URL	www.allrovi.com
Commercial?	Yes
Registration	No
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Rovi
Launched	2011
Current status	Online

AllRovi is a commercial database launched by the Rovi Corporation in 2011. It combines information and reviews about music and movies from the former services AllMovie and AllMusic.

Content[link]

Reviewers include Jason Ankeny, Roxanne Blanford, Marisa Brown, John Bush, Al Campbell, Eugene Chadbourne, Matt Collar, Mark Deming, Ken Dryden, Bruce Eder, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Katherine Fulton, Jo-Anne Greene, David Jeffries, Thom Jurek, Andy Kellman, Rudyard Kennedy, Don Kline, the late Cub Koda, Andrew Leahey, Steve Leggett, Jason Lymangrover, Scott McClintock, Greg McIntosh, Opal Louis Nations, Wilson Neate, Heather Phares, Greg Prato,^[1] Ned Raggett, Margaret Reges, Eduardo Rivadavia, John Phillip Roberts, William Ruhlmann, Tim Sendra, Michael Sutton, Rob Theakston, Richie Unterberger, Joe Viglione, Sean Westergaard, and Scott Yanow.^[2]

AllRovi's database, which is licensed and used in point-of-sale systems by some music retailers, includes:

• Basic data: names, genres, credits, copyright information, product numbers
• Descriptive content: styles, tones, moods, themes, nationalities
• Relational content: similar artists and albums, influences
• Editorial content: biographies, reviews, rankings

AllRovi also claims to have the largest digital archive of music, including about 6 million digital songs, as well as the largest cover art library, with more than half a million cover image scans.

The website allmusic.com (oft-referred to as "AMG", or All Music Guide) is a sample of what is available in the database. The site was launched in 1995 as an online demonstration for potential database licensees of the breadth of content included in the database.

The AllRovi database is also used by several generations of Windows Media Player and Musicmatch Jukebox to identify and organize music collections. Windows Media Player 11 and the integrated MTV Urge music store have expanded the use of AllRovi data to include related artists, biographies, reviews, playlists, and other data.

AllRovi is also used to provide catalog data, artist biographies, album reviews, related artist information, playlists, and other information in the iTunes Music Store, Zune Marketplace, Zune player, eMusic, AOL, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and other music stores. Additionally, AllRovi is at the heart of the Naim Extended Music database used by the Naim HDX hard disk player.

The web version of AMG has much more information on most forms of popular music than the 1,176 pages of the 1992 book edited by Michael Erlewine and Scott Bultman (All Music Guide: the best CDs, albums & tapes, published by Miller Freeman Inc., San Francisco), but it is missing much of the information on classical music that appeared in the book. One could look up a composer in the book and identify specific recordings recommended by AMG reviewers, but the website only provides a list of recordings.

AMG headquarters is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

History[link]

URL	www.allmovie.com
Commercial?	Yes
Registration	No
Available language(s)	English
Owner	All Media Guide (Rovi)
Launched	1998
Current status	Active

AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) was a commercial database of information about movie stars, movies and television shows.^[3][4] It was founded by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine, who also founded AllMusic and Allgame.

The database was licensed to tens of thousands of distributors and retailers for point-of-sale systems, websites, and kiosks. The Allmovie database is comprehensive, including basic product information, cast and production credits, plot synopsis, professional reviews, biographies, relational links, and more.

AllMovie data was accessed on the web at the allmovie.com website. It was also available via the AMG LASSO media recognition service, which can automatically recognize DVDs.

Rovi Corp renovated the website, and, now, the site is renewed/updated, and therefore, active.^[5][6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2009)

Ekin Cheng
Cheng at the Beautiful Day Concert 2011
Chinese name	鄭伊健
Chinese name	鄭伊健 (Traditional)
Chinese name	郑伊健 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhèng yījiàn (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Zeng6 Ji1-gin6 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Enping, Guangdong, China
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1967-10-04) 4 October 1967 (age 44)
Other name(s)	Cheng Yee-Kin Dior Cheng Noodle Cheng (鄭伊麵)
Occupation	Singer Actor
Genre(s)	Cantopop
Instrument(s)	Singing
Label(s)	BMG (1991-2001, 2004-2005) EEG (2001-2004) BMA Records (2005-2009) Sony BMG (2009-present)
Years active	1986-present (acting) 1992-present (singing)
Partner(s)	Luisa Maria Leitão Maggie Siu Gigi Leung (1999 to 2006) Yoyo Mung (Current)
Official Website	Official Website

Ekin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. Early in his career he used the name Dior (because that was what it sounded like when his younger sister tried to call him 第二哥) as a first name. He has also been referred to as Noodle Cheng, (鄭伊麵) after a popular noodle product with a similar name. Currently Ekin is the name used.

Career[link]

Television[link]

Cheng began acting in commercials when he was in high school, the most well-known being for Hi-C Lemon Tea. After high school, he enrolled in TVB's Martial Arts school, but did not like it and switched to their acting school. After that he began to get a number of TV roles. The latest TVB series he participated in was Always Ready, working with Charmaine Sheh, Bowie Lam and Linda Chung.

