Veteran actor Chen Hung-lieh passed away at the beginning of the week in Hong Kong after reportedly suffering a heart attack while on the set of the TVB drama OFF PEDDLER. Chen, 66, was rushed to hospital after experiencing chest pain and collapsing in his changing room. He died at the hospital.

The actor is best known for playing villainous roles in prominent Shaw Brothers swordplay films in the late 1960s and early ’70s, most notably in COME DRINK WITH ME where he sparred with starlet Cheng Pei-pei. He appeared in close to 90 films during a career spanning 45 years.

Chen was born in Shanghai and entered Shaw Brothers actor training program in 1962. Within two years he began appearing in Shaw Brothers productions, often playing eccentric fighting villains. By 1971, Chen left Shaw Brothers and continued acting in a variety of films for Golden Harvest and other film companies in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He made his directorial debut in 1973 with Goldig Films’ THE INHERITOR OF KUNG FU, in which he co-starred alongside action director and kung fu star Lau Kar-wing. Chen continued acting throughout the 1970s and early ’80s and directed three other films during this time. He briefly left the entertainment industry to run a garment business in the ’80s but he returned by 1993 to again make periodic appearances in film and TV series until his untimely death.

Source: The Standard

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