Lam Ching Ying

Irony of fate, that Lam Ching Ying had more than a 100 movies, real popularity was brought along for him by the TV at the autumn of his life. And who presented him with this reward? His good old pal, the Taoist Priest, the lifelong friend. Ying was faithful to him all the way, and out of gratitude this role brightened up his closing years, giving him the fame, appreciation he deserved and longed for. Ying was the Taoist Priest himself. Nothing proves that better then the fact, that he was buried with his favorite Priest shoes, robe and hat. Ying did believe that he would strongly need those after that troublesome intermezzo. So much for his indifference in this role...

Although the film market was in a depression in 1995, ATV still asked him to star in The Vampire Expert, which earned him rave reviews. The director felt, no one is better playing the Vampire Slayer than Lam. He was hired with a million dollars salary to work in the series. A far cry from his time as a 60HK dollars a day stuntman! In 1996 he made the sequel, Vampire Expert II.

By the time I'm writing these lines, I have only seen the second series, as I have it on DVD from a Japanese seller, who released it in 2005. (Note:Since then I have seen the first series and my opinion is the same!)   It's a special edition, and all I can say is, that if you have the opportunity, try to get hold if it, because it's fantastic! Unfortunately there's no English subtitles, but you can easily read from face expressions, and the plotline. The episodes are thrilling, the costumes are beautiful, the sets are rich and the actors and actresses are very convincing and nice. Our Ying has never been more elegant and solemn, with his touched with grey hair. His eyes are sparkling with wisdom, he is serious, but attentive and very often has witty scenes as well. I can't imagine that he had health problems and I just can't accept the fact that he only had a year or less remained. He was full of life, and energy. I try to console myself in the belief, that he had a very good time, enjoyed himself and his role.

At the end of every part, there is an ending collection with out-takes and bloopers. You can see him between takes, and on the set, making funny mistakes, forgetting lines, covering his whole face with the magic ink. He is adorable! He has a shy smile every time he has done something improperly, he's laughing nervously, trying to pull himself together, not burst out into laughter, but always looking very happy. And above all in these cherished moments you can hear his real voice. I don't know why he was always dubbed. His speaking voice was a bit harshly veiled, very quiet, although remarkable.For me the most heartbreaking and touching event was when in the very last scene he returned to his roots, performing in a Cantonese Opera play. The same persona, make-up, dress, gestures he wore and made 15 years ago in his first real success, The Prodigal Son. That was his farewell to the Vampire Expert series.

Shortly after that he accepted a TV role again. He signed for a series called Coincidentally. A ghost story with a love-line, almost the same cast as the Expert's. He is in a very serious role. He has his usual power against ghosts and evil creatures. This production deserves attention as well. I can see a remarkable change he went through in under a few months. He looks visibly aged.

I can't understand his friends who met him shortly before his death and reported him a little bit thinner than usually was, otherwise nothing attracted their notice. I'm really anxious to know if they had seen him in his very last role at all? It was called Monk At Thirty. A bitter-sweet TV drama-series. He has a horrible costume, playing a kind of imperative, with a fake long hair, what makes his appearance even worse. But nothing could hide his skinny, hollowed cheeks, the pale eyes, the thin mouth and his sorrowful look. He is not doing any actions at all, stunted quite strikingly. This look is perfect to his very last scene, a long, painful agony, he plays dreadfully drawn to life. I was devastated to watch him in pain knowing his future.

He was as stylish as he was in his entire life. Saying goodbye to his profession, his partners, his audience, his fans in this way. He knew that this was his swan-song and he would never ever appear on screen again. Nobody knew that this goodbye was forevever and he started his death-struggle for real.

                                          Sifu Lam's Departing