Dean_Shek

Dean Shek

Dean Shek

Hong Kong film actor and producer (1949–2021)

Dean Shek (17 June 1949[1] – 20 September 2021),[2] also known as Dean Shek Tin, was a Hong Kong film actor and producer with over 72 film credits to his name. Shek was perhaps best known as Professor Kai-hsien in the 1978 film Drunken Master, Lung Sei in the 1987 film A Better Tomorrow II, and Snooker in the 1990 film The Dragon from Russia.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life

With ancestral roots from Tianjin, China, Shek was born as Lau Wai-sing on 17 June 1949, Beijing, before moving to Hong Kong at the age of 3.[3] There, he attended the Shung Tak Catholic English College before studying filmmaking, acting and voice acting at Shaw Brothers Studio's actors training program in 1968.[4]

Career

Acting

Shek began his career as a contracted actor at Shaw Brothers Studio in 1968,[5] making his first brief appearance in the film Twin Blades of Doom (1969). He received more substantial roles at Shaws, in musicals such as The Singing Killer, romantic films including A Time For Love (1970), comedies such as The Human Goddess (1972) and martial arts films such as The Fists of Vengeance (1972).

Shek left Shaw Brothers in 1973. The same year, he appeared in Master with Cracked Fingers, the first film to feature Jackie Chan in a starring role. He made his directorial debut in 1975 with The Monk, and worked as assistant director on Black Alice (1975), A Queen's Ransom (1976), Iron Fisted Monk (1977).

Throughout the late 1970s, Shek continued to work with the likes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung on period kung fu films including Broken Oath (1977), Warriors Two (1978), Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978), Drunken Master (1978), Odd Couple (1979) and Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979).

Shek is credited as producer on 22 films, most of which were for the production company Cinema City & Films Co., which he co founded with Karl Maka and Raymond Wong in 1980.[6] Throughout the 1980s, he appeared in action, crime and comedy films such as Aces Go Places and John Woo's A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987). He also directed four films during the period, which were The Perfect Wife?! (1983), A Family Affair (1984), Kung Hei Fat Choy (1985) and The Family Strikes Back (1986), which were all box office hits.[4]

Final film and retirement from acting

Shek played his final role as Uncle Choi in the 1991 action film, The Raid.

In 1992, Shek retired from acting at the age of 42, after working as a producer in 1992 fantasy horror film, Angel Hunter.

Recently, Shek made a return to acting with a cameo appearance in the 2016 film, The Bodyguard, which is directed by and starring Sammo Hung, and also produced by and guest starring Andy Lau.[7]

Shek last made his public appearance with his former Cinema City & Films Co. collaborators at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards.

Personal life

In 1979, Shek married Taiwanese actress Lau Chun-yue. They had several children together.[4] Shek's three main personal hobbies were cigar, golf and coffee.[8]

After retiring from the film industry, Shek ventured into and found success in the real estate industry.[3]

Shek died from cancer on 20 September 2021, at the age of 72. He had been diagnosed with the disease two months prior.[9]

Filmography

Films

More information Year, Title ...

Television series

More information Year, Title ...

References

  1. [1]
    SHEK Dean — 石天 — (1949.6.17−2021.9.20) director, screenwriter., In: filmarchive.gov.hk, Hong Kong Film Archive, pdf-file; 161 kB. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  2. [2]
    "細仔證實石天已逝 黃百鳴尊重亡友遺願未搞追思會". Oriental Press Group. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. [3]
    "搜房网：地产人物----石天 - 深圳搜房网". Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. [4]
    "Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild - Directors - Dean SHEK". Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Dean Shek Tin". Short Biographies. HKFilm.net. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  6. [6]
    "Sammo Hung (洪金宝)". biography. Jongo Knows. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  7. [7]
    "Sammo Hung does some serious damage in 'The Bodyguard'". City on Fire. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. [8]
    "他是影壇大佬，曾力捧哥哥張國榮，和黃百鳴等人共同創造影壇神話". Da Liu Lian. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  9. [9]
    "新藝城」元老石天10月已癌逝 家人盼低調 暫不辦追思". 噓！星聞. 2 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Dean_Shek, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.