Lawrence Cheng Tan-shui, born in 1954 and known as Brother Dan or Ah Dan, is a Hong Kong television host, actor and multimedia cultural figure whose work spans film, television, radio, stage and newspaper columns, making him one of the entertainment industry's great all-rounders; he is a former contract artiste and acting-class instructor at Television Broadcasts (TVB). He grew up on Chun Yeung Street in North Point and moved to Sham Shui Po in primary school, studied at St Paul's College to Form 7 and then read communication at Hong Kong Baptist College. He began as a radio disc jockey and became one of Hong Kong's most popular male DJs, joining both Radio Television Hong Kong and Commercial Radio and going on to serve as a programme director at RTHK and as chief operating officer and creative director at Commercial Radio, where he had earlier headed its CR2 channel. His serial The Diary of a Small Man began in 1986 on radio with top ratings and grew into a novel column, a television drama, films and stage productions — a rare example of an original radio work turned into a multimedia franchise; in the 1989 film version directed by Gordon Chan he took the leading role of Leung Foon himself. He has also produced films, among them the 2003 drama Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat and the horror franchise The Eye, and has hosted hundreds of gala shows and major events, earning a reputation as the gold-standard master of ceremonies. He has written newspaper columns and published books, and in recent years created HiEggo, a health and lifestyle platform. In 2012 he became chief instructor of TVB's 26th acting class, and he remains active as a host and performer, remembered for his witty presentation and the character of Leung Foon.
Lawrence Cheng turned a single radio serial, The Diary of a Small Man, into a novel column, a television drama, films and stage plays, showing what original cross-media creation could achieve in Hong Kong; he rose from DJ to radio executive, hosted hundreds of gala events as a master of ceremonies, and taught in TVB's acting class for years, shaping several generations of Hong Kong performers and hosts.
Achievements
- 1986 · Created the radio serial The Diary of a Small Man and starred as its lead, Leung Foon.
- 1989 · Starred in the film version of The Diary of a Small Man as the lead character Leung Foon.
- 2012 · Became chief instructor of TVB's 26th acting class.