On the evening of September 18, we heard the sad news that Mr. Shi Banyu, the iconic voice in Stephen Chow's film, died in Beijing due to illness, and his life was forever fixed at the age of 66.
Subsequently, Stephen Chow posted a photo of Shi Banyu on his personal social platform, which is a photo full of memories, and Mr. Shi Banyu in the photo is smiling, as if to tell us that his voice will always remain in our hearts. Stephen Chow wrote next to the photo: "I will always miss Mr. Shi Banyu", these few short words, but full of deep emotions and endless thoughts.
Stephen Chow is not very good at expressing his emotions in private, his social circle is not wide, and he rarely shows his private emotions in public. But this time, he showed us his deep affection for Mr. Shi Banyu through his public mourning on social platforms.
I remember that when Mr. Wu Mengda died, Stephen Chow did not have his own social account, so he could not express his condolences at the first time. This made him misunderstood and criticized by some netizens. But Stephen Chow has always been a warm-hearted person, he is just not good at expressing his emotions in words.
This time, Stephen Chow chose to publicly mourn Shi Banyu on social platforms, which is not only a respect for Mr. Shi Banyu, but also a response to all those who care about him.
The passing of Mr. Shi Banyu made us feel the fragility and preciousness of life again. In 2022, he was diagnosed with pulmonary aspergillosis due to a long-term cough and a sharp weight loss. The disease took a toll on his body and forced him to be admitted to the hospital in August. At that time, his body was already very weak, and every breath seemed extremely difficult.
Despite this, Mr. Shi Banyu maintained his usual sense of humor and optimism. His friend shared a screenshot from his circle of friends, which was not written by him, but was spoken by him.
At 18:51 pm on September 17, 2022, the last moment of his imminent death, his circle of friends posted such a message: "Dear old friends, new friends, I am in a hurry to go to another world to open a recording studio, so I won't play with you first!" Bye-bye, I'll go first! Ha~Ha~Ha~Ha~"
This news allows us to see Mr. Shi Banyu's open-mindedness and humor in the face of death. He said goodbye to us in a relaxed and witty way, as if to tell us that even though his life is coming to an end, he still maintains his love for life and dedication to his work. His attitude makes people feel both sad and admirable.
Even at the end of his life, he still chooses to face it with laughter and humor, and this spirit will always inspire us.
Shi Banyu, this name is well-known in the dubbing industry, his real name is Shi Renmao, born in Taiwan on March 9, 1958, and his ancestors are from Guilin, Guangxi. In 1985, he stepped into the dubbing industry and worshiped under Master Chen Mingyang, who is known as the "Taiwan Dubbing Emperor".
Shi Banyu's voice, that is really a must, there are countless roles he dubbed, such as Chen Xiaochun in "Crazy Boy", the unruly teenager; Zhang Weijian in "Journey to the West", the naughty monkey; and Jacky Cheung in "New Marginal Man", the affectionate singer. In "General Afu" broadcast in the mainland, the majestic actor is also his voice. There are so many of his works that you can hum a few words just by thinking about it.
At that time, Taiwan's entertainment industry was severely impacted by Japanese and Korean film and television dramas, and many films needed to be re-dubbed. It stands to reason that a talent like Shi Banyu should be very busy, but his voice is too individual, and it is difficult to find a suitable role. At that time, he could only match those eunuchs, villains and other roles, such as Xu Xian's funny brother-in-law Li Gongfu in "The Legend of the New White Lady".
But that's how amazing this thing is. In 1990, Shi Banyu met Stephen Chow, and the trajectory of his life changed. At that time, Stephen Chow's movie "The Gambler" was in post-production, and the production company specially went to Taiwan to select voice actors. Shi Banyu's unique voice and Stephen Chow's nonsensical performance style are a match made in heaven, so he was chosen, and since then he has started the golden age of his dubbing career.
Since "The Gambler", Shi Banyu has become Stephen Chow's royal dubbing. Stephen Chow was full of praise for his dubbing and asked him to continue dubbing his own movies. Shi Banyu not only created Stephen Chow's signature laughter, but also dubbed a large number of classic movies such as "Truant Dragon", "Tang Bohu Dots Autumn Fragrance", "God of Food", "The King of Comedy", "Shaolin Football", "Kung Fu" and so on.
In order to perfectly integrate his dubbing and Stephen Chow's performance, Shi Banyu has put a lot of effort into it. He not only carefully maintained his voice, but also deeply studied Stephen Chow's performance style, and strived to synchronize every detail with Stephen Chow's performance. His efforts were not in vain, and after Stephen Chow's film was released in the Chinese version, it was loved by the audience, and Shi Banyu's voice has become an indispensable part of the childhood memories of a generation.
Shi Banyu and Stephen Chow, this golden pair, is like coffee and a partner, no one can do without each other. Some people say that it is Shi Banyu's unique voice that multiplies Stephen Chow's comedic effect; Some people also say that it was Stephen Chow's nonsensical performance that gave Shi Banyu the best stage for his voice. In fact, the two of them are like a match made in heaven, and they are indispensable for each other's achievements.
When Shi Banyu was sick, he didn't forget to share his thoughts on social platforms. He said that voice acting is not a simple lip-syncing, but about going deep into the soul of the character, and only in this way can the sound and picture blend perfectly. This is said at a high level, and it also makes people feel the hardships and dedication of voice actors. Although they are behind the scenes, their voices, like heroes, support one classic work after another.
On Shi Banyu's social platform, the most content is related to Stephen Chow. He has a special column called "Make Up for Regrets Series", which is dedicated to dubbing Stephen Chow's movies that he didn't have time to dub before. He wants to make up for those regrets and wants his voice to accompany Stephen Chow's movies for a longer time.
The last time he updated his news was on July 30, when he went to the 30th anniversary concert of "The Legend of the New White Lady". He used to voice the characters in the show, and that day he sat in the newly decorated charter plane, excitedly sharing it with everyone.
Although he looked in good spirits, his face was a little sallow, his face was a little puffy, and there were bruises on his hands from the injections, which showed that his condition was already very serious.
Shi Banyu's death shocked and reluctantly many netizens. Some people think it's too sudden, and they saw him fine two months ago; Some people lament that even a person like Shi Banyu who has achieved financial freedom has only lived to be 66 years old, which makes people think about the meaning of life.
Shi Banyu's life has been dedicated to the dubbing career. He stuck to his path no matter what others thought of him, and even when he was sick, he continued to work. For Stephen Chow, what he lost was not only a partner, but also an old friend who created brilliance together. I believe that Stephen Chow must have a lot of emotion in his heart.
If you have anything to say about Shi Banyu's passing, please leave your thoughts in the comment area, and let's remember this great dubbing artist together.