Editor’s note: This article was first published in 2018. It has been updated with additional information.
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What you need to know about the late actor Benz Hui
Benz Hui, a veteran actor from Hong Kong who is also well-known among Singaporeans, passed away at the age of 76 on 28 Oct.
Hui, a Singapore permanent resident (PR), was believed to have died due to multiple organ failure.
We look back on the life of the actor, affectionately known by legions of fans as ‘Hui Kor’.
1. Met his wife while working in Singapore
Hui struck up a relationship with his wife-to-be back when he was working in Singapore during the 1980s.
An opportunity to perform at the now-defunct Hoover Theatre ended up “changing his life forever”, as this was where he met his Singaporean wife who was part of the production team.
After dating for a few years, he proposed to her and they got married when Hui turned 42 in 1992.
The actor also became the step-father to his wife’s 12-year-old son from a previous marriage.
Five years later, the family welcomed the birth of his only daughter.
2. Benz Hui considered himself a family man
The actor considered moving to Singapore permanently when he married his wife, but dropped the idea to focus on his established TVB career.
That said, Hui still considered himself a family man — flying to Singapore frequently to visit his locally-born daughter who was enrolled in a kindergarten here.
Though the family was later uprooted to Hong Kong, the actor would flit between both cities regularly.
In his older years, Hui has stated that he likes the “local environment” and thinks Singapore is “a good place to retire”.
In October 2018, Mdm Lee Bee Wah, then Member of Parliament for Nee Soon, welcomed him as a new resident of Yishun in a Facebook post.
Source: Lee Bee Wah on Facebook
Hui had also supported his daughter in her adult endeavours by providing the funding for her food and beverage businesses in Singapore.
According to reports, he had spent about at least S$1 million on his daughter’s three eateries.
To him, it was less about profits and more about supporting her ambitions.
Over the years, Hui has been seen helping his daughter’s businesses in person.
Source: Juju 津津 Wheelock Place on Facebook
In 2022, he was spotted serving food and clearing tables at Juju Cha Chaan Teng in Wheelock Place.
About a year later, Hui made appearances at his daughter’s food booth in Ang Mo Kio Hub.
3. Opened a Singapore-style tutoring school in Hong Kong
To help his daughter who once struggled with math under Singapore’s education system, Hui and his wife decided to run a Singapore-style tutoring school in Hong Kong.
They flew two local teachers to Hong Kong in order to teach children at his school.
However, the centre reportedly did not break even financially till three to four years later.
As for his own children, Hui left the teaching to his wife.
He explained that he has always felt that his “level of education is very low”, even though his “kids are very smart”.
Hui added that he simply makes himself “useful” by paying for their tuition instead.
This investment surely paid off as his step-son earned a mechanical engineering degree in the United Kingdom, and a Masters degree in Australia.
Meanwhile, his daughter graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2020 with a degree in communications.
4. Benz Hui was a versatile actor in Hong Kong productions
Hui is known for his versatility as an actor.
To date, he has starred in hundreds of TVB serials over his decades-long career.
Source: Wikipedia
His breakout role in Police Cadet ’84, as a ‘happy go lucky’ everyday man named ‘Uncle Tung’, not only won the hearts of viewers but made Hui a household name.
Hui has taken on comedic, dramatic, villainous and heroic roles, in both modern and ancient drama serials.
He was well-loved for his penchant to steal a scene, even if he was playing a minor character.
Hui has shared the screen with some of Hong Kong’s most beloved artistes, including Charmaine Sheh — breakout star of Yanxi Palace in her turn as a villainous Empress Ulanara.
Source: English Pop Station
Here he is in a candid picture with Michael Miu, another TVB veteran and co-star from Line Walker, which also starred Raymond Lam.
Source: @benz_hui on Instagram
Notably, Hui won the title of ‘Most Popular Male Character‘ in the TVB Anniversary Awards back in 2014, for his role as ‘Foon Hei Kor‘ in this very show.
5. English name inspired by Mercedes-Benz
You guessed it, Benz Hui chose his unique English name as a reference to being the very first ATV actor to drive a Mercedes-Benz to work.
In 1977, he saved enough money to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, driving it proudly to work everyday.
This earned him the moniker ‘Benz 雄’.
Hui’s Mercedes-Benz 230 reportedly cost him 70,000 HKD (S$12,335), enough to buy a house back in the day.
Hui ended up keeping the car for 11 years, before selling it for more than 60,000 HKD ($10,572).
As for his Cantonese name, he goes by regular sounding ‘Hui Shiu-Hung’.
6. His ‘disfigured face’ brought him fortune
In an intimate interview with Ming Pao Weekly magazine, Hui shared that he has encountered luck throughout his life.
Source: Ming Pao Weekly
As a child, a fortune teller told his parents that he needed to be ‘disfigured on the face’ to live to adulthood.
A warning that soon came true, as he ran into a glass partition which left a deep cut on his face underneath his eye.
Hui’s wound left a lasting scar even after it healed.
Looking back, he simply considered himself lucky to be alive.
Benz Hui dies at age 76
Following his death, retired politician Mdm Lee Bee Wah — who welcomed Hui to Yishun all those years ago — posted her condolences on Facebook.
She remembers the veteran actor as a “great guy”.
Hui’s fans have also expressed their heartfelt wishes online.
On 19 Oct, he appeared in a YouTube video with his daughter where they played video games together.
Since Hui’s passing, many individuals have expressed their farewells in the comments section.
“Thank you for accompanying the people of Hong Kong for so many years,” wrote one netizen.
Also read: Veteran HK actor Benz Hui dies aged 76 from organ failure
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Featured image adapted from TVB via AsiaOne on Facebook and MUBI.
