Legendary Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat passed away

Ng Man-tat

Veteran Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat also known as Wu Mengda died on Saturday (Feb 27) of liver cancer at the age of 70.

He was best known for his roles in movies with comedian Stephen Chow.  In 1989, Ng first acted alongside Stephen Chow, who would quickly turn into a frequent collaboration for Hong Kong style slapstick comedy. The duo made many classic movies and Ng is best remembered as the golden supporting actor in the minds of many movie fans.

Since 1990, he has been active in the film industry, opening the golden age of his acting career.   He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1991 with "All for the Winner" starring Stephen Chow.

Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat

Ng Man-tat and Stephen Chow films have accompanied many people during their childhoods.

These are "Tricky Brains," "God of Gamblers," "God of Gamblers II," "God of Gamblers III," "Fight Back to School," "Fight Back to School II," "King of Beggars," Royal Tramp," All for the Winner," "King of Comedy," "God of Cookery," and "Shaolin Soccer."

In 2001, the movie "Shaolin Soccer" in which he participated, broke the box office record for Hong Kong films.

Man Tat and Stephen were almost inseparable on screen in the ‘90s.  However, the old pair eventually parted ways and their close relationship for many years has since broken.

In 2019, Ng Man-tat talked about his friendship with Stephen Chow in a program, saying "Now we have a little feeling of being old and dead", and also expressed the hope that I can sit down and have a chat with Stephen. Anyway, get acquainted with each other, fate It's not easy."

Stephen Chow reaches out to Ng Man Tat after hearing the latter has liver cancer, reports says.

After fading out of the Hong Kong showbiz, Ng Man-tat took over filming TV dramas in the Mainland.
 

In 2014, Ng Man-tat was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment due to heart failure when filming a TV series in Hebei. After the rescue was successful, he was recuperating at home.

In recent years, there have been news of his poor physical condition.
Earlier when he was shooting a poster for the online movie "The Legend of Shaolin Temple", he had a sudden heart discomfort and kept rubbing his chest with his hands, showing pain on his face.

On February 22 this year, Hong Kong actor Tian Qiwen confirmed in an interview with Hong Kong media that Ng Man-tat was diagnosed with liver cancer at the end of last year.

After that, Ng Man-tat went to Macau for treatment and then returned to Hong Kong for medical treatment.  At that time, he revealed that Ng Man-tat had completed the operation and was undergoing chemotherapy.

Ng Man-tat's wife and children were taking care of him. According to reports, on the 27th, Ng Man-tat’s condition has turned critical and has been transferred to the ICU for hospitalization. The doctor has notified his family to see him in the hospital.

The legendary actor died peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family.