Lui Kei, born Tong Kok-man in Taishan, Guangdong in 1939, came to Hong Kong in 1949 and finished secondary school there. He entered the Chung Luen Film Company acting class in 1958 and the following year joined Shaw Brothers' Cantonese unit together with his younger sister Lee Man, taking his first screen role in 1960. Besides acting he also worked as producer, screenwriter, editor and music arranger. Before Shaw closed its Cantonese unit, Ocean Films starred him in The Playboy (1965), which made him a romantic lead, and his youth romances opposite Connie Chan Po-chu made the pair one of the screen's best-loved couples and became classics of the era. He appeared in close to a hundred films as actor, writer and director, making his directing debut in 1969, and in 1974 he set up his Kam Wo production unit to make films for Shaw Brothers; he was also the first Hong Kong director to shoot a category III film showing pubic hair. Twice named one of the Cantonese film stars of the year by the Wah Kiu Yat Po newspaper, in 1968 and 1970, he retired after a final film in 1987 and lived quietly in Taiwan on stocks and property. He died in Taipei in April 2024.
Lui Kei was a defining figure of the 1960s Cantonese youth romance and his 'romantic lead' image was widely familiar. Moving from in front of the camera to behind it, he formed his own production unit to make films and later turned to category III pictures, a career that mirrors the decline of Cantonese cinema and the way its makers were forced to adapt.
Achievements
- 1965 · Starred in Ocean Films' The Playboy, which made him a romantic lead and paired him on screen with Connie Chan Po-chu.
- 1969 · Made his directing debut with the film Man Lei, Man Lei, I Love You.
- 1974 · Set up his Kam Wo (Lui Kei) production unit to make films for Shaw Brothers.