Mr James Wong

1941-2004

Composer & Lyricist

Actor, film score composer and lyricist James Wong was born Wong Jum Sum in Guangzhou in 1941. He moved to Hong Kong in 1949, where he received his secondary education at La Salle College. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1963, majoring in Chinese, and, in 1983, acquired a master’s degree in philosophy. Wong began composing in the 1970s. Among his approximately 2,000 compositions were theme songs for movies and TV dramas. He was a trendsetter in the Cantopop scene of his era and is still considered one of the most important Cantopop figures of all time. The multi-talented Wong was also a copywriter, columnist, film director, TV host and actor. The Crazy Lottery City (1975) was one work he scripted and directed. The films he scored include Shanghai Blues (1984), A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), A Terra-Cotta Warrior (1990), Swordsman (1990) and The Lovers (1994). These all-time classics won him numerous honours at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards. He also acted in films like Let’s Rock (1975), Stooges in Hong Kong (1992) and Flirting Scholar (1993). Wong embarked on doctoral studies while battling lung cancer, and earned a PhD in social science in 2003.