Ha Chun-chau was born Ng Kam-tsun on 20 September 1931 and died on 11 March 2025; he was known to the trade as 'Uncle Tung' and to audiences as the 'God of Wealth', a family from Panyu, Guangdong, and the father of the entertainers Sandra Ng and Ng Kwan-cheung. He worked in radio drama before entering films. In 1953 he passed the new-talent audition held by Wing Mo Film Enterprise and became one of its contract players, alongside Sheung Kwun Kwan-wai and Sze Ma Wa-lung; his first released picture was the studio's all-rookie cast Vehicle of Dust (1953). For much of his career he played supporting parts, notably the then-fashionable delinquent 'fly boys' in films such as Family Education (1955) and The Poor Mother (1961), while also taking varied roles in A Face Like Peach Blossoms Reflecting Red (1956) and Jealousy (1957). Active in radio since the 1950s, he worked for Radio Hong Kong and its Lung Cheung troupe, then joined Rediffusion and moved into television. After briefly stepping away in the early 1960s, he returned to Rediffusion Television in 1969, taking over from Tina Ti as host of the game show Tat Che, and stayed with the station, later renamed Asia Television, until 1999, acting in numerous series. From 1976 to 1993 he hosted the live Mark Six draw every week, his steady delivery making him a household name and earning him the title 'father of Mark Six'. From the 1990s his film work increased, including the Chinese New Year 'Joy' comedies, among them All's Well Ends Well 2010, in which he appeared with his daughter Sandra Ng. He emigrated to Canada in the 1990s and hosted Chinese-language radio there. His last released film appeared in 2016.
Ha Chun-chau is best remembered for hosting Hong Kong's Mark Six draw for nearly two decades, becoming a household face nicknamed the 'God of Wealth', while his many supporting roles left a familiar imprint on 1950s and 1960s Cantonese cinema.
Achievements
- 1953 · Became a contract player at Wing Mo Film Enterprise; his first picture was Vehicle of Dust
- 1969 · Returned to Rediffusion Television to host the game show Tat Che, taking over from Tina Ti
- 1976 · Began hosting the live Mark Six draw, continuing until 1993