Film[link]

His first film was Girls Without Tomorrow 1992 (1992) and at the time he was still called by the name Dior Cheng. He changed his name to "Ekin" before his breakout role in the Young and Dangerous series as Chan Ho-nam. The film was first meant to glorify the triad life, but after about the third film, the story focused more on the characters and explored the truth about the Hong Kong triads. It became so popular that it launched Cheng and co-star Jordan Chan to superstar status. And because of its incredible success, it is said^{[by whom?]} to have made many youngsters at that time fond of the triad life, thus making teens throughout Asia join the triads. It also started a trend for triad films around that time and is considered^{[by whom?]} to be a classic. The film led to six sequels, all starring Cheng, and a lucrative working partnership with director Andrew Lau. Together they went on to make The Storm Riders, which was the highest-grossing Hong Kong movie at the time and the first film to utilize a truly large number of special effects. They also worked together on The Legend of Speed, a film about a street racer who would follow his father's footsteps of becoming a racing god, A Man Called Hero a movie adaption of the famous comic, about a martial arts master in America The Duel starring Cheng, Andy Lau, and a few other famous stars, and the comedy Women From Mars. In 2001, he acted in a movie titled Born to be King. This is the last installment of a triad movie series Young & Dangerous.

Cheng has branched out in the roles he has taken, including more comedy like earlier in his career with My Wife is 18 with Charlene Choi and Six Strong Guys with singers Hacken Lee, Andy Hui and George Lam. But he still does action-oriented films like The Twins Effect where he acts with rising pop superstars Twins and Tokyo Raiders where he is cast with Tony Leung and Kelly Chen. My Wife is 18 tells the story of an arranged marriage between 30-year-old Cheng and 18-year-old Charlene Choi. The significant age difference between the two is the source of the comedy. Six strong guys tells the story of Cheng and his other five friends who tell funny stories of the modern Hong Kong man. The Twins Effect is an action film about the feuds between vampires and humans who share the same world. Toyko Raiders is about international thievery in Toyko. He also play as Ming in the legend of zu mountain the movie.

Recently,^[when?] Cheng returned to the movie scene (having taken a break in 2005 to work on the Ultraman TV series in Thailand). He had a brief appearance in My Name is Fame as himself. Soon after that he starred in Heavenly Mission, a triad/cop thriller starring alongside Stephen Fung and Alex Fong (this is not the swimmer Alex Fong.). He has completed a Pang Brothers film called The Forest of Death, which was released in March 2007. His serial filmed in Mainland China based on the life of martial arts master Huo Yuanjia with former Young & Dangerous co-star Jordan Chan is currently in syndication. Current^[when?] projects include a sequel to The Storm Riders, also directed by Pang Brothers and Kamui Gaiden being filmed in Japan. Cheng's latest film with Shawn Yue, Rule Number 1 directed by Kelvin Tong, won Best Actor Awards for both Cheng and Yue.^[1]

Cheng's golden age was during the Young and Dangerous era. At the turn of the century his popularity declined and he has been criticized^{[by whom?]} as being merely an accidental superstar. He has also been criticized by some^[who?] as being a wood-like actor with little expression or feeling in his work. Despite these criticisms, Cheng has continued to make movies throughout his career and currently is once again^[when?] enjoying considerable success.

Music[link]

Cheng had a successful music career with BMG. But in the 2000s, he signed with EEG, a juggernaut company owned by Albert Yeung. Under this company he was 'frozen' and not allowed to put out any records. But as is a custom with EEG, he made several movies with other EEG stars. As of 2004, his contract with EEG ended and he returned to BMG briefly where he released a new record before signing with BMA. As of 2009, Cheng has once again returned as an artist of Sony BMG. Through the course of his career, he has made several hits. Though many criticise Cheng for not having a voice capable of singing harder or higher-noted songs. And though his music career has been going smoothly, his most-acclaimed music came during the Young and Dangerous age. The theme song for Young and Dangerous 1 "Age of Friendship" is considered his best. Though he and Jordan Chan both sing a separate version, it was Cheng who sang it first.

In 2007, Cheng made a guest appearance at a Leo Ku concert and received popular applause from the audience.^[2] He also represented Hong Kong in the 2009 Asia Song Festival, performing two songs. Since his last concert held 11 years ago, E-kin plans to hold his coming back concert during 18–19 December 2009 in Hong Kong.^[3]

Radio[link]

In the 1990s, Cheng also starred in a number of radio dramas.

Others[link]

In 2002 Cheng was asked to be the official Ocean Environment Ambassador. The Chief Secretary of HKSAR, Anthony Tsang presented the appointment letter. At the same press conference WWF also asked Cheng to be their Ambassador with a special interest in the marine environment. In this capacity he traveled to WWF's Whale Shark conservation site in 2007. TVB's Jade Channel aired the documentary.^[4]

2006 saw the publication of Cheng's first book, 'Looking Into Ekin's Eyes'.^[5][6] This book was very successful and is now in its third edition. In 2007 a Japanese version of the book was published.

