Kwan Wai-pang, better known as Teddy Robin, was born in Guilin, Guangxi, on 20 March 1945 and came to Hong Kong with his father in 1949. He acted in radio dramas for Rediffusion from childhood and fell in love with music, forming the band Teddy Robin and the Playboys at secondary school; it was one of the first Chinese-led rock bands and became hugely popular during the 1960s English pop boom. He went on to present and perform on Rediffusion and TVB. In 1979 he produced the crime film Cops and Robbers for Pearl City, directed by Alex Cheung, also writing its screenplay and theme song; it took over HK$3 million, ranked sixth at the annual box office and was the top-grossing New Wave film, and he credited it with truly bringing him into the industry. The theme song, with lyrics by Cheng Kok-kong, became popular along with the film. As a director he made The Legend of Wisely (1987), Life Is a Moment (1988), A Wicked Ghost (1990) and Hong Kong Graffiti (1995), and later co-directed segments of Tales from the Dark 2 (2013) and Eight and a Half (2018); The Legend of Wisely starred Sam Hui as Ni Kuang's detective Wisely. He has also worked as a film composer and presenter, and largely withdrew from film-making in the 1990s, appearing only occasionally at award ceremonies. In 2010 he played Ben Law in Gallants, winning Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Film Score at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, as well as Best Actor from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.
As Teddy Robin, Kwan moved from band frontman to film producer, director and actor, straddling both Hong Kong pop music and cinema. The Cops and Robbers he produced was the best-selling film of the New Wave, and its theme song became widely known. Late in his career, his performance in Gallants won him another Hong Kong Film Award, showing his continued weight in front of the camera.
Achievements
- 1960年代 · Formed Teddy Robin and the Playboys, becoming stars of the English pop scene
- 1979 · Produced Cops and Robbers, writing its screenplay and theme song
- 1987 · Directed The Legend of Wisely
- 2011 · Won HKFA Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Film Score for Gallants