Taiwanese singer Denny Tsao was famous for songs such as Wild Youth and Passionate Girls. Photo: Denny Tsao/Instagram
Taiwanese singer and television host Denny Tsao Hsi-ping, who was popular in Singapore and Malaysia during the 1980s, has died suddenly at the age of 66.
Taiwanese media reported on Dec 30 that he was found dead by his godson at his residence in Sanchong, New Taipei City, around 10pm on Dec 29.
The police and firefighters confirmed later that he had been dead for some time. Preliminary investigations showed that he died from an internal medical condition.
Tsao released his first album Wild Youth in 1982 and rose to fame with the title song. He also starred in the 1982 film of the same name, alongside actors such as Kenny Bee, Sylvia Peng and Chu Hai-ling.
With his unique visual style and dynamic voice, Tsao quickly became an idol singer, earning him the nickname “Taiwan’s Hideki Saijo”. He cemented his popularity with another hit, Passionate Girls (1983).
He also ventured into hosting. He was a regular cast member on the variety show Lung Hu Variety King (1998 to 2000), and also hosted the late-night show, whose Chinese title can be translated as Hot Girls Unite.
Tsao was a hugely popular singer in Singapore and Malaysia during the 1980s, visiting the region frequently to promote his albums, according to Chinese-language Shin Min Daily News.
Beyond television appearances, he also interacted with fans at autograph sessions held at shopping malls. His longest stay was over 50 days – to promote the album Love Trap (1985) – which reportedly included a trip to Thailand.
Tsao’s last performance in Singapore was in 2005, when he took part in a concert to raise funds for the Kidney Dialysis Foundation.
Having been away from Singapore for more than 10 years at that point, he told the now-defunct evening daily Lianhe Wanbao then that he had to cut back on performances to care for his 83-year-old father, who suffered from kidney disease. His participation in the charity concert was partly due to his father and his wish to do his part for kidney patients in Singapore.
Tsao was born into a family of doctors. He has three older brothers and one younger brother, and as the fourth child, he is affectionately called “Fourth Brother” by fans. He was involved in a property dispute with his brothers in 2002, as he accused them of abandoning their father.
He stepped back from entertainment after his father died in 2005 and relocated to Thailand. He did not start appearing on Taiwanese variety shows again until after 2010.
His last post on Facebook was on Dec 28, after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coastal city of Yilan the previous day.
Sharing a picture of his breakfast, he said he would leave everything to fate. He added he had become less bothered by things after experiencing the massive 1999 earthquake in Taiwan. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
