Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:29, 24 April 2013

Template:Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor

Template:Chinese name

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong musician, singer-songwriter, actor, record producer and film director. Cheung is considered as "one of the founding fathers of Cantopop" by "combining a hugely successful film and music career." He rose to prominence as a teen hearthrob and pop icon of Hong Kong in the 1980s, receiving numerous music awards including both Most Popular Male Artist Awards at the 1988 and 1989 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards. In 1989, Cheung announced his retirement from the music industry as a pop singer. Returning to the music scene after a five-year hiatus, he released his chart-topping comeback album (寵愛) which achieved a huge market success. In 1999, he won the Golden Needle Award for his outstanding achievement as a musician at the RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards, and his hit song Monica was voted as Hong Kong's "Song of the Century." He was honoured "Asia's Biggest Superstar" at the 2000 CCTV-MTV Music Honours.

Cheung had won the 1991 Hong Kong Film Award (Days of Being Wild) and the 1994 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award (Ashes of Time) for best actor. He had also won the 1994 Japan Film Critics Society Award for best actor for his performance in Farewell My Concubine and ten other best actor nominations, five Golden Horse Awards, three Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Asia Pacific Film Festival Award, and a Venice Film Festival Award.

Cheung's music and movies not only captured fans in Hong Kong but also other Asian countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan and South Korea. He is the first foreign artist to hold 16 concerts in Japan that has yet to be broken and the record holder as the best-selling C-pop artist in Korea.

Cheung was ranked as the most favourite actor in the 100 years of Chinese cinema. In 2010, he was voted the third "Most Iconic Musicians of All Time" (after Michael Jackson and The Beatles). CNN considered Cheung as the "Most Beautiful Man from Hong Kong Cinema" and one of "Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time."

Childhood

Cheung was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong, the youngest of ten children in a middle-class Hakka family. Cheung Wut Hoi, his father, was a fairly well known tailor, whose customers included American actors William Holden, Marlon Brando, and Cary Grant. His parents divorced when he was quite young. While in Hong Kong, Cheung attended Rosaryhill School at Wanchai on Hong Kong Island. At age 13, he was sent to England as a boarder at Eccles Hall School. After six-month study, he transferred himself to a school in Chelmsford and obtained scholarship. He worked as a bartender at his relatives' restaurant and sang during the weekends. It was around this period that he chose his name, Leslie. According to Cheung, he chose this name because "I love the film Gone with the Wind. And I like Leslie Howard."

In several interviews, Cheung stated he had had a fairly unhappy childhood. "I didn't have a happy childhood. Arguments, fights and we didn't live together; I was brought up by my granny." "What I would say most affected me as a child, was that my parents were not at home with me. As a young kid, one could not always understand why his parents weren't at home. This made me depressed sometimes."

He attended the University of Leeds where he studied textile management. He dropped out of university at the end of his first year when his father fell ill. After his father's recovery, Cheung did not return to England to complete his studies.

Career

He donated all the proceeds from the sales of Salute to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演藝學院), which was named the Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship after his death.

With the popularity of Cheung and Tam, fans of these two stars became increasingly hostile to each other, starting a long-standing conflict that soon put heavy pressure on both singers. In 1988, Alan Tam publicly quit all pop music award ceremonies. In 1989, Cheung announced his intention to retire from his music career as a singer. Cheung then set a record by being the first singer ever in Cantopop history to hold a retirement concert series (Final Encounter of the Legend), which ran for 33 consecutive nights (he was 33 at the time) at Hong Kong Coliseum.

From 1986 to 1989, Cheung acted in a number of film that are considered as Hong Kong classics by film critics and Asian fans.

Although Cheung quit his career as a pop singer from 1989 to 1995, he continued his music career as a composer. He composed more than ten songs during that time. In 1993, he won Best Original Movie Song Award from Golden Horse Film Festival for the theme song Red Cheek, White Hair to the movie The Bride with White Hair (as a composer). In 1995, he composed all three theme songs for the film The Phantom Lover. As a composer, Cheung won four nominations for Best Original Movie Song Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards and two nominations for Best Original Film Song at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1998, he was a member of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1995 Cheung signed a contract with Rock Records, returning to music as a singer. At the same year, he released his first post-"retirement" album, Beloved. Beloved achieved large market success with the award of IFPI Best Selling Album,.

Personal life

Though Cheung had never publicly declared his sexual orientation, he once said in an interview with Time magazine: "It's more appropriate to say I'm bisexual. I've had girlfriends. When I was 22 or so, I asked my girlfriend Teresa Mo (毛舜筠) to marry me."

Cheung and Ngai Sze-Pui (倪詩蓓), a Hong Kong model and actress whom he met on the set of Agency 24, were in a relationship for two years.

