Leslie Cheung

He was born the youngest of 10 children. His parents divorced when he was young. He studied at Leeds University in northern England. In 1976 he took second prize at ATV Asian Music Contest[?]. He left the music business at the peak of his career after he had reached superstar status in Hong Kong. He returned to music only after a long hiatus. His fans passionately called him Gor-gor (哥哥, "elder brother" in Cantonese), started by Joey Wong[?] in A Chinese Ghost Story.

Together with Chow Yun-Fat he starred in John Woo's 1986 action movie A Better Tomorrow. In Stanley Kwan's Rouge[?], he played an opium-smoking playboy. He also teamed up with Woo in Once a Thief[?].

Cheung was one of few Hong Kong actors who dared to take on openly gay roles. He was well known for his movie, Farewell, My Concubine (1993). In it, he portrayed a opera singer who fell in love with his fellow performer. Farewell, My Concubine shared the Palme d'Or with The Piano in 1993 in the Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. He also played a role in the movies Days of Being Wild[?] (1991) and Happy Together, (1997) directed by Wong Kar-wai.

His successful albums include The Wind Blows On (1981).

He committed suicide in Hong Kong on April 1, 2003 by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel[?]. He was 46 years old. He left a note saying he had been suffering from emotional problems.

Despite the scare of SARS, many of Cheung's fans from around the world flew to Hong Kong to attend his memorial service on April 5, 2003. Cheung's family urged the tabloids to let Cheung rest in peace. During Cheung's twenty six years career, the tabloids had reported numerous rumors about Cheung's sexual orientation and his relationship with Mr. Tong and Kenneth, which were later to be his life partner for 20 years. This suggests that he indeed was gay and he finally confronted these rumors in 1995 as well as his recent film roles as gay characters, shortly after a tabloid caught a snapshot of him and Mr. Tong holding hands together. Those non-stop rumors, combined with what he believed was a sagging career had troubled Cheung for years and often caused him depression. It is unknown if the tabloids or what he perceived as a sagging film and music career were the cause of the emotional problems mentioned in his suicide note.

Filmography

• Yee do hung gaan (Inner Senses) [?] (异度空间 2002)
• From Ashes to Ashes[?] (煙飛煙滅 2000)
• Okinawa Rendez-vous[?] (戀戰沖繩 2000)
• And I Hate You So[?] (小亲亲 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)
• Knock Off[?] (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 known 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)
• 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 1990)
• 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)
• Dragon family[?] (龍之家族 1988)
• A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂 1987)
• A Better Tomorrow II[?] (英雄本色 II 1987)
• Rouge (1987)[?] (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)
• Fate[?] (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)
• Salute[?] (喝采 1980)
• hung lou chun sheng chun[?] (紅樓春上春 1978)

External Link

• IMDB - Leslie Cheung (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Cheung,%20Leslie)