Legendary Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat dies of liver cancer at 70
- Born in Xiamen in 1951, he came to city as a child and rose to fame in 1980s, eventually becoming a household name for co-starring with Stephen Chow
- His friend Tenky Tin says he died peacefully in his sleep at Tai Wai’s Union Hospital at 5.16pm, accompanied by his children and wife
Legendary Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat, best known for co-starring alongside “king of comedy” Stephen Chow Sing-chi in many popular films, died on Saturday afternoon of liver cancer. He was 70.
Ng’s friend, Tenky Tin Kai-man, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, said the famous actor died peacefully at Tai Wai’s Union Hospital at 5.16pm, accompanied by his children and wife.
“He left peacefully,” Tin said at the hospital. “He died in his sleep.”
Tin said earlier in the day Ng did not know his condition was so serious and had expected to recover.
Ng was born in Xiamen, in southeastern China, in 1951, and came to Hong Kong at the age of five. In the 1970s he attended acting classes organised by Television Broadcasts, and was a classmate of Chow Yun-fat, another renowned actor.
He started drawing public attention for his roles in the television programme called Chor Lau-heung, which was first broadcast in 1979.
His first film in 1981, Heroic Cops, was about illegal immigrants in Hong Kong.