Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (, Jyutping: zoeng1 kwok3 wing4; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhāng Guóróng, Wades-Giles: Chang Kuo-jung)

Nick title "Gor-gor" (哥哥, "Older Brother" around Cantonese).

(September 12, 1956 - April 1, 2003).

One & actor, Cheung was among one of a couple creative person world health organization achieved awesome successes within two fields of music & film.

Childhood and Beginning of Career

Leslie Cheung was natural inside Kowloon, Hong Kong. Cheung was the youngest of Decade toddlers of a middle class personal. His father was the fairly easily-known tailor, whose customers involved U.s. actors, William Holden and Cary Grant. His parents divorced whenever he was quite immature. At a age of Long dozen, he was sent to England as a boarder at Norwich School. He began working as a barman then singing at a eating place at weekends. He was late admitted to Leeds University in northern England, where he majored inside Textile Project. He dropped away from Leeds University at the prevent of his number 1 school season & returned to Hong Kong due to the personal mishap. Around the radio locate within 1985, Cheung admitted that he experienced the fairly hard childhood.

Inside 1976, Cheung won the 2nd prize at Asian Music Contest held by Rediffusion Television Co. (RTV). He signed a locate the Rediffusion Television Co.(RTV), a foundation of Asian Television Co. (ATV) & began his career around show business. He likewise signed the locate Polydor Records for music and discharged Day Dreaming (1977) & ''Lover's Arrow (1979). A early times of his career was non easily. He was when booed off the stage in the period of a public performance. A number one 2 albums were non welcome per market & he experienced to left Polydor Records upon the prevent of his contract. His number one ever film, The Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber'' (紅樓春上春) of 1978, was a on line-point of his career: although he acted as a leading role & did does'nt require to become naked, a film itself was good of sale level sex jokes & involved expressed sex scenes, which he did non understand whilst he signed a contract. Around the conservative Chinese society as that of Hong Kong, such an appearance would made him stiff to become acclaimed late as a successful actor.

Cheung endured these early dents & more hardships in the career by owning firm act & personal appeal. When you took the period, he appeared around a total of short dramas & RTV serials, such as A Young Concubine (我家的女人), Professional Two dozen (甜甜廿四味), Pairing (��糊), & A Spirit Of The Brand (浣花洗�錄), which mass produced his title swell known within to the south east Asia.

Ascension to Fame

Around 1982, Cheung joined Capital Artists upon the prevent of his locate RTV, inside which he met Florence Chan, world health organization was his music professional in virtually all of his life since so. He besides met Anita Mui, another Cantopop idol, and built higher their hanker lasting friendly relationship. Within 1983, Cheung freed his number 1 hit song, A Wind Blows In. Around 1984, he freed his number 1 top decade hit song Monica, which became a number 1 then-supposed "fast" song that won RTHK 7th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. Monica led a fresh trend of Hong Kong in the mid Eighties demanded convenient & gumptious Cantopop songs that would become suitable for each dancing & listening. Blending a bit of of original Cantopops, also when Japanese hits of the day, Cheung began creating an embodiment of his have portable style. More top decade hit songs freed by Cheung around Capital Artist include Wild Wind 《�羈的風》 (around album In your Love Single, 1985) ,World health organization May be Sustaining Us《有誰共鳴》(around album Leslie Cheung: Allurement Us, 1986) & Mode of People Years《當年情》(too theme song of The Better Tomorrow, inside album Leslie Cheung: Temptingness Us, 1986). Mode of Victims Years《當年情》was as well a Gold of the Gold Songs of the month (Hong Kong's There is no.Ace hit song).

Due to a on line-starting point of his foremost film, Cheung experienced to work when the supporting roles inside his 2nd & third moving picture (Encore (1980), In Test (1981)). But, his talent within acting was acclaimed before long using a nomination of Better Supporting Actor for his role in In Test (Hong Kong Film Festival). He began acting as a leading role once again in the flick of Teenage Dreamers (1982) & virtually completely his more picture show since so. Until 1986, virtually all of the flick he included come teen motion picture. Among the children, Nomad(1982, directed by Patrick Tam Kar-ming) is distinguished when a landmark of Hong Kong "New Wave" picture show. Cheung's role of Louis, a epitome of teen angst, around Nomad won him his first nomination of Better Actor within Hong Kong Film Festival. Late, Cheung considered Nomad as his very number 1 "real" picture show.