Charity work

Cheung was a supporter of several charities concerning children's welfare. He was a patron of the Children's Cancer Foundation, a charity provides caring service for young children with cancer and their families. Cheung donated HK$1 million (US$128,000) in 1996 and launched five sets of RED cards to help raise funds for the Children's Cancer Foundation. He was also a patron of the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation (ECSAF), founded by veteran actress Josephine Siao. In 1999 and 2000, he appeared in TVB charity shows to help raise funds for ECSAF, in which he was appointed a goodwill ambassador in 2002.

Citizenship

He moved to Vancouver in 1990 and became a Canadian citizen by naturalisation. He held dual British National (Overseas) and Canadian citizenship.

Death and legacy

Cheung committed suicide on 1 April 2003 at 6:43 pm (HKT). He leaped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island. He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old.

As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death broke the hearts of millions of his fans across Asia, and shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide. The day after Cheung's death, his family confirmed that Cheung suffered from clinical depression and had been seeing psychiatrists for treatment for almost a year. They also revealed that Cheung had previously attempted suicide in 2002. Later at his funeral, Cheung's niece disclosed that her uncle had severe clinical depression and suffered much over the past year (2003).

Despite the risk of infection from SARS and the WHO's warning on travels to Hong Kong, tens of thousands attended Cheung's memorial service, which was held for the public, on 7 April 2003, including celebrities and other fans, many from other parts of the world such as mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the United States, and Canada. Cheung's funeral was on 8 April 2003. For almost one month, Cheung's death dominated newspaper headlines in Hong Kong and his songs were constantly on the air. His final album, Everything Follows the Wind (一切隨風), was released three months after his death.

Cheung's suicide note (translation):

"Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-mak (Cheung's last psychiatrist). This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Sister Fei. In my life I have done nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"

In a 2012 interview, Cheung's eldest sister, Ophelia, stated Cheung was diagnosed with clinical depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. She said that reporters were frequently found outside of her brother's home which hampered his ability to get to his doctor's facility. Thus, he would come over to her house to consult a doctor. He would ask his sister, "Why am I depressed? I have money and so many people love me." He was reluctant to take medication for his depression.

In 2013, Cheung's former music agent Florence Chan organised two memorial concerts entitled "Miss You Much Leslie" on 31 March and 1 April for the 10th anniversary of Cheung's death. Big names of the Hong Kong entertainment industry such as Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Andy Hui, Leo Ku, Chilam Cheung, Vivian Chow, Kelly Chen, Joey Yung, Grasshoppers, and others performed at the concert at Hong Kong Coliseum. In addition, in 2013, Cheung's fans from around the world made 2 million origami cranes for the Guinness World Record as a tribute to the anniversary.

