Lau Kar-leung
| Lau Kar-leung | |||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | 劉家良 (Traditional) | ||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | 刘家良 (Simplified) | ||||||||||||||||
| Pinyin | Liú Jiāliáng (Mandarin) | ||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Lau4 Gaa1-loeng4 (Cantonese) | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 July 1936 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
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| Other name(s) | Liu Chia-liang | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | director, action choreographer, actor | ||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1953-present | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jean Reimer (1984-) | ||||||||||||||||
| Children | Jeanne Lau, Rosemary Lau | ||||||||||||||||
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Lau Kar-leung (born July 28, 1936), also known as Liu Chia-liang, is a Hong Kong-based Chinese actor, filmmaker, choreographer and martial artist. Lau is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw Brothers Studio. One of his most famous works is The 36th Chamber of Shaolin which starred Gordon Liu, as well as Drunken Master II which starred Jackie Chan.
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History [edit]
Before becoming famous, Lau worked as an extra and choreographer on black and white Wong Fei-hung movies. He teamed up with fellow Wong Fei-hung choreographer Tong Gaai on the 1963 Hu Peng-directed wuxia film South Dragon, North Phoenix. Their collaboration would continue on until the mid-1970s.
In the 1960s he became one of Shaw Brothers' main choreographers and had a strong working relationship with director Chang Cheh, working on many of Chang's films as a choreographer (often alongside Tong Gaai) including The One-Armed Swordsman, as well as other Shaw Brothers wuxia films, such as The Jade Bow. After a split with Chang on the set of Marco Polo, Lau evolved into a director during the sudden boom of martial arts films in the early 1970s. He occasionally did choreography work for non-Shaw films as well, such as Master of the Flying Guillotine.
After Shaw Brothers collapsed in the 1980s, Lau moved on and continued directing and choreographing films, among them Drunken Master II. However, the film's star Jackie Chan and director Lau clashed over the style of fighting, resulting in Lau leaving the set before the shooting of the final fight scene, which was then taken over by Chan.[1] Most recently, Lau performed acting and choreography work for Tsui Hark's 2005 film Seven Swords.
Mark Houghton opened the Lau Family Hung Kuen school Lau Family Hung Gar academy in Hong Kong / Fanling with the support of his sifu, Lau. He gave his disciple the permission to spread the art of Lau Family Hung Kuen to chosen students. There are already branches in England, Philippines, and China.
Personal life [edit]
Lau was the third child of Lau Cham (Lau Jaam, 劉湛), a martial arts master who studied Hung Gar under Lam Sai-wing, a student of Wong Fei-hung.[2] He has a brother who makes a living in the film industry, actor/choreographer Lau Kar-wing, as does Gordon Liu, Lau's pupil and adopted godson to Lau's father, Lau Cham. His nephew Lau Kar-yung (son of his older sister)is also an actor, choreographer and director. Another nephew, Lau Wing-kin (Lau Kar-wing's son) is also an actor, and assisted Lau Kar-leung with action-directing Seven Swords.
Lau's wife is Mary Jean Reimer, whom he married in 1984. One of Lau's former girlfriends is Kara Hui.[3] Lau currently resides in Hong Kong with his wife and their daughters Jeanne and Rosemary.
Lau begun training students Hung Gar before the age of 5 and was already quite proficient in the style. Bruce Lee treated Lau as an elder uncle and asked him for advice in regards to his film career.
Selected filmography [edit]
As director [edit]
- The Spiritual Boxer (1975)
- Challenge of the Masters (1976)
- Executioners From Shaolin (1977)
- 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
- Breakout from Oppression (1978)
- Shaolin Mantis (1978)
- Heroes of the East (1978)
- The Spiritual Boxer II (1979)
- Dirty Ho (1979)
- Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)
- My Young Auntie (1980)
- Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
- Martial Club (1981)
- Legendary Weapons of China (1982) (also writer)
- Cat vs. Rat (1982)
- The Lady Is The Boss (1983)
- Invincible Pole Fighter (1984) (also writer)
- Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985) (also writer)
- Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)
- Tiger On The Beat (1988)
- Mad Mission V: The Terracotta Hit (1989)
- Tiger On The Beat II (1990)
- Drunken Master II (1994)
- Drunken Master III (1994)
- Drunken Monkey (2002)
As martial arts choreographer [edit]
As actor [edit]
- Story of the White-haired Demon Girl (1959)
- Temple of the Red Lotus (1965)
- Challenge of the Masters (1976)
- Heroes of the East (1979)
- Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)
- My Young Auntie (1981)
- Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
- Invincible Pole Fighter (1984)
- Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985)
- Evil Cat (1987)
- Pedicab Driver (1989)
- New Kids In Town (A.K.A New Killers In Town) (1990)
- The Banquet (1991)
- The Twin Dragons (1992)
- Operation Scorpio (1992)
- Drunken Master II (1994)
- Drunken Monkey (2002)
- Seven Swords (2005)
External links [edit]
- Lau Kar-leung at the Internet Movie Database
- Lau Kar Leung's website
- Lau Family Hung Kuen in Hongkong
- Hong Kong Cinemagic: Lau Kar Leung
References [edit]
- ^ Golden Shadows presents: Drunken Master 2. Sunday 1 September 2002, Melbourne
- ^ YesAsia.com: Feature Article: Lau Kar-leung: from Brave Lad of Canton to Hero of the East
- ^ Kara Hui Ying-Hung Biography at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
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