On April 23, the Shandong Provincial Drama Theatre issued an obituary: Comrade Wang Yumei, an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a famous performing artist, former vice chairman of the Shandong Federation of Literary and Art Circles, honorary chairman of the Shandong Filmmakers Association, and a first-class actor of the Shandong Provincial Drama Theatre, died in Beijing at 20:50 on April 13, 2022 at the age of 87 due to illness.
Born in September 1934 in Jinan, Shandong Province, Wang Yumei graduated from Yuying High School at an early age and volunteered to join the People's Liberation Army at the age of 15. Subsequently, he joined the Cultural and Labor Troupe of the Political Department of the Shandong Military Region and became a veritable actor. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he even followed the East China Military Region and went to the Korean front to perform condolences and performances. The drama "The Whole Family Passes" and the Lu opera "Little Sister Xian" staged on the front line sent spiritual food to the volunteer soldiers.
In 1955, Wang Yumei transferred to the Shandong Repertory Theatre and also entered the peak period of creation. She starred in dozens of dramas such as "Liu Hulan" and "Yingchun Flower", when she was not yet thirty years old, but in the drama "After the Harvest", she played a village party secretary, the successful shaping of "Little Foot Old Lady Zhao Wu Auntie", which paved the way for her to go to the screen.
With the popularity of the movie "After the Harvest", Wang Yumei's name is completely familiar to everyone. Zhao Wu aunt played by him is simple and virtuous, tough and strong. Drama stage practice, combined with her rich life accumulation, allows her to integrate with the role, and the role creation of "no performance traces" has won her unanimous praise from experts and audiences in the film industry.
Because of the deep popularity of "Zhao Wu Auntie", Wang Yumei was in the film world, and she was out of control in an instant. Since then, she has successively played the role of mother in films such as "Pingying Tomb", "Xiying Gate", "Mountain Chrysanthemum", "Garland Under the Mountain" and other films, and has been affectionately known as "China's first bride" by the audience.
Wang Yumei has participated in dramas, movies and TV series, and has won many awards for her outstanding ability and acting talent in shaping characters.
In 1982, she played Ren Wenma in the movie "Xiyingmen" and won the nomination for best supporting actress at the second "Golden Rooster Awards".
In 1984, she played Liang Da Niang in the TV series "Garland Under the Mountain" and won the second "Golden Eagle Award" and the fourth "Feitian Award" Best Supporting Actress Award. Won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 8th Hundred Flowers Awards.
In 1985, she played Cixi in the movie "Tan Si Tong" and won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 5th Golden Rooster Awards, and in the same year, she played Liang Da Niang in the movie "Garland Under the Mountain" and won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 8th "Hundred Flowers Awards". This fully reflects her ability to shape characters and her acting talent. In the same year, with two different roles, winning two different awards is the highest affirmation and praise for an actor's performing arts, and it is also the only time in the Chinese film industry so far.
In 1987, he was awarded the Actor Honor Award for the New Age Decade (1976-1986) jointly presented by Wen Wei Po and China Film Times.
In 1991, he won the "Golden Lion Award" for Chinese drama.
In 1992, she played Liangu in the movie "Heart Fragrance" and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 12th Golden Rooster Awards.
In 1992, he played Leng Jing in the movie "The Sun on the Roof of the World" and won the Special Award of the "Gem Award" of the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources of China.
In 1995, he was awarded the Film Performing Arts Achievement Cup.
In 1997, she played her mother in the TV series "Children's Love" and won the 18th "Feitian Award" and the 15th "Golden Eagle Award" for Best Actress, respectively.
In 1999, he won the Outstanding Performance Award of the 7th "Population Culture Award".
In 2002, he starred in the TV series "The End of Love", which won the first prize of the second TV movie "Lily Award".
In 1995, he won the Actor Award of the Chinese Film "Century Award" for the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of World Cinema and the 90th Anniversary of the Birth of Chinese Cinema, which is not only the only person in Shandong Province to receive this honor, but also the first person in the country to receive this honor as a drama actor.
Some netizens revealed that Wang Yumei has been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for nearly twenty years, then she should have been ill around 67 years old, obviously this statement is not very correct, because Wang Yumei's last work was in 2009, she was 75 years old at this time, so the idea of being ill for nearly twenty years is still debatable. She hasn't had any new work in 12 years, probably mostly for healing.
Ni Ping sent a text to mourn Teacher Wang Yumei, and the two performed together in Ni Ping's first film "Mountain Chrysanthemum", with Wang Yumei playing Ni Ping's mother. Ni Ping revealed that when the two filmed the mother-daughter scene, they were so nervous that they couldn't cry, and the director said to shoot another one. Teacher Wang is very good at integrating his feelings, and later the two cooperated well, and Ni Ping finally cried. Wang Yumei gently rubbed Ni Ping's ears and brought Ni Ping into the play like a mother, so that Ni Ping truly felt the love of her mother, such an action only a mother can do. Later, Ni Ping and Teacher Wang were both teachers and students as well as mother and daughter, expressing their gratitude to Teacher Wang.
Ni Ping may not have taken a photo with Teacher Wang Yumei, because she just posted the stills of the two, and their cooperative performance was 40 years ago, everything was like a dream, fleeting.
Actor Liu Jun, who played a selfish father in "Children of the Qiao Family", also sent a text to mourn Teacher Wang Yumei, they are all Shandong people, but also actors who came out of Shandong, although Liu Jun has not cooperated with Teacher Wang Yumei, he must have heard of Teacher Wang Yumei, so it is understandable to send a tribute.
When Wang Yumei was 29 years old, she starred in the drama "After the Harvest", in which she played Zhao Wu aunt, and when she entered Beijing to perform, she was received by Premier Zhou, praising the role she played very vividly, hoping that she would act more well for the people in the future. Teacher Wang Yumei did it, and created many different image roles in her life, leaving a deep impression on everyone.
In her acting career of more than 60 years, Wang Yumei has played mostly supporting roles, but all of them are unforgettable. As long as there are film and television dramas in which Wang Yumei participates, the audience often remembers not the protagonists who have a lot of drama, but Wang Yumei. She said there were no very small roles, only very small actors. Wang Yumei, who acted until she was in her 70s, said: Art is my life, and I will continue to act.
I hope that the old artists with both virtue and art will go all the way!