Awards and nominations

RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards

Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards

Other music awards

Hong Kong Film Awards

Golden Horse Awards

Other film awards

Ming Pao Power Academy Awards

Discography

Filmography

See also

• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Music of Hong Kong

References

1. Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, "World Music Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific", P54., BBC Radio, ISBN 1-85828-636-0
2. "1988 JSG Best Ten Awards". TVB.
3. "1989 JSG Best Ten Awards". TVB.
4. "RTHK Classics Channel". Rthk.org.hk.
5. 張國榮Monica入選世紀金曲 1999-11-22
6. "Acts Honored at CCTV-MTV Show in China" (1 July 2000) Billboard.
7. "List of Award Winner of The 10th Hong Kong Film Awards". Hkfaa.com.
8. "List of Winners of 1994 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards". Filmcritics.org.hk. 17 February 1995.
9. "In Competition Actors". Festival-cannes.fr.
10. "In Competition Actors". Festival-cannes.fr.
11. "Best Actor Award". Lesliecheung.cc.
12. "Leslie Cheung's Popularity in Korea". Tw.twent.chinayes.com.
13. "Cheung Tops Asia's CCTV-MTV Honors", AllBusiness.com, Inc.
14. "'Farewell My Concubine' most appreciated in HK", China Daily
15. "Michael Jackson: Your number one music icon". CNN. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
16. Hottest Men from HK Cinema CNN
17. Asia's 25 Greatest Actors of All Time CNNGo 4 March 2010
18. Kevin Thomas, "A Career In Full Plumet", Los Angeles Times, 22 June 1997, page 6
19. ^ Michel Ciment, Hubert Niogret, "Interview of Leslie Cheung", Positif no. 455/1999, Berlin, conducted on 21 February 1998
20. Chitose Shima, "Leslie Cheung Interview", All About Leslie, pp. 25–40, Saangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 1999, ISBN 4-916199-10-3
21. ^ Corliss, Richard (30 April 2001). "Forever Leslie". Time. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
22. Leslie Cheung, "Leslie Cheung Autobiography", Commercial Radio Hong Kong, 1985, (also collected in Album Collection History-His Story by Capital Artist, 2004), an English translation can be found in here
23. Chitose Shima, "Leslie Cheung Interview", All About Leslie, p25-40, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 1999, ISBN 4-916199-10-3
24. "Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship". Hkapa.edu. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
25. The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures, Hong Kong Film Awards
26. "A Better Tomorrow"
27. "Berlinale: 1998 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
28. "Leslie Cheung's Beloved are sold more than 300,000"], Min Pao Weekly, 28 Oct 1995, see
29. Achievements of Leslie Cheung
30. Corliss, R. (2001). "Forever Leslie", Time magazine Asia Edition. Retrieved 17 December 2005.
31. "倪詩蓓現狀_張國榮女友倪詩蓓資料簡介及照片曝光【圖】-老男人繁體中文版". Alididi.info. 19 September 2010.
32. 為兒童癌病基金賣卡籌款 張國榮帶頭捐一百萬. 1996.12.12 蘋果日報
33. 張國榮「護苗」出錢出力 2002-05-21
34. Lisa Odham Stokes, Michael Hoover, City on fire: Hong Kong cinema, p. 363, 1999.
35. 陳淑芬細說 哥哥最後電話, Apple Daily, 29 March 2013
36. Corliss, R. (2003). "That old feeling: Days of being Leslie" Time magazine Asia Edition. Retrieved 17 December 2005, from ]
37. ^ Stephen Kelly, "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?" Leslie Cheung, 1956–2003", 8 May 2003
38. "Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing commits suicide.", Hong Kong Entertainment News in Review (2003). Retrieved 17 December 2005
39. "Actor Leslie Cheung 'found dead'", BBC, 1 April 2003
40. "Activities to Commemorate Leslie Cheung", Xinhua, 2 April 2005
41. Yu Sen-lun, "The Leslie Cheung Legend Lives on", TaiPei Times, 10 April 2003
42. Bruce Einhorn, "Hong Kong: A City in Mourning", Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 14 April 2003
43. "Leslie Cheung, Larger Than Life". Web.archive.org. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 18 April 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
44. "Jonathan Crow, "Leslie Cheung", AOL Allmovie". Movies.aol.com. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
45. "Leslie Cheung's Suicide" Gothamist, 3 April 2003
46. "Week of 5 April 2003". "Life in Legacy. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
47. "Forty Thousands Fans Farewell Leslie Cheung in the Raining Night", Modern Business News, 4 April 2003
48. 李明皙. "Leslie Cheung's depression cause was biological, according to his sister". Big5.china.com.cn.
49. "ACTUAL ARTICLE TITLE BELONGS HERE!". Oriental Daily.
50. Leslie Cheung's origami display delayed Yahoo!! Malaysia

Further reading

• Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, World Music Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, BBC Radio, 2000, ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Kei Mori, "夢想之欠片 (Broken pieces of dreams)", Renga Shyobo Shinshya Co Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-902603-55-1
• Chitose Shima, "Leslie Cheung Interview", All About Leslie, p25–40, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 1999, ISBN 4-916199-10-3
• Chitose Shima, Time of Leslie Cheung, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-916199-59-6
• City Entertainment Editor Committee, Leslie Cheung's Movie World 2 (1991–1995), City Entertainment, Hong Kong, 2006, ISBN 962-8114-98-0
• De Hui, Leslie Cheung's Movie Life I, II, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, Shanghai, 2006, ISBN 7-80678-557-4.

External links

• Leslie Cheung at IMDb
• Leslie Cheung Internet Fan Club
• Leslie Cheung Cyberworld
• Leslie Cheung fan site
• Leslie Cheung Dreamworld
• レスリー・チャン（張國榮）スマイル

Template:Persondata

• Use dmy dates from April 2013
• 1956 births
• 2003 deaths
• 20th-century actors
• 21st-century actors
• Actors who committed suicide
• Best Actor HKFA
• Cantonese-language singers
• Cantopop singer-songwriters
• Hong Kong emigrants to Canada
• Hong Kong film actors
• Hong Kong film producers
• Hong Kong male singers
• Hong Kong Mandopop singers
• Hong Kong people of Hakka descent
• Hong Kong singer-songwriters
• Naturalized citizens of Canada
• Suicides by jumping from a height
• Suicides in Hong Kong
• Bisexual actors
• Bisexual men
• Bisexual musicians
• LGBT musicians from Hong Kong
• LGBT people from Hong Kong
• LGBT singers