49 Facts About Yam Kim-fai

Since 1972, Yam Kim-fai enjoyed singing in private with a live band and was often accompanied by her protegee Loong who would read the lyrics out for her until her eyesight improved with surgery.

Yam Kim-fai was not the one correctly identified by any of the contestants.

Yam Kim-fai had a will drawn up and left her estate to families, including Yam Kim-fai Bing Yee.

When Yam Kim-fai was 14, her aunt, another Cantonese opera actress, taught Yam Kim-fai the foundation courses.

Yam Kim-fai earned her place, rising to prominence and eventually becoming a male lead at the age of 17, but switching between being male lead and playing second fiddle to Wong or other actresses such as Chan Pei Mui, who were more experienced and well-known, for another few years before venturing out on her own as male lead in many all-female troupes in "rooftop theatres".

Yam Kim-fai observed that male leads were called sissies in the street while the jingles below reflected the sentiment about those troupes.

Many troupes with male performers followed her first own with Tsui Yan Sam as co-star not long since Yam Kim-fai was initially hired to perform in a temporary theatre built in greyhound racing stadium.

Yam Kim-fai had quite a fan base of mostly married ladies right out of the gate, including the wife of Mr Bat Leoi Gim who hired Yam Kim-fai to perform in 1935.

For ten years, Yam Kim-fai made Macau her home, when her hometown in Guangdong fell to the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

One man became her godfather and vocal style tutor while the other man helped manage her finance and held the purse strings at times, looking after the war chest Yam Kim-fai built up in Macau.

Yam Kim-fai was the male lead in many Cantonese opera stage productions, in Macau initially and in Hong Kong since 1945, opposite many actresses, including Sheung Hoi Mui, Che Sau Ying, Lan-Hing Tam and Tang Pik Wan.

Yam Kim-fai was known since very young as the single financial source of immediate family, extended families, big spender co-star and associated families.

Yam Kim-fai had a reputation of being very generous, footing the bills when her troupe was in trouble.

Yam Kim-fai paid for the four-year long production of a film in Cantonese.

Yam Kim-fai is in Qing Dynasty attire including pao, mao and magua for the first two below, both set in late 1800s and early 1900s.

In movies from 1951 to 1968, Yam Kim-fai played the male lead opposite just about every female lead, young like daughter of Leung Sing Bor included.

Law Yim Hing and Ng Kwun Lai seldom shared the stage with Yam Kim-fai but made many films with her.

Yam Kim-fai was the "speak softly and carry a big stick" member of Cantonese opera community but without cult of personality character.

Between 1953 and 1956, Bak played second fiddle to either Fong Yim Fun or Hung Sin Nui when Yam Kim-fai was the male lead opposite any one of them or Chan Yim Nung before that.

Yam Kim-fai introduced her six backup singers, her 'next' generation, to the wider audience with a song from 1964.

The short film shows the level of maturity Yam Kim-fai has achieved after years of struggle.

People are therefore naive about the role Yam Kim-fai played in making Loong the success story some contemporary performers know as the prequel of their own career in Cantonese opera.

Sooner rather than later according to Yam Kim-fai, she kept in touch with Loong by long-distance phone calls only during overseas tours, even during those four months in 1975.

Yam Kim-fai's trip was promised to be all paid for should she take it.

Yam Kim-fai visited sometimes but never planted herself front and center to get the Press's attention.

Loong was front and center off stage on behalf of Yam Kim-fai to greet senior members including but not limited to Hung Sin Nui, Leung Sing Bor and Ho Fei Fan.

Master, growing up tough, passed the test of the Shaolin Wooden Men Alley like Yam Kim-fai did, knows too well what it takes.

Yam Kim-fai shared with only Loong how to use the mouth and surrounding cavities as an instrument while others learnt to sing like Yam Kim-fai directly or indirectly.

Loong and crew, so used to Yam Kim-fai looking over their shoulders, were not natural in speaking up on film set in 1976.

Yam Kim-fai's hands were tied by coat tails back in 1980s.

Yam Kim-fai went one step further by telling her supporters to see herself in Loong when time spent with Loong came to fruition.

Lam gave the lad of his choice a brand name just like Yam Kim-fai gave Loong the Chor Fung Ming brand name in 1982.

Early 1980s, with her successor well established as a professional career Cantonese opera performer, Yam Kim-fai moved to Canada.

Yam Kim-fai was a well-known enthusiast just like her husband and a renowned vocalist.

Yam Kim-fai let Loong run free generally since day one but didn't refrain from making sure Loong learn only what's good.

Yam Kim-fai was embarrassed by any association with that episode of her life in 1960s but it has always been beneath a master to throw a "hissy fit" under any circumstances.

Yam Kim-fai allegedly declined to sing in front of members of her last birthday trip.

Yam Kim-fai asked for nothing else, tangible or intangible, implicit or explicit, from them, except studying hard.

In 1999, the 10th anniversary of passing of Yam Kim-fai, Loong disclosed the first time on camera, Yam Kim-fai's rule of thumb, "Be Natural".

Yam Kim-fai was backstage, as well as in the audience, on 20 February 1989 when Loong's troupe, Chor Fung Ming Cantonese Opera Troupe, performed The Purple Hairpin for Tong Wah, according to one veteran audience who kept that ticket as souvenir.

Loong calls herself "old school" continuing to follow Yam Kim-fai's teaching to a T even though, as described by the Press, already "in a league of her own".

In 1952 film The Twelve Beauties, height difference was close to a foot when Yam Kim-fai still stood fairly straight in the Fantasy of Heaven of Parting Sorrow, ending scene of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Yam Kim-fai only finished grade school while Loong did not finish high school when they had roles like Jia Baoyu in 1943 and 1964 respectively.

In 1964, Yam Kim-fai taught Loong, age 20 with one year of formal training, line by line and word by word while there is no information as to how Yam Kim-fai came to be in that role so well received in Macau.

In 1960 for charity, Yam Kim-fai performed a duet with the late Leung Sing Bor, the song called "Gaoping level".

Yam Kim-fai reprised her role as Liang Shanbo more than once since the title debut.

Yam Kim-fai made many CDs with many co-stars or solo since what believed to be the first one in 1937.

Naamyam is one particular type of songs that Yam Kim-fai is very respected for.

Yam Kim-fai has shared this lighter, but cleaned up, side with her protegee as well and put Loong on the map globally with just one move.