Poon Yat On (1904–1964), whose real name was Lee Hung-on, was a Cantonese opera and film actor and a native of Nanhai, Guangdong. A keen opera enthusiast in his youth, he first studied under Leng Chung Yuk and later under So Wan Lan. While playing lache in Ma Si-tsang's Tai Law Tin troupe he was given the stage name Poon Yat On by Ma, taken from the saying that a gentleman can hardly spare even half a day of peace. He took to the stage after only half a year of training, at seventeen, beginning in the painted-face role type and later turning to the clown and to playing old women. His wife was the celebrated actress Shanghai Mui. He performed with Sit Kok-sin's Kok Sin Sing troupe, and his signature part was the female role Man Fong-shi in Hu Bu Gui, alongside his Cao Cao in Fu Han Shi and the fool in Dai Lo Bai Shou. Other roles he played on stage included Dong Zhuo in Diao Chan, Cao Cao in Hua Rong Dao and Granny Cai in Liu Yue Xue, though his clown parts drew the biggest audiences; he was ranked among the four great clowns of Cantonese opera with Liu Hap-wai, Lee Hoi-chuen and Yip Fut-yeuk. He also wrote operas, including Zhong Lou Tuo Xia, and recorded songs, most famously Dong Qian La Ya and Da Nao Mei Zhi Fu. As early as 1934 he appeared in the film Niu Ji Zu Zong, and his first leading role was in Yi Ye Feng Liu in 1935. Between 1934 and 1964 he acted in about two hundred and sixty films, among them Zuo Ci Xi Cao (1941), Shuang Ren Tou Mai Wu (1948), The Goddess of the Luo River (1957), Hu Bu Gui (1958), Chuan Jin Bao Shan (1959), Liu Yue Xue (1959), Jin Feng Zhan Jiao Long (1961) and Lei Ming Jin Gu Zhan Jia Sheng (1963); his last was Man Tang Ji Qing (1964). He died at the Kowloon French Hospital on 3 March 1964.
Poon Yat On excelled in clown roles and was ranked among the four great clowns of Cantonese opera alongside Liu Hap-wai, Lee Hoi-chuen and Yip Fut-yeuk, his female role of Man Fong-shi in Hu Bu Gui becoming a classic. Moving from the stage to the screen, he appeared in about two hundred and sixty films over three decades, a key bridge between Cantonese opera and Cantonese cinema.
Achievements
- 1934 · Appeared in his first film, Niu Ji Zu Zong.
- 1935 · Took his first leading role, in Yi Ye Feng Liu.
- 1958 · Starred in the film Hu Bu Gui, reviving his signature opera role on screen.