Endorsements[link]

Cheng has been asked by numerous companies to endorse their products. The most notable are Canon IXUS,^[7] Seiko,^[8] Shiseido JS^[9] and HTC.^[10] In 2008, Kingsoft featured Cheng in their popular online game The First Myth 2 (封神榜II) as "Er Lang Shen" (二郎神) a character in the game.^[11]

Throughout his career Cheng has been featured in many magazines, and photo books, including an autobiography in Yes Idol Magazine (1997).^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BMA's Official Website for Ekin / Ekin's Blog
• Ekin Cheng at the Internet Movie Database
• HK cinemagic entry
• Ekinpedia An online encyclopedia of Ekin Cheng

Nick Cheung
Chinese name	張家輝
Chinese name	張家輝 (Traditional)
Chinese name	张家辉 (Simplified)
Born	(1967-12-02) 2 December 1967 (age 44) Hong Kong
Spouse(s)	Esther Kwan (m. 2003–present)
Children	1
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor 2009 Beast Stalker Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 2008 Beast Stalker Golden Horse Awards Best Actor 2009 Beast Stalker TVB Anniversary Awards Most Improving Actor 1998 Secret of the Heart

Nick Cheung Ka-fai (born 2 December 1967)^[1] is a Hong Kong actor. Cheung was a Royal Hong Kong Police officer^[2][3] for five years and changed his career as an actor with ATV. After a few years Cheung moved over to rival TVB.

Cheung met Hong Kong actress Esther Kwan while he was still working for ATV. The couple married on 8 November 2004 in Australia. Their daughter, Brittany Cheung (張童) was born on 24 January 2006.

Filmography[link]

TV series[link]

Feature Film[link]

Nick Cheung has won totally 7 prizes for Beast Stalker including Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor, Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, Golden Horse Film Award for Best Actor etc.

Dubbing Roles[link]

Nick Cheung has also dubbed foreign films and Television programs into Cantonese Chinese.

This section requires expansion.

References[link]

• "Beast Within." Giant Robot Magazine Issue 63, 2009

External links[link]

• Nick Cheung at the Internet Movie Database
• Nick Cheung Ka-Fai at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
• Nick Cheung on LoveHKFilm.com
• Nick Cheung at the Hong Kong Cinemagic

Joey Wong Cho-Yee (AKA Joey Wang, Wang Tsu Hsien, or Joey Ong Jyo Han/Hen) (Chinese: 王祖賢; pinyin: Wáng Zǔxián, born (1967-01-31)January 31, 1967) is a Hong Kong based Taiwanese-born actress.

Biography[link]

Wong was born on January 31, 1967 and raised in Taipei and also received a secondary school education there. She was enrolled in the drama program of Guoguang Arts School (now National Taiwan College of Performing Arts (Chinese article). She has an older brother, a younger brother and one sister.

Her father is a basketball player and he encouraged her to become a professional basketball player when she was fourteen. Shortly thereafter she shot a TV commercial for sport shoes which drew the attention of a film producer who made her the leading lady of film It'll Be Very Cold by the Lakeside This Year. This movie attracted the attention of producer Mona Fong of Shaw Brothers and she invited Wong come to Hong Kong to make her first Hong Kong movie Let's Make Laugh II, opposite Derek Yee Tung Sing.

In 1987, she portrayed a beautiful ghost in A Chinese Ghost Story and her beauty and grace made her a film idol in Japan and South Korea. She made a dozen movies in the following years playing similar characters, either ghost or vixen, gliding across the screen.

In 1989 she went to Japan to star in the TV series A Woman From Hong Kong. Later she also made commercials and published photo albums. In 1992 she made her singing debut with the Japanese and Mandarin CD single, "Hold You In My Arms Forever". In 1993, she appeared as the White Snake in Tsui Hark's Green Snake, a revision of the Madame White Snake legend told from the perspective of the younger Green Snake, though White Snake remains the romantic lead.

Wong expressed a desire to retire from film making in 1994 and stayed away from the limelight until 1997 when she returned to the silver screen in the Japanese movie Peking Genjin (Peking Man) and released the companion CD single "Who Are You?".

In 1998 she released the extended Japanese CD Angelus and her first and only full CD, in Mandarin, Isolation a.k.a. Isolated From The World.

She returned to semi-retirement after the release of Isolation, but returned once again to films in 2001 with Peony Pavilion, then once again announced her retirement.

In 2004 she appeared in Beautiful Shanghai a.k.a. Shanghai Story and reportedly appeared in a Taiwanese TV series with on again, off again beau Chyi Chin. It was reported that she enjoyed her return to films and reportedly signed a multi-film contract. However, the unexpected suicide of her friend and former movie co-star Leslie Cheung caused her to withdraw once again from the limelight.

In September 2005, coinciding with the worldwide release of Beautiful Shanghai (Shanghai Story), she once again announced her formal retirement. She currently resides in Vancouver, Canada and is studying English.

Joey Wong was also very well known for the relationship with Chyi Chin, who was a Taiwanese singer. Their relationship lasted about 16 years, from 1985 to 2002. Now they remain friends.

