Ricky Hui Koon-ying (3 August 1946 – 8 November 2011) was born in Guangzhou to a family from Panyu, Guangdong, and moved to Hong Kong with his family in 1950. After finishing secondary school he worked for a French news agency in Hong Kong in 1967. In 1971 he entered the first actor-training class run jointly by Shaw Brothers and Television Broadcasts, and on graduating became a Shaw actor, appearing in films such as The Delinquent (1973), the drama Illicit Desire (1973) and Wong Fei-hung's Fight for Justice (1974). He then moved to Golden Harvest and drew notice in his elder brother Michael Hui's comedy The Private Eyes (1976), going on to appear in Contract (1978) and Security Unlimited (1981) as a regular face of the Hui brothers' comedy team. His first leading role came in John Woo's comedy Money Crazy (1977), which topped the Hong Kong box office that year with takings of more than five million Hong Kong dollars; he followed it with other Woo comedies for Golden Harvest, including From Riches to Rags (1980) and The Fake Ghost Catchers (1982). In the 1980s he starred in several horror comedies for the studio, among them Mr Vampire (1985), which set off a craze for jiangshi, or hopping-corpse, films, and Haunted Cop Shop (1987). He went on to lead pictures for various companies, including Chicken and Duck Talk (1988) and the vampire-comedy sequel Mr Vampire 1992 (1992). Best known for playing kind, timid little men who are constantly pushed around, he largely stopped acting after 2000, his last films being released in 2004. He died of a heart attack in Hong Kong on 8 November 2011, aged 65. With his brothers Michael, Stanley and Sam, he was one of the so-called four talents of the Hui family: Michael a writer-director-actor, and Sam a leading Cantonese-pop singer and film star.
Hui made his name in the Hui brothers' comedies such as The Private Eyes and later led hits including Money Crazy and Mr Vampire. His stock figure of the kind, timid little man became a recognisable face of 1970s and 1980s Hong Kong comedy and horror comedy, and Mr Vampire helped set off the jiangshi film craze.
Achievements
- 1971 · Entered the first actor-training class run jointly by Shaw Brothers and Television Broadcasts
- 1977 · Starred in John Woo's Money Crazy, which topped the local box office with takings over five million dollars
- 1985 · Starred in Mr Vampire, sparking a craze for jiangshi films