Benz Hui, a veteran Hong Kong performer known as the “King of Supporting Actors” during his five-decade career, has died at the age of 76.
He passed away in the early hours of Tuesday at a hospital in Hong Kong after suffering complications caused by cancer, according to local media.
Although Hui, whose real name was Hui Shiu-hung, may not have been a household name in Asia in the way many other Hong Kong actors were, nor an A-list star, many would instantly recognise his face.
He was constantly popping up in TV shows and movies, with his IMDB page listing more than 200 acting credits.
Hui specialised in playing a hardened cop or gangster, but also the lovable sidekick or grumbling uncle.
His most famous roles include “Chung Sir”, a police superintendent in 2002 movie Love Undercover. Another notable role – as a triad boss in a 2014 movie – earned him the nickname Foon-hei Gor, or Brother Foon-hei, after his character.
As his career progressed, he started driving a Mercedes Benz to work, earning him the English nickname “Benz Hui”, which he then adopted.
His acting career spanned the heyday of Hong Kong entertainment from the 1970s to the 1990s, when TV shows – particularly those produced by broadcaster TVB – were watched by millions across South East Asia and East Asia.
But not many of his viewers would be aware of his family’s illustrious links.
According to Chinese reports, he is the descendant of a rich salt merchant family in China, and one of his ancestors was an important minister in the court of the famed Empress Dowager Cixi. Another family member was the partner of Lu Xun, the godfather of modern Chinese literature.
Asked about these links once, Hui modestly said: “Every tree has dead branches, and every large tribe has beggars. I am both a dead branch and a beggar, as I am really not as great as them.”
Many of his mourning fans though, who include some of Hong Kong’s top celebrities, would disagree.
“May you have a peaceful journey,” wrote actress Shu Qi on Weibo.
“I’m thankful that I was lucky to meet you at the starting point of my career,” wrote singer and actress Miriam Yeung Chin-wah on Instagram.
Others online saw his passing as the end of an era. “This is a sad day for everyone who grew up with TVB,” wrote one user on RedNote.
Hui is survived by his wife and daughter.
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