Selected filmography[link]

• Beautiful Shanghai Girl a.k.a. Shanghai Story (2004)
• Peony Pavilion (2001)
• Peking Man a.k.a. Peking Genjin (1997)
• The Wonderful Portrait (1997)
• The Beheaded 1000 (1994)
• Green Snake (1993)
• Chez N'Ham (1993)
• Painted Skin (1993)
• All Men Are Brothers - Blood of the Leopard (1993)
• Dong Cheng Xi Jiu a.k.a. Eagle Shooting Heroes a.k.a. 13 Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993)
• The East is Red (1993)
• City Hunter (1993)
• Butterfly and Sword a.k.a. Comet, Butterfly and Sword (1993)
• The Beheaded 1000 (1993)
• An Eye for an Eye (1993)
• The Prince of Temple Street (1992)
• Casino Tycoon II (1992)
• Casino Tycoon (1992)
• Ming Ghost - alternate Hong Kong Cat III version of Little Woman (1992)
• Little Woman a.k.a. Ah Ying (1992)
• The Banquet (1991)
• Fox Legend a.k.a. Foxy Lady (1991)
• Hong Kong Godfather (1991)
• A Chinese Ghost Story III (1991)
• A Chinese Legend (1991)
• Fantasy Romance (1991)
• Lake Sprite (1991)
• An Eternal Combat (1991)
• Red and Black (1991)
• The Cyprus Tigers (1991)
• The Big Score (1990)
• Demoness from Thousand Years (1990)
• Kung Fu Vs. Acrobatic (1990)
• A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)
• Point of Return (1990)
• A Tale from the East (1990)
• Family Honor a.k.a. Nameless Family (1990)
• Killer's Romance (1990)
• Spy Games (1990)
• An Eye for an Eye (1990)
• God of Gamblers (1989)
• Gift from Heaven (1989)
• Web of Deception a.k.a. Deception (1989)
• The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus (1989)
• Missing Man (1989)
• Little Cop (1989)
• My Heart is that Eternal Rose (1989)
• Mr. Coconut (1989)
• The Dream is Yours (1988)
• Law or Justice (1988)
• The Big Heat (1988)
• The Diary of a Big Man (1988)
• Fractured Follies (1988)
• Carry on Hotel (1988)
• Picture of a Nymph (1988)
• To Err is Humane (1987)
• Private Life a.k.a. Miss Hong Kong a.k.a. (incorrectly) Private Lift (1987)
• A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
• The Legend of Wisely a.k.a. Legend Of Wu, Legend of the Golden Pearl (1987)
• Walking Beside Me (1986)
• A Hearty Response (1986)
• The Ghost Snatchers (1986)
• 100 Ways to Murder Your Wife (1986)
• Last Song in Paris (1986)
• Where's Officer Tuba? (1986)
• Working Class (1985)
• Let's Make Laugh II (1985)
• I'll Be Very Cold at the Lakeside This Year a.k.a. It Will Be Cold By the Lakeside this Year (1984)

^{[1] [2]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joey Wang fan site
• Joey Wong at the Internet Movie Database
• baidu post－largest fanclub in china (Chinese)
• Tianya Joey group－Joey database (Chinese)

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing
Cheung performing at a Concert
Chinese name	張國榮 (Traditional)
Chinese name	张国荣 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Zhāng Guóróng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Zoeng1 Gwok3wing4 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Meizhou, Guangdong
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1956-09-12)12 September 1956 Hong Kong
Died	1 April 2003(2003-04-01) (aged 46) (Suicide) Hong Kong
Other name(s)	哥哥 (Ge4ge1; lit. Big Brother)[1][2]
Occupation	Singer, actor, director, songwriter
Genre(s)	Cantopop
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano
Label(s)	Polydor, Capital Artists, Cinepoly, Rock, Apex Music, Universal
Years active	1977–2003
Parents	Cheung Wut Hoi
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor 1991 Days of Being Wild Best Original Film Song 1995 He's a Woman, She's a Man The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema 2005 Silver Jubilee Best Actor 2006 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 1994 Ashes of Time Golden Horse Awards Best Original Song 1993 The Bride with White Hair RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards Sales Award (Best-Selling Artist of the Year) 1987 Summer Romance IFPI Award 1988 Leslie Golden Needle Award 1999 Other awards Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Most Popular Male Artist 1988, 1989 Honours Award 1999, 2000 Golden Phoenix Awards Special Contribution Award 1993 Farewell My Concubine Japan Film Critics Society Best Actor 1993 Farewell My Concubine CCTV-MTV Music Awards Biggest Asian Artist 2000 Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Male Singer 2001

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003), nicknamed Gor Gor (哥哥), which means elder brother,^[3][4][4][5] was a Hong Kong film actor and musician. Cheung was considered as "one of the founding fathers of Cantopop", and "combining a hugely successful film and music career".^[6]

In 2000, Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central Television, and voted/ranked the 1st as The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema in 2005.^[7][8] Recently, he was voted the third of the CNN's "top five most iconic musician of all time" placing behind Michael Jackson and The Beatles.^[9]

Childhood and education[link]

Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Cheung was the youngest of ten children in a middle-class Hakka family. Cheung Wut Hoi, his father, was a fairly well known tailor, whose customers included American actors William Holden, Marlon Brando, and Cary Grant.^[10][11][12] His parents divorced when he was quite young. While in Hong Kong, Cheung attended Rosaryhill School (Stubbs Road, Hong Kong).

