Chow Chung, born Sin Kam-wing in Hong Kong in 1932 into a family from Panyu, was raised by his mother after his seafaring father died young; during the war the family moved to Macau. After working as a waiter and a department-store salesman, he joined Ling Kwong Film Company in 1955 and made his screen debut in The Broken Lute. Moving on to Sun Luen and then Sun Ngai, he became one of the best-loved young leads of 1960s Cantonese cinema, working with directors such as Chun Kim, Ng Wui, Lee Fa, Lee Sun-fung and Chor Yuen in titles including A Rare Lover (1962), Su Xiaoxiao (1962) and The Iron Gallant (1966), and earning a reputation for gentle, upright roles. With Lee Sun-fung and Lee Siu-hung he co-founded Modern Film in 1969, producing several features and serving as assistant director on Lee's later films. As Cantonese production waned he moved to television, joining TVB for series such as Conflict (1978), before withdrawing to work at the Silver Theatre and a duty-free shop. He returned to acting in the 1990s, and rejoining TVB in 1998 he became the broadcaster's resident grandfather through the Heart of Greed franchise. He served as chairman of the Southern Film Workers' Association and retired in March 2020. He died of pneumonia in Hong Kong on 4 July 2025.
Chow Chung worked across both the Cantonese-film era and the cable-television age, one of the few performers to bridge the two and to join TVB twice. The kindly elders he played in the Heart of Greed series made TVB's resident grandfather a familiar character type in local drama. In later life he devoted himself to the Southern Film Workers' Association and was repeatedly honoured by the industry.
Achievements
- 1955 · Joined Ling Kwong Film Company and made his screen debut in The Broken Lute.
- 1969 · Co-founded Modern Film with Lee Sun-fung and Lee Siu-hung, producing films such as Luan Qing Zhen.
- 2016 · Received TVB's Lifetime Achievement Award at the Anniversary Awards.