Veteran Hong Kong actor and fight choreographer Fung Hark-On passed away of cancer on March 2. He was 65 years old.
You know his face but unless you are a committed fan of Asian martial arts cinema, you probably don’t know his name. Fung Hark-On (馮克安)is ubiquitous on screen and his many colourful recent credits include one half of the blind guzheng assassins (Kung Fu Hustle, 2004), Master Cheng who duels with Donnie (Ip Man 2, 2010) and Old Zhao (Tai Chi 0, 2012). He is the one with the sinister smile ever ready to bust out a move to throw protagonists off course. If life were a game, he is the perfect Double Dragon final boss.
On screen, Fung carved a name for himself playing the troublemaker while off screen, he was an in-demand fight choreographer who went on to become an action director. Even though he was never the lead actor, his performances are memorable because he played his thugs with such passionate intensity that you are left genuinely hating his guts. From violating maidens in 70s kungfu classics like Iron Fisted Monk (1977) and The Magnificent Butcher (1979) to pushing Brigitte Lin’s character around in Police Story (1985), Fung’s villains grab attention by the throat.
The charismatic actor also garnered attention and admiration for his martial arts prowess, impressing many with his Mantis Fist fight style in Iron Fisted Monk and Warriors Two (1978). He was very much in the thick of the action and worked with legendary names like Chang Cheh and Lau Kar-Leung. He collaborated many times with action maestros Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, John Woo and Frankie Chan.
Here’s a little trivia: Fung was indeed the rarest of breed – he starred in the directorial debuts of four fanboys who went on to pack the punches in Hong Kong’s action genre – John Woo (The Young Dragons, 1975); Lau Kar-Leung (The Spiritual Boxer, 1975); Sammo Hung (The Iron Fisted Monk, 1977); Yuen Woo-Ping (Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow, 1978).
Fung started off as a stuntman so his move into action choreography made sense. Among his most notable works as an action director are The Young Master (1980), Last Hero In China (1984), Police Story and Magnificent Warriors (1987). He also dabbled in directing making four movies in the 80s to early 90s.
Fung Hark-On was born in 1950, the seventh child in a family of 11 children, and was considered showbusiness royalty. His father was Feng Feng, a leading man back in the 40s before an accident steered him towards character roles, and his sisters were Petrina Fung Bo-bo, the famed child actress, and Alice Fung So-bo, a reliable presence in HK television dramas. Fung himself was a child actor in the 50s and a protégé of Madam Fan Fok-Fa at the Peking Opera Academy.
He was a fixture in Shaw Brothers movies before leaving to Golden Harvest for bigger roles. There, Fung formed his own stunt team and worked with martial arts actors like Leung Kar-Yan, Lee Hoi-San, Lau Kar-Wing and Casanova Wong. He made his last public appearance in 2015 at a Hong Kong Stuntman Association event.
To truly appreciate the grace and grit of Fung Hark-On, check out this tribute video (credit to fokpolo on youtube):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHkeddEnvGQ
About the author
Wai Yee
Wai Yee works in communications and aspires to one day produce her own graphic novels. Mecha anime, Brother Fatt, Shammi Kapoor - a childhood of pop culture buffet has introduced her to lifelong companionship in the good, bad and ugly of Asian cinemas.
Read all posts by Wai Yee
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