At the age of 13, he was sent to England as a boarder at Eccles Hall School. After six month study, he transferred himself to a school in Chelmsford, and obtained a scholarship. He worked as a bartender at his relatives' restaurant and sang during the weekends. It was around this period that he chose his name, "Leslie". According to Cheung, he chose this name because "I love the film Gone with the Wind. And I like Leslie Howard. The name can be a man's or woman's, it's very unisex, so I like it."^[13]

In several of his interviews, Cheung stated that he had had a fairly unhappy childhood. "I didn't have a happy childhood. Arguments, fights and we didn't live together; I was brought up by my granny."^[13] "What I would say most affected me as a child, was that my parents were not at home with me. As a young kid, one could not always understand why his parents weren't at home. This made me depressed sometimes."^[14]

Cheung attended the University of Leeds in northern England, where he studied textile management. He dropped out of university at the end of his first year, when his father fell ill. After his father's recovery, Cheung did not return to England to complete his studies.^[11][15]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

In 1977, Cheung won first runner-up by singing Don McLean's "American Pie" at the Asian Music Contest held by Rediffusion Television (RTV). He signed a contract with RTV, which subsequently became Asia Television Limited (ATV) and began his career in the entertainment industry. He also signed a music contract with Polydor Records, releasing Day Dreaming (1977) and Lover's Arrow (1979).

The early days of his career were not easy. He was once booed off the stage during a public performance, and his first two albums were not welcomed by the public. He left Polydor Records at the end of his contract. Cheung's first film, The Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓春上春) in 1978 was a soft porn film. Cheung later stated that he was unaware of the sexual nature of the film when he signed the contract.^[14]

During the 1970s and 1980s, he appeared in a number of TV dramas such as The Young Concubine (我家的女人), Agency 24 (甜甜廿四味), Pairing (對對糊), and The Spirit Of The Sword (浣花洗劍錄). These TV dramas helped turn him into a household name in South East Asia.

Ascent to fame[link]

In 1982, Cheung joined Capital Artists upon the end of his contract with RTV. It was at Capital Artists that Florence Chan became his music agent and remained as such through his entire career. While at Capital Artists, he also met Anita Mui, another Hong Kong Cantopop idol, starting a long lasting friendship. In 1983, Cheung released his first hit song, "The Wind Blows On" (風繼續吹). In 1984, he released his first top ten hit song "Monica", which became the first so-called "fast" song that won the RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. "Monica" became representative of a new genre of Hong Kong music in the mid 1980s. Fans began to demand fast and energetic Cantopop songs that would be suitable for both dancing and listening. Other Top Ten Gold Songs released by Cheung through Capital Artists included "Wild Wind" (不羈的風) (album, For Your Love Only, 1985); "Who Can Be With Me" (有誰共鳴) (album, Leslie Cheung: Allure Me, 1986) and "Love in Those Years" (當年情) (theme song for A Better Tomorrow, album Leslie Cheung: Allure Me, 1986). "Who Can Be With Me" became the Gold of the Gold Songs (Best Song) of the Year for 1986. In the same year, Cheung released his first Mandarin album in Taiwan, also titled "Love in Those Years," and became an instant hit.

Cheung's movie career was a little slower to take off. He appeared in supporting roles in his second and third movies Encore (1980) and On Trial (1981). However, his acting talent was soon recognized with his nomination for the Hong Kong Film Awards' Best Supporting Actor for his role in On Trial. Subsequent to this nomination, he played the leading role in Teenage Dreamers (1982) and held the lead role in almost every movie he was in from then on. From the early 1980s through 1986, most of the movies in which he had starred were teenage movies. Among them, Nomad (1982, directed by Patrick Tam Kar-ming) is widely considered by film critics as representative of Hong Kong "New Wave" films. Cheung's role as Louis in Nomad won him his first Best Actor nomination of the Hong Kong Film Awards. Later, Cheung stated that he considers Nomad as his first "real" movie. During this period, Cheung continued to act in a number of Television Broadcasts (TVB) dramas, such as Once Upon an Ordinary Girl (儂本多情) and The Fallen Family (武林世家), opposite Maggie Cheung.

Stardom and retirement[link]

In 1986, he joined Cinepoly Records Hong Kong and released the album Summer Romance in 1987. Summer Romance became the Best Selling CD of the Year and IFPI Best Selling Album in Hong Kong. The success of Summer Romance made him one of the top two Cantopop idols at the time (the other was Alan Tam). In 1988, he composed one of his most famous songs "Silence is Golden" (沉默是金), which was later adapted to both Mandarin and Taiwanese versions. Other popular albums published by Cheung through Cinepoly Records included Hot Summer (1988), Virgin Snow (1988), Leslie '89 (Side face, IFPI Best Album of the Year, 1989), Final Encounter (1989), and Salute (1990). In the meantime, Cheung also released several Mandarin albums in Taiwan, such as Refuse to Play (拒絕再玩) and Car Ride. Salute was the first non-profit album released by a superstar in Hong Kong music history that would only compile songs originally performed by other singers. According to Cheung, Salute is his homage to music. He donated all the proceeds from the sales of Salute to the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演藝學院), which was named the Leslie Cheung Memorial Scholarship after his death.^[16]

With the popularity of Cheung and Tam, fans of these two stars became increasingly hostile to each other, starting a long-standing conflict that soon put heavy pressure on both singers. In 1988, Alan Tam publicly quit all pop music award ceremonies. In 1989, Cheung announced his intention to retire from his music career as a singer. Cheung then set a record by being the first singer ever in Cantopop history to hold a retirement concert series (Final Encounter of the Legend), which ran for 33 consecutive nights (he was 33 at the time) at Hong Kong Coliseum. In 1990, he left Hong Kong at the peak of his music career and emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where he reportedly "found peace and tranquility."^[17] Cheung gained Canadian citizenship in 1992 and returned to Asia full-time in 1995 for his re-emergence in Chinese-language popular music.