When you took the instance, Cheung continued to work around a total of (TVB) TV serials, such as Another time Upon an Ordinary Girl (儂本多情) & A Fallen Personal (武林世家).

Around 1986, he joined Cinepoly Records Hong Kong and later published a album Summer Romance in 1987, which won the Best Selling CD of the year and IFPI Best Selling Album(Hong Kong). A profits of Summer Romance made him of these of a two top Cantopop idols inside Hong Kong (the more one was Alan Tam). Within 1988, he composed one of his virtually all popular songs Silence is Golden* (沉默是金) (Cantonese lyric by Samuel Hui). More popular albums published by Cheung in a time period of the period include Hot Summer (1988) Virgin Snow (1988) ''Leslie '89 (1989) Final Encounter (1989), and Salute(1990).

From either 1986 to 1989, Cheung acted inside many classic Hong Kong flick. Withwithin 1986, Cheung acted when the role Kit, a righteous & ideal immature bull in milestone flick A Better Tomorrow'' (John Woo),which led the trend of gang motion-picture show. Cheung's performance was widely considered a mark of him as a good actor. He cooperated by using Chow Yun-Fat and John woo at the 1st instance in that moving-picture show. Late, it too cooperated inside film A Better Tomorrow II(1987) and Once a Thief(1991). Around 1987, Cheung acted withwithin 2 more significant film in Hong Kong motion-picture show history. Within Stanley Kwan's Rouge, he acted Chen-Pang Chan, an infatuated, opium-smoking man-about-town, & the doomed lover of a beautiful prostitude, Fleur (Anita Mui). Within A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu-Tung), which set a fresh trend of ghost flick of the hybrid of martial arts & high-tech, Cheung acted Ling Choi Sin, a nice however fearful debt collector falling love by using the beautiful ghost (Joey Wong). These performances solidifed his appeal, making him a one of a better candidates of leading actor in the romance role. In the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards, he won a Better Actor Award for his performance when Yuddy in the Wong Kar-wai-directed Days of Being Wild (1990).

(*)Silence is Golden was number 1 performed as a duet by Cheung & Hui. It too has the Madrin & Taiwanese version & performed by numbers of more singers.

Retirement and Come-back

By using a popularity of Cheung & Tam-o'-shanter, a fans of both more began an extended-standing conflict. Within 1990, Cheung left the music business inside 1990 and immigrated to British Columbia, Canada at the peak of his career when he experienced eventually reached genius status inside Hong Kong. He was a number 1 human ever inside Cantopop history to have a retirement concert series, which run 33 sequentially nights (when he was 33 at a period) at Hong Kong Coliseum.

Inside 1992, he gained Canadian citizenship & before hanker returned to Hong Kong & his film career fallowing a long hiatus. When tremendously deliberation, inside 1995 he eventually recorded his number one post-"retirement" album, " Beloved", which was released by Rock Records, signalling a tenative link to to the music industry (when it single got songs from either moving-picture show soundtracks). The total of Cantopop celebrities were against his return & numbers of fans overseas felt betrayed that he got renege his retirement vow: it got wholeheartedly spent much of money to witness his farewell concert back inside 1989. His 1997 album "Red", however, was trueness "point of no return", when which he freed 2 or three extra successful albums & held two other series of concerts.

Occasionally of his down the road films didn't appeal to the general Chinese entertainment world when it is unlawful, also as uncharacteristically daring, around terms of floridity. Films such as Temptress Moon are also severely criticised by film enthusiasts & it was possibly disapproved of at a Cannes Film Festival, despite his powerful performance.

Sexual orientation
Cheung was bisexual, but despite many tabloid rumours he denied everything at a 1st half of his career. When his immigration to Canada, still, his stance relaxed well. He began to assume gay roles and wwhen one of a pack Hong Kong actors world health organization were unforced to launder soh when early as a Nineties.

