The first time I saw David Chiang on the big screen, I asked my friend who was
sitting next to me in that old cinema in Ipoh, "who's that skinny guy?" My
attention was actually drawn more to his side-kick Ti Lung whom I admired
deeply.
Boys my age (about 10) back then tended to love those muscle-bound guys who more
often than not projected our inner desire to look macho like them, and David
Chiang didn't feature anywhere near my Wish List.
David's Chinese name is Chiang Da Wei. Born in China, on June 29, 1947, David
continues to act up till today. His current involvement in the acting industry
is mainly confined to TV series where he normally plays the role of a wise
senior citizen or someone who has walked the talk. In reality, he has.
Chiang started in martial arts movie career in 1966 when renowned Hong Kong
director Chang Cheh hired him as a stuntman for the movie Golden Swallow.
He however had had some experience in acting when as a teenager he played minor
roles in films like Street Boys and The Kingdom and The Beauty (starring Lin
Dai).
In 1968, Chiang shot to prominence in his lead role in The New One-Armed
Swordsman. His association with director Chang Cheh spanned almost two decades.
However, David Chiang is best known for his partnership in Hong Kong movies with
Ti Lung, that strapling chap I mentioned earlier. Ti Lung tended to make Chiang
look a little effeminate but Chiang's acting tended to supersede that of Ti
Lung's.
In 1970, David Chiang earned himself a sterling reputation in The Wandering
Swordsman. This was followed by Vengeance which bagged him the Best Actor Award
in the Asian Film Festival.
In the 70s, Chiang and Ti Lung paired up for about a dozen of the Blood Brothers
series. These were Duel of Fists, The Anonymous Heroes, The Duel, Heroic Ones
and The Singing Killer.
Once during one of David Chiang's shows, I told my friend, "that guy better
don't take off his shirt because I think the audience won't be able to tolerate
the sight of his splendid Chinese spare ribs!" Director Chang Cheh had wisely
neglected to instruct Chiang to take off his shirt, unlike Ti Lung who often
went "topless" and encouraged boys like me to try our luck with dumb-bells and
other weights.
In late 1960s, the Blood Brothers faced an insurmountable odd. It came in the
form of Bruce Lee who literally blew the competition away. If audiences up till
then were impressed with Ti Lung and Chiang, they were literally left breathless
by Bruce Lee's real punches and deadly kicks.
Director Chang Cheh recognised the death knell of his successful run and quickly
made a graceful exit while director Lo Wei (The Big Boss) took over and basked
in the lime light.
When his successes with Shaw Brothers and Chang Cheh ended, Chiang went solo and
tried his hand at directing. His debut effort The Drug Addict was a major flop.
In the second half of the 70s, Chiang teamed up with Wang Yu (The Chinese Boxer)
to set up a Taiwan based film company. Coincidentally, their first joint venture
movie was called One Armed Swordsmen.
Chiang continued to be involved with some free-lance work in the meantime, and
he changed his name to Gareth Lo. Don't ask me why he found that name so
attractive. Anyway, he finally decided John Keung suited him more.
Many people don't know that John was actually Chiang's original name. David was
his adopted screen name. And Keung was the Cantonese spelling for Chiang. So the
mystery of John Keung is now solved.
In the late eighties and early nineties, David Chiang was involved primarily in
directing comedies. All in all, Chiang acted in more than 75 movies. With Chang
Cheh, he acted in about 30 films.
Today, David Chiang stays in Vancouver, Canada. He is married to Maggie Lee
Lam-Lam. The couple have two daughters and one son.
Professionally, he is deemed not as successful as his old movie partner Ti Lung
but it is undeniable that Chiang has stamped his mark in Hong Kong and in other
Southeast Asian countries rather emphatically back in the 70s.
He's a good actor who exploited every opportunity that came his way and
continues to earn a decent living playing supporting roles in TV serials from
time to time.
One thing hasn't changed, he still keeps his shirt on.
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