From 1986 to 1989, Cheung acted in a number of movies that are considered as Hong Kong classics by film critics and Asian movie fans.^[18][19] In 1986, Cheung co-starred with Chow Yun-fat in A Better Tomorrow (directed by John Woo), which was widely considered as a trend starter for Hong Kong triad movies in the 1980s. Cheung played Kit, a righteous and idealistic young cop. Cheung's role in the movie was widely considered his debut as a serious actor. He also starred in the sequel, A Better Tomorrow II (1987). Also in 1987, Cheung starred in Stanley Kwan's Rouge where he played Chen-Pang Chan, an infatuated, opium-smoking playboy and doomed lover of a beautiful prostitute, Fleur (played by Anita Mui). Further, in the same year (1987), he appeared in Tsui Hark's A Chinese Ghost Story (directed by Ching Siu-tung). Cheung played Ling Choi Sin, a well-meaning but cowardly debt collector who had fallen in love with a beautiful ghost (played by Joey Wong). His performance in these movies won him two Best Actor nominations from Hong Kong Film Awards. The success of A Better Tomorrow and A Chinese Ghost Story made his name known in the Japanese and South Korea film markets.

Golden age in film[link]

The mid-80s to mid-90s was a golden age in Hong Kong's film industry, which coincided with Cheung's film career. In 1990, Cheung acted as Yuddy, a handsome, ruthless bad boy, philanderer and narcissist in Wong Kar-wai's movie Days of Being Wild. His performance in Days of Being Wild won him the Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1991 and his first nomination of Best Actor at the Golden Horse Film Festival (Taiwan). He also acted in two other Wong Kar-wai movies. In the 1994 martial arts film, Ashes of Time, he starred as Ouyang Feng, a swordsman and assassin who spent his days in a desert. His role as Ouyang won him the Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. In 1997's movie Happy Together which centrally depicts a complex relationship between two gay lovers (although Wong insists that it isn't essentially a "gay" film^[20]), he played the capricious Ho Po-wing, who goes to Argentina with his lover Lai Yiu-fai (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai).

In 1992's historical masterpiece Farewell My Concubine (directed by Chen Kaige), Cheung acted as the Peking opera star Dieyi Cheng, a Beijing opera artist who reaches fame with his exquisite performances of female roles. Farewell My Concubine is the first Chinese film to have won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won more than twenty other film awards including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography. Cheung's performance in the film won him international fame as a film star and set his steps in the mainland China film industry. In 1996, he worked again with Chen Kaige, playing the role of a misty gigolo, Zhongliang Yu, in Temptress Moon. In 1998's A Time to Remember (directed by Yip Ying), he acted as Jin, an underground Chinese Communist leader. His Hong Kong background caused a heated debate at the time, but the film still achieved box office success in mainland China and in 2004 won a "Most Popular Foreign Film" Award at the Pyongyang Film Festival.

Other important movies Cheung starred in during this period include The Bride with White Hair (with Brigitte Lin, 1993), He's a Woman, She's a Man (with Anita Yuen, 1994), The Phantom Lover (1995), and Viva Erotica (with Shu Qi, 1996). His performance in these movies won him three Best Actor Award nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three Best Actor Award nominations at the Golden Horse Film Festival from 1990 to 1998.

As a versatile actor, Cheung also acted in many comedies. In 1991, teamed again with Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung, Cheung played a skillful and charming thief in John Woo's Once A Thief. In 1992's All's Well, Ends Well, he acted as an effeminate brother who would later realize the meaning of true love. Other well-known comedies included The Eagle Shooting Heroes, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Chinese Feast, where he starred opposite Anita Yuen. Cheung was also a box office attraction in Hong Kong; from 1990 to 1998, 13 out of 39 movies in which he starred were listed as yearly top ten box office movies.^[21]

Although Cheung quit his career as a pop singer from 1989 to 1995, he continued his music career as a composer. He composed more than ten songs during that time. In 1993, he won Best Original Movie Song Award from Golden Horse Film Festival for the theme song Red Cheek, White Hair to the movie The Bride with White Hair (as a composer). In 1995, he composed all three theme songs for the film The Phantom Lover. As a composer, Cheung won four nominations for Best Original Movie Song Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards and two nominations for Best Original Film Song at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

In 1998, he was a member of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.^[22]

Return to music[link]

In 1995 Cheung signed a contract with Rock Records, returning to music as a singer. At the same year, he released his first post-"retirement" album, Beloved. Beloved achieved large market success with the award of IFPI Best Selling Album,^[23][24] but it did not receive much acclaim from music critics as it is a collection of Cheung's movie theme songs from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, Cheung released possibly his most highly acclaimed album, Red. Red was a fusion album, mixing smooth jazz, R&B, trip hop, etc., into Cantopop, forming a consistent unique style. Cheung worked since then on cutting-edge music as well as Cantopop, his new music style being markedly different from before his earlier retirement. In this album, Cheung also composed another important song in his music career, Red. In April 1998, Cheung released Printemps, a Mandarin album in collaboration with renowned Taiwanese song writers and music producers, Liu Chi Hong (劉志宏) and Liu Si Ming (劉思銘). Another version of Printemps was released in Japan titled Gift. Both versions include Cheung's first song sung in Japanese, "Marshmallow."

