Trained in Teochew opera from childhood for her fine voice, Fong Hau Yuk was admitted to the Sun Tin Choi troupe in the 1950s to study the dan, or female, role, earlier than Cheng Chor-heung and Chan Chor-wai. She had already dubbed Cantonese films into Teochew before taking the female lead in The Three Trials of Yuk Chi-lan (1960), the first Teochew opera film made in Hong Kong, opposite the male impersonator Chong Suet-kuen. There followed Double Pearl Phoenix (1961), Su Liuniang (1961) and The Female Son-in-law (1961). In Sweeping the Window (1961) she first partnered Chan Chor-wai, another Sun Tin Choi graduate. She signed with Tung Shan in January 1961, appearing in some twenty films, frequently opposite Chong Suet-kuen, and shared the company's leading-dan status with Ding Chor-kiu. From 1963 she returned to the Sun Tin Choi troupe, partnering Chan Chor-wai in dozens of Teochew opera films such as Meng Lijun (1963), The Lantern Festival Case (1964) and The Goddess of the Luo River (1966). Fong made more than forty Teochew films and was celebrated as the all-purpose queen of the dan. After Teochew production ceased she toured Singapore and Thailand with the troupe and in 1971 gave charity performances in Hong Kong.
Fong Hau Yuk was one of the foremost female leads of Hong Kong's golden age of Teochew opera film, appearing in more than forty such pictures at her peak. Her pairings with the male impersonators Chong Suet-kuen and Chan Chor-wai anchored the offerings of the Tung Shan and Sun Tin Choi companies and carried Teochew opera songs and repertoire to Singapore and Malaya through the cinema.
Achievements
- 1960 · Took the female lead in The Three Trials of Yuk Chi-lan, the first Teochew opera film made in Hong Kong.
- 1961 · Signed with Tung Shan Film Company, forming a long-running lead pair with Chong Suet-kuen as one of its resident dans.
- 1963 · Returned to the Sun Tin Choi troupe to partner Chan Chor-wai, appearing in more than forty Teochew films.