Biography
Ricky Hui Koon Ying was born August 3,
1946 in Panyu, Guangdong, China. He has 4 siblings, Samuel, Michael, Stanley and Judy. The Hui family migrated from mainland
China to Hong Kong in 1950 and settled in the poorest region of Diamond
Hill. His father worked hard and undertook any work available to be
able to support his family. In the Hui family Arts played a very significant role. Ricky's father played the violin and his
mother loved Cantonese opera so it is not surprising that the Hui
children all had a love for music and acting, and finally almost all of
them ended up in the entertainment industry.The Beginning
THE FILMS
Ricky
worked as a correspondent for the
French Press Agency in Hong Kong. He also frequently appeared in Shaw
Brothers films between 1972 and 1976, such as The Lizard (1972), The
Sugar Daddies (1973), The Generation Gap (1973), Rivals of Kung Fu
(1974), Hong Kong 73 (1974). For him the big break came when he
joined his brothers onscreen.
At Shaw Brothers
The first time was in The Last Message (1975) with a short appearance as a waiter. The dialogue
between him and Sam's character is hilarious. Ricky got a slightly
bigger
role in The Private Eyes (1976), and with that film
a new era of the Hong Kong Cinema started. The brothers together made
the best comedies the Hong Kong film industry has ever seen. Their
films were packed with visual gags and the unique Cantonese humour.
Although Ricky had only a small role in The Private Eyes, it
remained
one of the all time favourites among fans. According to
Michael Hui, Ricky had only brief appearance in this film
because at that time he
had a contract with Shaw Brothers. The contract may have ended
around 1976, because the last Shaw Brothers film he appeared was Challenge of the Masters that year. The next year found Ricky at Golden Harvest with a leading role in John Woo's Money Crazy. In 1979 Games Gamblers Play
was released for the Japanese market. For this edition Michael shot a
new scene, a fight between Ricky and Sam on the beach, and replaced the
original Sammo Hung vs Sam Hui fight with it. The next Hui brothers
production where Ricky teamed up with his brothers again was The Contract in 1978, followed by Security Unlimited (1981), one of the biggest success of the brothers, full of gags and their trademark Cantonese humour. In the late 70s and early 80s Ricky played leading roles in John Woo
films like From Riches To Rags (1979), To Hell with the Devil (1982) or Plain Jane To The
Rescue (1982).
Michael became a producer in 1987 and
Ricky appeared in his films such as Chicken and Duck Talk (1988), Front
Page (1990), The Magic Touch (1992). In 1985 Sammo Hung produced
one of the biggest cult films Mr. Vampire where Ricky Hui played a
memorable role on the side of the unforgettable Lam Ching-ying. What he
brought out of his character Man Choi, which is a real masterpiece.
Ricky was most active in his filmcareer in the 70s and 80s. He is a wonderful comedian who brings the best out of even the smallest roles.
Although Ricky is a comedian in the first place, he has great dramatic skills as well, that shines through in some of his roles that have dramatic moments. A good example is Who is the Craftiest? (1988) when he sees his girlf
riend having a romantic dinner with his brother. That painful look
in his eyes is unforgettable. The same year produced a kind of musical comedy, Laughters of "Water Margins". The humour this film is spiced with is
special and cannot be described, it's a must see. The songs are lovely, rather on the silly
side and suit the characters well.
In the late
90s he appeared in only one film, in First Love Unlimited (1997). He
portrayed a father there really well, and the film itself is a lovely
little piece making us all remember our first steps discovering love.
To my knowledge the last films Ricky Hui appeared in are Super Model
and Forever Yours, both from 2004.
Personally I think, it is a great loss to Hong Kong Cinema, that Ricky Hui cannot be seen in more films. His comedic sense, his timing, his incredible facial expressions, his adorable character are priceless. I can only hope that one day he will return and enchant us again with his humour.
between him and Sam's character is hilarious. Ricky got a slightly
bigger
role in The Private Eyes (1976), and with that film
a new era of the Hong Kong Cinema started. The brothers together made
the best comedies the Hong Kong film industry has ever seen. Their
films were packed with visual gags and the unique Cantonese humour.
Although Ricky had only a small role in The Private Eyes, it
remained
one of the all time favourites among fans. According to
Michael Hui, Ricky had only brief appearance in this film
because at that time he
had a contract with Shaw Brothers. The contract may have ended
around 1976, because the last Shaw Brothers film he appeared was Challenge of the Masters that year. The next year found Ricky at Golden Harvest with a leading role in John Woo's Money Crazy. In 1979 Games Gamblers Play
was released for the Japanese market. For this edition Michael shot a
new scene, a fight between Ricky and Sam on the beach, and replaced the
original Sammo Hung vs Sam Hui fight with it. The next Hui brothers
production where Ricky teamed up with his brothers again was The Contract in 1978, followed by Security Unlimited (1981), one of the biggest success of the brothers, full of gags and their trademark Cantonese humour. In the late 70s and early 80s Ricky played leading roles in John Woo
films like From Riches To Rags (1979), To Hell with the Devil (1982) or Plain Jane To The
Rescue (1982).
