, policeman [2][8]
1976 The Private Eyes [8]
1981 Security Unlimited Horse race trickster [8]
1981 Job Hunter [zh] [16]
1983 All the Wrong Spies The Jew [8]

References

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  1. ^ "Executive日記——長壽DJ停播疑雲 Uncle Ray動人舊歌". 頭條日報 Headline Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "For the record". South China Morning Post. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Bittersweet 93rd birthday for DJ 'Uncle Ray' as he mourns Mona Fong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Uncle Ray Cordeiro, 1924–2023". RTHK News.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "'Uncle Ray' Cordeiro, 96, on a lifetime of DJing and how he got started". South China Morning Post. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Hong Kong's Ray Cordeiro, 'world's most durable DJ', retires at 96". BBC News. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b "SCED expresses sorrow over passing of Dr Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro". Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Ray Cordeiro". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  9. ^ a b "RTHK's 'Uncle Ray' Cordeiro dies aged 98". RTHK News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Uncle Ray brings curtain down on 70-year career – RTHK". RTHK News. RTHK. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  11. ^ "All The Way With Ray: My Autobiography". Blacksmith Books. 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i "'World's most durable DJ', Hong Kong's 'Uncle' Ray Cordeiro, dies at 98". South China Morning Post. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  13. ^ Frater, Patrick (14 January 2023). "Ray Cordeiro, 'Uncle Ray,' World's Most Durable DJ, Dies at 98". Variety. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  14. ^ "SCST expresses deep sorrow over passing of Dr Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro". Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  15. ^ "RTHK Radio 4 Just Jazz with Uncle Ray". RTHK. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  16. ^ 著名唱片騎師Uncle Ray 離世 享年98歲 [Famous DJ Uncle Ray has passed away at the age of 98]. inmediahk.net. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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