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Over
the years, Kenny Bee has amassed an impressive number
of credits to his acting résumé. While
his film career began in the mid-seventies and has
continued to the present day, some would be surprised
to know that Bee actually got his big break not
as an actor, but as a charter member of Hong Kong's
premier seventies rock band: The Wynners. With their
upbeat style and charming good looks, The Wynners
enjoyed a massive fan following. Taking a page from
American singers-turned-actors, Bee and fellow bandmates
Alan Tam and Anthony Chan used their popularity
as musicians to break into the film business.
Bee's filmography
is filled with many diverse types of acting roles.
In the 1980s, he seemed to specialize in romantic
comedies, acquitting himself nicely in such films
as the recent Shaw Brothers re-release Let's
Make Laugh (1983) and Shanghai Blues (1984), which was directed by noted auteur Tsui
Hark. In the 1990s, Bee starred in several comedies,
most notably teaming up with box office king Stephen
Chow for Fist of Fury 1991 and its humorous
sequel. Not limiting himself to comedic roles, Bee
also worked on a pair of swordplay epics during
that period, Corey Yuen Kwai's Savior of the
Soul (1991) and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo's Moon
Warriors (1992), both of which co-starred Andy
Lau and Anita Mui. One of Kenny Bee's best roles
of the nineties balanced the comedic with the dramatic,
as he portrayed a down-on-his-luck chef in yet another
Tsui Hark-directed film, The Chinese Feast (1995), which also featured late Leslie Cheung.
Sadly, Bee recently
filed for personal bankruptcy. Since the late nineties,
the actor has worked tirelessly to pay off his debt,
but the estimated HK$250 million debt proved too
large a number for the actor to handle himself.
Nevertheless, the former Wynner appeared in no less
than six films in 2002, one of which was the sixteenth
installment of the Troublesome Night series.
(Sanjuro 2003) |