Yuen Siu-tien


Yuen Siu-tien was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. In the late 1970s, Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So in three films: Drunken Master, Story of Drunken Master and his final film Dance of the Drunk Mantis. He starred in several films with film actors like Jackie Chan and under the direction of his real-life son Yuen Woo-ping.

Film career

Yuen trained in the traditional Peking opera role of wusheng. He began his acting career at age 37, in the first Wong Fei-hung film to star Kwan Tak-hing, Story of Huang Feihong, though his film appearances were rare until the late 1950s. He is best known for portraying mentors and kung fu masters in his films, and featured in almost 150 films throughout his career.
One of his internationally best-known films came late in his career, Drunken Master, in which he played Beggar So, an old hermit who had mastered the art of drunken boxing, aiding a young Wong Fei-hung, played by Jackie Chan. The role was a reprisal of the one he had played in another of Chan's films, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. At the time, Drunken Master proved to be the most successful film to feature Chan. The film portrayed Wong Fei-hung as a young and mischievous rascal as opposed to the venerable, Confucian master of kung fu played in many films by Kwan Tak-hing. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly helped to boost the career of the then 66-year-old actor. Yuen reprised the role of the beggar So for three further films, Dance of the Drunk Mantis, Story of Drunken Master, and World of the Drunken Master.

Personal life

Yuen is the father of eleven children, six of whom assumed various professional roles in the Hong Kong film industry. The five eldest sons were known collectively as the "Yuen clan" and often worked in combinations on many films:
  • Yuen Woo-ping - director and action director
  • Yuen Cheung-yan - actor, director, stuntman and action director
  • Yuen Shun-yi - actor, stuntman and action director
  • Yuen Yat-chor - actor, stuntman, and action director
  • Yuen Chun-yeung - actor, stuntman and action director
  • Yuen Lung-chu - actor and stuntman
Yuen had two additional sons and three daughters.

Death

On January 8, 1979, Yuen died of a heart attack. He was 66 years old. Yuen was considered for the role of Beggar So in the 1979 film Magnificent Butcher alongside Sammo Hung, but died as production of the film began. Yuen was replaced by Fan Mei-sheng. Filming was continued with Fan's Drunken Master character, which necessitated reshooting some of Yuen's scenes. However, Fan's character is never referred to as "Beggar So" in this film.

Legacy

Filmography

Films

TV series