Ms Patricia Lam Fung

1941-1976

Actress

Born Fung Suk Yin and also known as Fung Kan Ting, actress Patricia Lam Fung was referred by director Chan Wan to the Shaw Brothers’ acting school. She was cast in the lead in her first film The Fairy’s Sleeves (1957), and within two years she was a superstar. Lam was referred to as “Shaw’s Gem” in Shaw publications; the studio also set up a fan club for her that was purportedly joined by 30,000 members of the public. Lam made a total of 30 films for Shaw Brothers, including A Pretty Girl’s Love Affair (1958), Sweet Girl in Terror (1958), The Merdeka Bridge (1959) and Glass Slippers (1959). The studio tailor-made a series of films in the 1950s and 1960s to sculpt an image of her as a sweet and innocent girl. These won her the moniker “Sweet Maiden of the Silver Screen”, but Lam was in fact a versatile artist who excelled in period and modern roles. Her ability to sing and dance also infused Cantonese movies with youthful vigour. After leaving Shaw Brothers, Lam starred in titles like The Venture of an Opera Fan (1962), Two City Girls (1963), The Queen of Market (1964) and The Big Circus (1964). In 1967, she got married and retired with more than 100 films under her belt. Lam passed away in 1976 from an overdose of sleeping pills.