Hong Kong (November 03, 2018): The Hong Kong film producer Raymond Chow who introduced martial arts legend Bruce Lee to the world and was considered as the Godfather of Hong Kong films has died at the age of 91.
Legendary Hong Kong film producer Raymond Chow, who introduced Bruce Lee and Jacki Chan to the world and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the big screen, has died at 91.
Raymond Chow helped nurture a pool of Hong Kong talents and brought them to the international stage”, said Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development in a statement.
He produced more than 170 films over his career, according to industry website IMDB, and nurtured the careers of several action stars.
Chow first worked with Lee on “The Big Boss” — released as “Fists of Fury” in the United States — in 1971, making the actor a martial arts legend overnight. The film broke box office records both in Hong Kong and overseas.
Chow was a journalist who became a publicist for Shaw Brothers Studios, which churned out hundreds of films and popularised the kung fu genre. Studio founder Run Run Shaw soon moved Chow to the production side of the business after Chow complained that the movies – made on low budgets and short schedules – weren’t good enough.
“I said I did not think I could keep my job because the pictures were so bad,” Chow told Asiaweek magazine in 1983. Frustrated with Shaw Brothers’ assembly-line ethic, he created his own production company, Golden Harvest, in 1970.
Tributes have poured in, with Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon thanking Chow for “taking a chance” on her father.
Our condolences go out to Raymond Chow’s family. Thank you Raymond for taking a chance on a young Bruce Lee and helping him to realize his dream. Rest in peace, Raymond.
…#BruceLee #RaymondChow pic.twitter.com/tmMECWeNaj— Bruce Lee (@brucelee) 2 November 2018
Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam said in a statement that Chow’s “contribution to the golden era of Hong Kong movies cannot go unremarked”, the South China Morning Post reported.
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