In 1997 Cheung held his first post-retirement concert series: World Tour 97, which lasted from 12 December 1996 to 17 June 1997. As with the refinements to his musical style, Cheung introduced a new image to his audience. The most daring part possibly was the closing dance "Red" where Cheung did a tango duet in a pair of red high-heels with a macho dancer. World Tour 97 included 55 concerts: 24 concerts were held in Hong Kong Coliseum and 31 concerts were held in the cities around the world. Among them, six concerts were held in Japan and mainland China respectively. World Tour 97 was the first concert series that Cheung held in these two areas.

In 1999 Cheung started a music company, Apex Music, signing a distribution contract with Universal Music Group(UMG). Important albums released via UMG includes Count Down With You (1999), Big Heat (2000), and Untitled (2000). The hit songs released by him during this period include "Passing-by Dragonfly", the top one hit song, "Big Heat", and "Left Right Hands", Top Ten Gold Song of the Year (1999). He also composed the song I (first released in album Big Heat), which was considered by him as a song of self-statement. In 1999 Cheung was awarded the Golden Needle award (lifetime achievement award in Cantopop music). In 2000, Cheung had been assigned as the "Music Ambassador" of Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH) until his death. Cheung also composed the theme song "Noah's Ark" for the CASH Golden Sail Award.

The later years[link]

In 2000, Cheung held his last concert series, Passion Tour. Passion Tour included 43 concerts, lasting from 31 July 2000 to 16 April 2001. Cheung worked at the first time as the art director as well as the singer for the concert. He invited Jean-Paul Gaultier to design all eight costumes for the concert. However, the costumes, together with his long wig and beard, were criticized bitterly by Hong Kong media at the early stage of the concerts. Cheung later disclosed that Gaultier was very angry about the criticism and claimed in an email (sent to Cheung) that he would never design costumes again for any Asian performer. Despite the early criticisms from the media, Passion Tour achieved huge success. Passion Tour was highly welcomed in Japan and made Cheung hold 10 concerts there. Together with World Tour 97 concerts, Cheung set a record of foreign artists of holding 16 concerts in Japan. In China, Cheung set a record yet to be broken by holding two consecutive night concerts in Shanghai Stadium (capacity of 80,000). He was also awarded the "Grand Salute Award" (2000) by Mingpao Weekly (Hong Kong) and "Music Salute Award" (2000) from Chinese Pop Music Media Association (mainland China) for his work in Passion Tour.

By the end of the 1990s, Cheung had begun to focus on acting in non-romance roles. In The Kid (1999, directed by Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung), he starred as a poor single father who fostered an abandoned baby boy. In the action thriller Double Tap (2000, directed by Lo Chi Leung), he played a psycho killer, Rick. In the 2002 psycho thriller Inner Senses (directed by Lo Chi Leung), he played psychologist Dr. Law, who discovered his own emotional issues when he tried to treat his patient Yan (Kar Yan Lam). His performance in these films earned him another Best Actor nomination from the Hong Kong Film Awards. He also garnered another two Best Actor Award nominations from Taiwan Film Festival. During this period, Cheung began to try his hand at film direction. In 2000, he directed his first movie, the 45 minutes From Ashes to Ashes. In 2002, he began to film his first regular length movie Stealing Heart. The film was not completed due to the deterioration of his health.

Death[link]

Cheung committed suicide on 1 April 2003 at 6:41 pm (HKT). He leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island.^[25] He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old.^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]}

As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide.^{[26][32][33][34][35][36]} The day after Leslie's death, his family confirmed that Cheung suffered from (clinical) depression and had been seeing psychiatrists for treatment for almost a year. They also revealed that Cheung had attempted suicide in 2002. Later at his funeral, Cheung's niece disclosed that her uncle had severe clinical depression and suffered much over the past year (2003).

Despite the risk of infection from SARS and the WHO's warning on travels to Hong Kong, tens of thousands attended Cheung's memorial service, which was held for the public, on 7 April 2003, including celebrities and other fans, many from other parts of the world such as mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, the United States and Canada. Cheung's funeral was on 8 April 2003. For almost one month, Cheung's death dominated newspaper headlines in Hong Kong and his songs were constantly on the air.

Cheung's last album Everything Follows the Wind (一切隨風) was released three months after his death.

• Cheung's suicide note (translation): "Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-Mak (Cheung's last psychiatrist, 麥列菲菲). This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Fei-Fei (Lydia Shum Din-ha). In my life I did nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"
• Cheung's suicide note (Chinese): "Depression! 多謝各位朋友，多謝麥列菲菲教授，這一年很辛苦，不能再忍受， 多謝唐先生，多謝家人，多謝肥姐. 我一生沒做壞事 為何這樣?"