Cheung's foremost gay role was Cheng Diyi around Farewell, My Concubine (1993) (a film shared the ''Palme 500'Or even'' around 1993 in the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film). the character Cheng Diyi was a Dan (one world health organization plays female roles) Beijing opera singer world health organization lessens gaga using his male singing partner. Within Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together (1997), Cheung played another gay role, Ho Po-wing, this period including graphic sex scenes, which had him nominations for a Better Actor Award inside two the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.

the tabloids renewed their fervor around reporting hearsay all about him, even so, when one of a tabloids caught a shot around 1995 of his holding hands by owning a second human, Daffy Tong Hok-Tak (唐鶴德), world health organization was later on revealed to become Cheung's partner since a Eighties. Inside the 1997 concert, Cheung decided to brave the hearsay & said that Tong was his "most beloved" fallowing his mother. Around the 2001 interview with TIME magazine's Asia edition, he came out as bisexual. A Hong Kong media sooner or later accepted them men's relationship & gave Tong a nickname "Tong Tong" (in the style of "Gor Gor"). Fallowing Cheung's demise, Tong took the home call at the Hong Kong newspapers for necrology, where he was utilized as a living better half (未亡人), & was known as a executor of Cheung's estate.

Death
Cheung committed suicide on April 1, 2003. He experienced leaped from either a Twenty-fourth floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, located at a Central district of Hong Kong Island. He left the suicide note* saying he experienced been suffering from either depression. He was 46 years old.

When one of a virtually all popular performing artist around Asia, Cheung's demise shocked a asian show biz & Chinese community. Rumour just all about his dying spread thus convenient that his personal urged tabloids to let Cheung rest inside peace, & to does'nt sensationalize about his intimate orientation & reasons for his suicide. A day after Leslie's demise, his long period partner, Tong, confirmed that Cheung suffered from either (clinical) depression & experienced been seeing head-shrinker for professional assistance for well-nigh a year. He likewise revealed that Cheung got attempted suicide around 2002. Late at his funeral, Cheung's niece disclosed that Cheung was inside severe sickness and suffered very much above a preceding month (2003).

Despite a threat of illness from either SARS and WHO's warning on visit Hong Kong; tens of hundreds to thousands, including celebrities & his fans, numerous from either more area of the globe like mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South East Asia, United States, Canada, etc. tended to Cheung's memorial service, which was held for the public, in April Five, 2003. Cheung's funeral get on April 7, 2003. For about a single year, Cheung's dying dominated headline inside Hong Kong & his songs were constantly on the air.

Cheung's survive album 'All about Follows a Wind' (一切隨風) was freed all about the year when his dying. Virtually all of the songs in the album were composed by him before his demise.

(*)Cheung's suicide note (translation): "Depression! Many thanks to all the friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh Mak (Cheung's last psychiatrist). This year had been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Fat Sister (Lydia Shum Din-ha). I have not done one single piece of bad thing in the whole life, Why does it have to be like this?"

Selected Awards

RTV Asian Song Contest Runners-up using a song "American Pie" 1977 RTHK 7th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with a song Monica 1984 TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Monica 1984 Commercial Radio 5th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1984 RTHK 8th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 不羈的風 1985 TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song 不羈的風 1985 Commercial Radio 6th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1985 RTHK 9th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 當年情 1986 TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with songs 有誰共鳴 & 當年情 1986 Commercial Radio 7th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1986 RTHK 10th ed. Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award 無心睡眠 ，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 無心睡眠 and Summer Romance CD RTHK 11th ed. Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with songs 沉默是金 and 無需要太多 1988 TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner and Most Popular Male Singer 1988 Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award winner 1988 TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with 由零開始，& too winner of theMost Popular Male Singer 1988 1989 Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award 1989 winner LESLIE 側面 album is also theIFPI Best Album of the Year 1989 RTHK Millennium Gold Song Award for MONICA 1999 RTHK 23rd edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 左右手 2000 Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Gold Song of the Year winner with song 左右手 2000 Metro Radio Song Chart of the Year and Gold Song of the Year winner with 左右手 2000 Mingpao Weekly Outstanding Male Singer Award winner 2000 Joint Award by RTHK, CR, TVB & Metro Radio for the Best Album of the Year winner with album Untitled 2001 ''China's Original Music Award 發燒 winner 2001 HK Film Awards winner Best Actor for Days of Being Wild 1991 Taiwan Golden Horse Film Awards winner Best Movie Music for the Theme Song of the Bride of White Hair (ç´…é¡?白髮) 1993 Japanese Critic Society Best Actor Award (Foreign Movie) for Farewell to My Concubine 1994 Winner of HK Film Critic Society Best Actor Award for Ashes of Time 1994

