Our Lam Ching Ying
by Darryl Pestilence



When I heard of Lam Ching Ying's illness I could only fear for the worst, and within a week I discovered that his time had come. I feel awkward, because I feel like I lost a family member, someone who brought great joy into my life through his body of work. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that someone who entertained you for over ten years - the perennial magician finally disappears. As cold and as brutal as his character's demise in Sammo Hung Kam Bo's Eastern Condors, like the film, I have a hard time accepting this fate. I am grateful for having had the pleasure, and for continuing to have the pleasure of Lam's rich cinematic work.

From his fresh-faced support in Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1972), to the stern, determined - perpetually wise fat-si that he made his trademark role, Lam's work never disappointed. His life behind the screen, while not ideal, is rich and life with achievement.


[Priest-Cop]
Lam Ching Ying the "Priest-Cop"


Lam was part of the "other" Peking opera troupe ran by Madam Fan Fok Fa. This troupe produced some of Hong Kong's unsung cinematic heroes such as: Chan Lung, Fwa Sing (Mars), Chung Fat, Lee Hoi San, Fong Hak On, and Ming Hoi. Unlike his brethren, Lam lucked out and went to Golden Harvest, where he befriended Bruce Lee, and Sammo Hung Kam Bo (with whom his friendship lasted until the end). Sammo would later rescue many of the Fan troupe from anonymous stunt boy-dom and helped to introduce them to his sai lo from Yu Jim Yuen's troupe.

Ming Hoi made the amazing Buddha Assassinator with Kwai, and later became an extensive double for Sammo Hung, a great character actor, and stunt choreographer. Fong Hak On was a perennial baddie in many Ng See Yuen and Jimmy Shaw productions during the 70s and 80s, as was Lee Hoi San, both working with Bruce Lee and later Jackie Chan. Chung Fat emerged triumphant through Sammo, with a wide range of roles in Hung productions. Fwa Sing hooked up with Jackie Chan and helped the "dragon" complete his early-80s masterpieces Dragon Lord and Project A. Chan Lung served time in Jimmy Shaw Bruce Li category III potboilers, often as the heavy, and later became a crucial part of Sammo's"inner circle," alongside Lam Ching Ying.

Through Sammo, Lam began as a heavy, working up through GAR BO classics like Odd Couple, and Sammo's independently produced Enter the Fat Dragon, up to hero and ensemble acting in classics such as The Prodigal Son, and Encounters of the Spooky Kind. In time Lam was to capture the Hong Kong viewing public's adoration as the definitive "Fat-Si" in former cameraman Ricky Lau Koon Wai's Mr Vampire (1985-1992)series (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 1992).

Lam's roles in the Peking Opera were generally of the female, and his thin, slender body gave him the body of an older man, and often was cast as such. For much of his career he went without eyebrows because he was lovingly cast as the "one-eyebrow priest/ fat-si." His face was masterful, able to exude innocence, stern disagreement, passion, betrayal, grief, and joy in a way the camera approved.

Lam also choreographed a great deal of action for films, doubled many female stars in his time as a stunt man, and directed a few films as well (including his 1994 take on the Green Hornet, which he also produced). His last handful of roles culminated in a return to his role as the taoist sorcerer in the Vampire Chronicles series for ATV, appearing alongside his Peking opera sai lo, Ming Hoi.


[Magic Cop]
Lam Ching Ying in "Magic Cop"


I will miss Lam Ching Ying. An unsung hero, and a man who has brought much into my life through his wonderful work. From his smiling, generous to ultimately tragic role as Master Yu Jim Yuen's Peking opera "brother" in Alex Law's Painted Faces, to his stern, but internally soft sorcerer/cop in Stephen Tung Wai's Magic Cop, Lam's presence will not be forgotten.


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