He is the righteous son of Li Hanxiang and the apprentice of Liu Jialiang, who led the trend of kung fu comedy earlier than Jackie Chan
In the memory of many people, the word kung fu comedy seems to be tied to Jackie Chan. Indeed, in the 1980s, it was Jackie Chan who made the world see the charm of kung fu comedy. However, when it comes to the person who leads this trend, it may be an action actor who is much less famous than Jackie Chan. To say that his fame is small mainly refers to the present, in those days, he was also called an actor who had the hope of succeeding Bruce Lee. His name is Wang Yu, and he is a hipster in kung fu comedy.
Wang Yu, whose original name was Wang Zhiquan, was born in Hong Kong on October 26, 1955, entered the film industry in the 1970s, and quickly became a popular kung fu boy.
Wang Yu's first work was film and television tycoon Wu Siyuan's "Dangkou Tan", in which he worked as a dragon and tiger martial artist and served as a stand-in for the lead actor Chen Guantai. After Wang Yu signed a contract with Shaw Company, he officially became an actor, and after playing a supporting role in several plays, he became the protagonist in the film "Northland Rouge" directed by Li Hanxiang. With this film, Wang Yu began to become a well-known kung fu movie star in the industry, and then Wang Yu worshipped Li Hanxiang as a dry father.
With the support of Gan Dad Li Hanxiang, Wang Yu has starred in many kung fu films at the age of 18, and has become a box office guarantee at a young age. In 1975, the 20-year-old Wang Yu performed well in the kung fu film "Shen Da" directed by Liu Jialiang, which not only gained a lot at the box office, but also made many people in the industry look at him with admiration. After "Divine Fighting", the kung fu boy Wang Yu officially entered Liu Jialiang's Liu Jialiang class and became Liu Jialiang's disciple. Due to Wang Yu's good market potential and the help of many industry leaders to help him develop, Wang Yu was widely regarded as the most promising martial arts star in the whole Shaw clan at that time.
In the 1970s, Liu Jialiang and Wang Yu created many popular kung fu movies, in which Liu Jialiang made Wang Yu a mischievous kung fu boy and integrated many comedic elements into the plot, which was well received. The two of them are therefore regarded as pioneers of kung fu comedy.
Wang Yu's representative works in the 1970s are many, such as "Kung Fu Kid", "Tongtian Kid Red Gunner", "Shaolin Thirty-Six Rooms", "Invitation", "Hong Xiguan", "Huang Feihong and Lu Acai", "Deer DingJi", "Thousand Kings Fighting Qianba", "King of Thieves" and so on. However, many officials may be puzzled, why did a movie star who was so popular at the beginning disappeared after that? Of course, the specific reason is difficult for the outside world to know, but from some reports of that year, we can still see some clues.
In 1983, Wang Yu, who was just red at the time, and Fu Sheng, another big star, were friends, and the two often traveled together. It is said that during a drag race between the two, Fu Sheng had a serious car accident, which eventually led to death. After this incident, Wang Yu's heart fell into a deep self-blame, so that he was not in the mood to work for a long time. Later, with the guidance of many relatives and friends, Wang Yu's mood began to recover, but at this time, Shao's company had stopped production, so Wang Yu simply turned to behind-the-scenes work.
After 1988, it was difficult to see Wang Yu's news in the entertainment industry. Although he occasionally appeared on the screen during this period, he was in the form of a cameo. Coupled with the fact that Jackie Chan and others had become the mainstream of the market at that time, Wang Yu no longer developed too much in the entertainment industry.
It is worth mentioning that the famous Hong Kong action director Cheng Xiaodong is Wang Yu's brother-in-law. After Wang Yu faded out of the screen, he also collaborated with Cheng Xiaodong to design the action of the movie "Oriental Undefeated 2".
On May 15, 2008, a generation of kung fu star Wang Yu died of hepatitis at the age of 53. Since then, this kung fu kid who was once very popular and led the trend of kung fu comedy has really stayed away from us.
Sometimes I see his works again, and I still think that the works of that era are really interesting. Unfortunately, there is no going back for a while.