Veteran HK filmmaker BIlly Tang, known as Hong Kong’s premier crime film director, died on July 2 at the age of 69.
He suffered from nasopharyngeal carcinoma and had been battling the disease for many years.
His death came as a surprise to many as he appeared to be in good spirits while attending a gathering of directors last month.
Tang started his showbiz career in the seventies as assistant director at RTV (Rediffusion Television) where he worked on the 1979 hit series Reincarnated.
Then at ATV (Asia Television Limited), Tang wrote, directed and produced classics such as Who’s The Winner and My Date With A Vampire.
He went on to direct a string of crime thrillers in the nineties, such as Dr. Lamb (1992), Those Were The Days (1995) and Chinese Midnight Express (1997).
He also worked on TVB Shaw’s hugely popular Flying Tiger II (2019), which starred Michael Miu, Bosco Wong, Kenneth Ma, and Ron Ng.
Tang’s most recent works include projects filmed in Malaysia such as Mandarin thriller film Death Trip (2015) and Cantonese action drama series The Impossible 3.
The made-in-Malaysia Death Trip (Mandarin title Duo Ming Lv Xing) starred Malaysian singer songwriter Victor Wong, South Korean actress Han Bo-reum, and Hong Kong actor Law Kar Ying along with familiar local faces like 988 radio deejay Chan Fong and TV actor Alvin Wong.
His last drama project, the yet to-be-aired web-drama The Impossible 3 (Cantonese title Fei Fan Sam Hap) was filmed at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park in November 2019, and starred Hong Kong A-listers Julian Cheung, Bosco Wong, and Chrissie Chau as the titular trio.
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