Achievement lists[link]

Selected awards[link]

• RTV Asian Song Contest Runners-up with the song "American Pie" 1977
• Overseas Chinese Daily News The Best Newcomer Award 1977
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with the song "Monica" 1984
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song "Monica" 1984
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1984
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Wild Wind 1985
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Wild Wind 1985
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1987
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Who Can Be With Me 1986
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with songs Who Can Be With Me and, Love in Those Years 1986
• Commercial Radio Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1986
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Sleepless Night, Summer Romance is also the Best Selling CD of the year and IFPI Best Selling Album in 1987
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Sleepless Night
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with songs Silence is Golden and Up Close 1988
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award Most Popular Male Singer 1988
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Best Male Singer 1988
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Start From Zero, and also winner of the Most Popular Male Singer 1989
• Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award 1989 winner LESLIE, album is also the IFPI Best Album of the Year
• IFPI Best Selling Album winner with Fondness 1999
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Millennium Gold Song Award for "Monica" 1999
• RTHK Golden Needle Award (lifetime achievement award in Cantopop) 1999
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song Left Right Hand 1999
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Top Ten Albums for Countdown With You 1999
• CRHK Ultimate Song Chart Awards Best Song Award for Left Right Hand 1999
• Metro Radio Hit Music Awards Best Song Award for Left Right Hand 1999
• Metro Radio Hit Music Awards Top Ten Best Hits for Left Right Hand 1999
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Awards Music Salute Award 2000
• Mingpao Weekly Outstanding Male Singer Award 2000
• Ming Pao Weekly Grand Salute Award for Passion Tour 2000
• Joint Award by RTHK, CR, TVB & Metro Radio for the Best Album of the Year winner with album Untitled 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Male Singer Award 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Best Concert Award for Passion Tour 2001
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Top Ten Chinese Songs for Passing Dragonfly 2001
• "Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards Golden Song Award for Fever 2001
• "Sprite My Choice" China Original Music Pop Chart Awards Millennium Outstanding Achievement Award 2001
• RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards Silver Jubilee Award of Excellence 2002
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 2003
• Chinese Pop Music Media Awards Top Ten Chinese Songs for So Far So Close 2003
• CASH My All-time Favorite Song for I 2003
• CASH Golden Sail Music Awards Best Alternative Composition for So Far So Close 2003
• Hong Kong Film Awards winner Best Actor for Days of Being Wild 1991
• Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival winner Best Original Movie Song for White-haired Beauty 1993
• Chinese Performance Art Association Special Achievement Award for Farewell My Concubine 1993
• Japanese Critic Society Best Actor Award (Foreign Movie) for Farewell My Concubine 1994
• Hong Kong Film Awards Best Original Film Song Award for Chase 1995
• Winner of HK Film Critics Society Best Actor Award for Ashes of Time 1994
• Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, Udn, Phoenix TV, and World Journal Global Top Ten Chinese Movie Stars Award 1996
• Ming Pao Weekly Performing Arts Awards Most Outstanding Actor for Inner Senses 2002
• Nikkei Entertainment Japan Top Ten Best Actors in Asia 2004
• NHK Japan Top Ten Favorite Movie Stars 2006
• Hong Kong Film Awards Eternal Glory Performing Arts Award 2004
• Hong Kong Film Awards Most Favorite Actor Award in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema 2005
• Hong Kong Film Awards Silver Jubilee Best Actor Award 2006
• Standard Chartered Hong Kong Platinum Multi-Talented Award 2000
• CCTV-MTV Music Awards Biggest Asian Artist Award 2000
• Sina China Top 10 Cultural Idols of the 20th century 2003
• Sina China Most Missed Artist 2007
• Sohu China "Remembering My 1997" Most Memorable Celebrity 2007
• CNNGO Asia's 25 greatest actors of all time 2010
• CNNGO Top 5 Global Music Icon No.3 2010
• CNNGO 19 most beautiful men from Hong Kong cinema No. 1 2010

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• Cinema of Hong Kong

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, World Music Volume 2: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, BBC Radio, 2000, ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Klein, A. (2003). Farewell, Leslie Cheung. Los Angeles City Beat. Retrieved 17 December 2005, from [3].
• Kei Mori, "夢想之欠片 (Broken pieces of dreams)", Renga Shyobo Shinshya Co Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-902603-55-1
• Chitose Shima, "Leslie Cheung Interview", All About Leslie, p25–40, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 1999, ISBN 4-916199-10-3
• Chitose Shima, Time of Leslie Cheung, Sangyo Henshu Center Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, 2004, ISBN 4-916199-59-6
• City Entertainment Editor Committee, Leslie Cheung's Movie World 2 (1991–1995), City Entertainment, Hong Kong, 2006, ISBN 962-8114-98-0
• De Hui, Leslie Cheung's Movie Life I, II, Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, Shanghai, 2006, ISBN 7-80678-557-4.

External links[link]

• Leslie Cheung at the Internet Movie Database
• レスリー・チャン（張國榮）スマイル
• [4] In Memory Of Leslie Cheung
• Leslie Cheung Cyberworld Official website of Red Mission, providing material on Cheung's music, movies, interviews, photos, etc.
• Leslie Cheung Fan Club of China Official website of Leslie Cheung Fan Club of China, providing material on Cheung's music, movies, interviews, photos, radio, forum, etc.
• Leslie Cheung Internet Fan Club Official website of the Leslie Cheung Internet Fan Club
• 张国荣遗书版本多
• 张国荣真假遗书之谜
• 张国荣遗书出现第二个版本全文寥寥五十余字

[Category:1956 births]]