Lam Tin (20 August 1937 – 14 April 1987), originally Lam Kai-chak and also billed as Lam Tin, was of Shantou, Guangdong descent but was born in Hong Kong, and graduated from the Chiu Sheung Secondary School. In 1956 he enrolled in the Chinese Film Academy founded by the actor-director Wang Yuen-lung and afterwards specialised in voice-dubbing, becoming a dubbing artist in the Chaozhou dialect and Cantonese. In 1958, billed as Lam Tin, he starred opposite Fanny Ha in four Chaozhou-dialect films: three produced by the Xinsheng Film Production Company, namely The Scissors, The Ill-fated Flower and Twin Jade Fish (all 1958), and Story of the Jade Hairpin (1959) for Jun Nam. In 1961 he was reunited with Ha in The Story of Lin Guilan, produced by Yifan Film Company. In 1962 he signed an exclusive contract with Tao Yuen Motion Picture Development Company and made Cantonese pictures such as The Happy Reunion (1962), Reluctant Wedding (1963) and The Five Rats' Adventures in the Eastern Capital (1964). After the contract ended in the late 1960s he worked for other companies in martial arts films and youth musicals; versatile and convincing in both period and modern looks, he was equally at ease as hero or villain. When Television Broadcasts began operating in 1967 he was among the first to join its dubbing unit, and from 1979 he began appearing as a featured actor in series such as The Passenger (1979), The Brothers (1980), The Fate (1981), The Destiny (1982) and Soldier of Fortune (1982). In middle age his imposing bearing made him a convincing screen father. He died in a car crash on 14 April 1987.
Lam Tin moved from Chaozhou-dialect leading man to Cantonese-film contract player and then to dubbing artist and character actor at Television Broadcasts, spanning three stages of Hong Kong screen entertainment. His dignified father roles made him a familiar face to television audiences of the 1970s and 1980s.
Achievements
- 1958 · Starred opposite Fanny Ha under the name Lam Tin in Chaozhou-dialect films such as The Scissors and The Ill-fated Flower.
- 1962 · Joined Tao Yuen Motion Picture Development Company as a contract player and appeared in the Cantonese film The Happy Reunion.
- 1967 · Joined Television Broadcasts' dubbing unit among its first recruits when the station launched.