Discography

We Prefer Dreamin' (白版碟) 1977 Day Dreamin' 1977 情人箭 ('Lover's Arrow') 1979 風繼續吹 ('A Wind Blows In') 1983 一片痴 ('Craziness') 1983 張國榮 Leslie (Monica) 1984 å¤?日精é?¸ - 全賴有你 (Summer Right Collection - Completely Because of Smart shoppers) 1985 為你鍾情 ('In your Love Lone') 1985 張國榮(迷惑我) Leslie Cheung (Allure maine) 1986 ''Could have Higher 1986 張國榮 (當年情) ('A Past Love') 1986 愛慕 (國語) ('Admire') 1987 Summer Romance 1987 Hot Summer 1988 Virgin Snow 1988 Leslie '89 張國榮 (側面) ('Side Face') 1989 Salute 1989 Final Encounter 1989 ''Dreaming 1990 寵愛 (Beloved) 1995 紅 ('Red') 1996 From either Okay, In (only) 1996 Printemps 1998 這些年來 (EP) ('A lot These Years') 1998 陪你倒數 (Count Down By using That you) 1999 大熱 ('Heavy Heat') 2000 Leslie Ungentle (EP) 2000 Leslie Forever 2001 ''Crossover 2002 一切隨風 ('All about Follows a Wind') 2003

Filmography

Inner Senses (異度空間 2002) From Ashes to Ashes (煙飛煙滅 2000) Okinawa Rendez-vous (戀戰沖繩 2000) Double Tap (槍王 2000) The Kid (流星語 1999) Moonlight Express (星月童話 1999) Anna Magdalena (安娜瑪德蓮娜 1998) A Time to Remember (紅色戀人 1998) Ninth Happiness (九星報喜 1998) Happy Together (春光乍泄 1997) ''All's Well, Ends Well (97家有喜事 1997) Tristar (大三元 1996) Who's the Man, Who's the Woman (金枝玉葉 II 1996) Shanghai Grand (新上海灘 1996) Viva Erotica (色情男女 1996) Yang Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema (1996) Temptress Moon (風月 1996) The Chinese Feast (金玉滿堂 also referred to as: 滿漢全席 1995) The Phantom Lover (夜半歌聲 1995) It's a Wonderful Life (大富之家 1994) He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉葉 1994) Over the Rainbow Under the Skirt (記得……香蕉成熟時 II：初戀情人 1994) Long and Winding Road (錦繡前程 1994) Ashes of Time (東邪西毒 1994) The Bride with White Hair (白髮魔女傳 1993) The Bride with White Hair 2 (白髮魔女傳 II 1993) All's Well, Ends Well Too (花田喜事 1993) The Eagle Shooting Heroes: Dong Cheng Xi Jiu (射雕英雄傳之東成西就 1993) Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬 1993) All's Well, Ends Well (家有喜事 1992) Nam Kong Legend: Anti-Punk Squad (藍江傳之反飛組風云 1992) Party of a Wealthy Family (豪門夜宴 1991) Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳 1991) Once a Thief (縱橫四海 1991) A Chinese Ghost Story Part II (倩女幽魂 II：人間道 1990) Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit (新最佳拍檔 1989) Fatal love (殺之戀 1988) A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂 1987) A Better Tomorrow II (英雄本色 II 1987) Rouge (胭脂扣 1987) A Better Tomorrow (英雄本色 1986) Last Song in Paris (偶然 1986, 1982?) For Your Heart Only (為你鐘情 1985) Intellectual Trio (龍鳳智多星 1984) Behind the Yellow Line (緣份 1984) Double Decker (三文治 1984) Merry Christmas (聖誕快樂 1984) First time (第一次 1983) Little Dragon maid (楊過與小龍女 1983) Drummer, the (鼓手 1983) Nomad (烈火青春 1982) Teenage Dreamers (檸檬可樂 1982) Crazy Romance (求愛反斗星 1982) Energetic 21 (沖激２１ 1982) On Trial (失業生 1981) Encore (喝采 1980) Dog eats Dog (狗咬狗骨1978) Erotic Dreams of the Red Chamber'' (紅樓春上春 1978)