關德興先生
1905-1996
演員
關德興15歲拜小武新北學粵劇。1921年，關氏加盟祝華年劇團時，向班中小武靚就偷師，靚就失場，由他頂替，開始有人喚他新靚就，後得靚就同意，正式改名為新靚就。1921年，關德興在美國登台表演粵劇時，獲大觀聲片有限公司老闆趙樹燊邀請主演有聲粵語片《歌侶情潮》（1933），大受歡迎，繼而片約紛至。1936年關德興以《神鞭俠》的神鞭功夫震驚四座。1949年，在拍攝首部黃飛鴻電影《黃飛鴻傳上集之鞭風滅燭》時，他更於影片中表演其神鞭絕技。「黃飛鴻」此後發展成70多集的長壽電影系列。此外，關德興有「生武松」之譽，而其關公戲亦相當聞名，這些都被拍成電影《武松血濺獅子樓》（1956）、《關公月下釋貂蟬》（1956）、《關公千里送嫂》（1957）等。關德興一生熱衷慈善事業，發揚忠孝仁恕之道，抗戰期間更組團勞軍及宣傳抗日，有「愛國藝人」之稱。
Mr Kwan Tak Hing
1905-1996
Actor
Actor Kwan Tak Hing began practising Cantonese opera at age 15 under a performer of warrior roles named Sun Bak. In 1921, he joined Chuk Wah Lin Opera Troupe and honed his technique by observing warrior virtuoso Liang Chau. He was asked to step in for Liang Chau when the latter was absent, which earned him the moniker “Sun Liang Chau” (“New Liang Chau”). Later, with Liang Chau’s approval, he officially adopted Sun Liang Chau as his stage name. In 1921, while performing Cantonese opera in the US, he was invited by the owner of Grandview Film Company, Chiu Shu Sun, to star in the first Cantonese talkie, Blossom Time (1933). It was a big hit that cemented his status as an actor. In The Knight of the Whip (1936), Kwan stunned the audience with his whipping skills. In 1949, he played the title role in The Story of Wong Fei-Hung: Part One (1949), the first in a long-running series of more than 70 films about folk hero Wong Fei Hung. Kwan was best known for portraying the “God of War” and “Wu Song” (also known as “Mo Chung”), a fictional hero from the classical novel Water Margin, in films such as Mo Chung’s Bloody Fight on Lion’s Tower (1956), Kwan-Ti, God of War (1956) and General Kwan Escorts His Sister-in-Law on a Thousand Mile Journey (1957). Not dissimilar to the gallant personas he portrayed, Kwan was active in charitable work and a keen proponent of Confucian teachings. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he organised morale-boosting trips to the barracks and publicity for the armed resistance against the Japanese. Such efforts earned him the title ‘the Patriot Artist’.