Michael became a producer in 1987 and
Ricky appeared in his films such as Chicken and Duck Talk (1988), Front
Page (1990), The Magic Touch (1992). In 1985 Sammo Hung produced
one of the biggest cult films Mr. Vampire where Ricky Hui played a
memorable role on the side of the unforgettable Lam Ching-ying. What he
brought out of his character Man Choi, which is a real masterpiece.Ricky was most active in his filmcareer in the 70s and 80s. He is a wonderful comedian who brings the best out of even the smallest roles.
Although Ricky is a comedian in the first place, he has great dramatic skills as well, that shines through in some of his roles that have dramatic moments. A good example is Who is the Craftiest? (1988) when he sees his girlf
riend having a romantic dinner with his brother. That painful look
in his eyes is unforgettable. The same year produced a kind of musical comedy, Laughters of "Water Margins". The humour this film is spiced with is
special and cannot be described, it's a must see. The songs are lovely, rather on the silly
side and suit the characters well. In the late
90s he appeared in only one film, in First Love Unlimited (1997). He
portrayed a father there really well, and the film itself is a lovely
little piece making us all remember our first steps discovering love.
To my knowledge the last films Ricky Hui appeared in are Super Model
and Forever Yours, both from 2004. Personally I think, it is a great loss to Hong Kong Cinema, that Ricky Hui cannot be seen in more films. His comedic sense, his timing, his incredible facial expressions, his adorable character are priceless. I can only hope that one day he will return and enchant us again with his humour.
THE MUSIC
Besides
acting Ricky Hui is a very good
singer too, but unfortunately he made only a few albums.Most of them were released on vinyl in the 70s and 80s. 發錢寒 (1977) (it went Gold), 夏之戀 (1978), 錢作怪 (1980). On other recordings Ricky is featured with other artists. Fortunately some of the vinyls have been reissued on CDs.
In the 90s three new Ricky albums were released on CD. Two were released in 1993. The first is '93 急流?, this featured n
ew songs by Sam Hui and guest vocals from Michael
Hui. The second was 一生渴望 (Lifelong Desire) a 2-CD set that featured
one CD of hits
from the 70s and 80s, and brand-new Mandarin recordings of songs from
'93 急流?. It also paved the way for Ricky's 2 shows at the Hong Kong
Coliseum (produced by Sam Hui). The third CD was released in 2001,
called The Classical Songs of Universal. It is the re-released
version of the album from 1980 with a few extra songs. The latest album
(2CDs), 十足斤兩, was released ony July 26, 2006. Ricky not only sings but also wrote some songs for his brother Sam: On Sam Hui's debut Cantonese album, Ricky wrote 3 complete songs (music and lyrics): Track 3 (甜蜜伴侶), track 4 (無情夜冷風), and track 11 (夜雨聲). On Sam's 2nd Cantonese album, Ricky contributed 2 songs: track 5 (情人離別去), track 10 (歡樂桃源), and track 11 (故苑懷舊). On Sam's 3rd Cantonese album, Ricky has one contribution: track 12 (流水恨). He also wrote a song that can only be heard on his own debut album in 1977:月影
In 2000 Ricky had a stage play called Ha Luk Hei Ban. In the same year he appeared in five episodes of the
ATV series Heung Gong Yat Ka Chun. In 2001 a DVD was released of a
variety show about the development of Hong Kong entertainment, called Laughing Kaleidoscope
which featured Ricky among various artists on stage. In the same year
he participated with three songs in the La Fai Palace Jubilee concert.
In
2003 Ricky appeared in a concert commemorating the 8th anniversary
of the death of Teresa Teng Lai-Kwun and also celebrating her 50th
birthday. Ricky participated with three songs in Sing Along Golden Hits E
ncore Concert in 2004 among other stars. He appeared in the Rosanne in Starry Night Concert in March, 2006.Ricky is also a returning guest on Sam Hui's concerts singing a few songs on his own or duets with Sam. (For detailed information please visit Yee Wun's wonderful Unofficial Sam Hui Website.) I've found these dates with Ricky: April, 1990 (Hong Kong Coliseum); March, 1992 (Hong Kong Coliseum); 1992-93 (San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Singapore); June-August, October 2004 (Hong Kong Coliseum); February, May 2005 (Hong Kong Coliseum), May, 2005 (Foshan New Square Stadium); June, 2005 (Zhongshan Sports Stadium); August, 2005 (Ying Dong Sports Stadium, Panyu); August, 2005 (Malaysia); October, 2005 (Singapore Indoor Stadium).
On July 30th, 2006 Ricky appeared on Concert in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Jockey Club Auditorium. For photos of this event, please visit Sam Dawson's wonderful gallery here.
Ricky performed on Sam Hui's Hong Kong Concert on 16 December, 2007.