Wang Yu, a generation of martial arts superstars, died of respiratory failure this morning at the age of 80.
Wang Yu, a veteran movie star who became popular in the 1960s with "One-Armed Knife King", had a stroke in 2011 and rarely made public appearances due to his mobility problems and difficulty speaking after recovery.
In 2015, he fainted again in Thailand and was sent to the hospital, suffered a stroke for the second time, and has been in and out of the hospital many times since then, lying in bed for a long time, never showing up in public, and on the 5th of this month, he died of illness, which made fans regret.
Wang Yu faded out of the show business in his later years, shifting his focus to investment business, and his last posthumous work was "Lost Soul" directed by Zhong Menghong in 2013, which made Wang Yu nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor, when Wang Yu was still able to walk, accompanied by his daughter Wang Xinping on the red carpet, and it was also his last public appearance in his life.
Zhong Menghong, who owns the film works "Sunshine" and "Waterfall", is known as "the first person in Taiwanese cinema", and "Lost Soul" is his thrilling suspense work, finding Wang Yu and Zhang Xiaoquan to play, in the film Wang Yu and Zhang Xiaoquan play a pair of estranged father and son.
It is reported that the director Zhong Menghong was after watching Chen Kexin's "Wuxia" and wanted to find Wang Yu to play the male lead of the film, but at that time, Wang Yu's physical condition was not so tough, so he politely refused 2 or 3 times, and then finally agreed to perform under the strong persuasion of Zhong Menghong, which was also Wang Yu's last appearance on the big screen.
Zhong Menghong revealed that after Wang Yu agreed to shoot, his professionalism was amazing. In fact, at that time, his waist and back could not be straightened, and every time he and Zhang Xiaoquan were on the trolley, one after the other, Wang Yu stood up, and 3 people sat on it to act. Even if he had to shoot on the remote Pear Mountain and fight with Zhang Xiaoquan, he still cooperated with the whole process and personally fought.
Because the shooting location was far away at that time, there was no way to call for takeaway, so the crew invited the chef to help everyone cook, and even if Wang Yu, who was "highly respected" at that time, even if he had already taken the seat first, he would still wait for the director Zhong Menghong to come before he started, "Even if he is more senior than us, he also attaches great importance to us, he respects the director, respects the team, has a very good shooting spirit, and the atmosphere of cooperation with everyone is very harmonious."
It is said that Wang Yu was shortlisted for the Golden Horse Film Emperor with "Lost Soul", and finally did not win the award, "Lost Soul" producer Ye Rufen later recalled the situation at that time, saying that Wang Yu looked sad, and the expression of loss on his face was difficult to hide, fortunately, the Golden Horse awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Ye Rufen also remembered Wang Yu's personality, revealing that Wang Yu would invite her and Zhong Menghong to eat at home, "He personally cooked for us in his mansion, although he only cooperated once, but he had a good impression of him, Wang Yu's eldest brother has always been a very hard and bloody man, I heard that he could not move in a wheelchair in his later years, presumably it was also very uncomfortable for him." ”
In addition, Zhen Zhen, who has been acquainted with Wang Yu for more than 40 years, Xie Xian's ex-wife and veteran film star, learned that Wang Yu was sad after his death, and Zhen Zhen said in a telephone interview with Taiwan media that "Wang Yu is a heroic image on the screen, and privately he is also a person who sees righteousness and courage and has a sense of justice. Unfortunately, this is life." Zhen Zhen revealed that many years ago, Wang Yu suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in Taipei, and she visited him twice, telling him to "get well quickly and have dinner together", after which Wang Yu did not see each other again.
I miss his movies, I miss his heroic courage, and I hope that the old man Wang Yu will go all the way.