Benz Hui Opened A Singaporean Tutoring School In Hong Kong
Our humble Yishun estate has gotten a surprise endorsement from a bonafide veteran Hong Kong TV superstar. He’s none other than Benz Hui, affectionately known as ‘Hui-Kor’ to legions of his fans back home.
Mdm Lee Bee Wah, Member of Parliament for Nee Soon, welcomed him to his new abode in a heartfelt Facebook post on 22 Oct.
Here are some interesting facts we unearthed about the man behind hundreds of beloved TVB drama characters.
1. Met his wife in Singapore
The 69-year-old actor struck up a relationship with his wife-to-be, back when he was working in Singapore during the 80s.
An opportunity to perform on a local stage ended up “changing his life forever”, as he met his wife who was part of the production team.
After dating for a few years, he proposed to her and they got married when Benz turned 42.
Benz also became the step-father to her 12-year-old son from a previous marriage. The family soon welcomed the birth of his only daughter 5 years later.
2. He’s a family man
Benz considers himself a ‘family man’, as he used to fly to Singapore frequenty to visit his locally-born daughter who was enrolled in a kindergarten here.
The family was later uprooted to Hong Kong, so Benz could focus on his TVB career.
3. Opened a SG-style tutoring school in HK
To help his daughter who struggled with math under our education system, Benz and his wife decided to run a Singaporean tutoring school in Hong Kong.
They flew 2 local teachers to Hong Kong in order to teach children at his school, but the centre didn’t breakeven financially till 3-4 years later.
4. Versatile actor in HK films & dramas
Benz is known for his versatility as an actor. To date, he’s starred in hundreds of TVB serials over his 46-year-long career.
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 Benz a household name.
Benz has taken on comedic, dramatic, villainous & heroic roles, in both modern and ancient drama serials. He’s well-loved for his penchant to steal a scene, even if he’s playing a minor character.
5. Rubs shoulders with TVB elite
Benz 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.
Here he is in a candid picture with Michael Miu, another TVB veteran and co-star from Line Walker, which also starred Raymond Lam.
Notably, he 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.
6. Has ties to Empress Dowager Cixi
According to his Wikipedia entry, Benz hails from an “influential family in Canton”.
And by influential, we mean rooted-in-ancient-history-level influential.
His great-grandfather was apparently the godson of Empress Dowager Cixi herself, after serving as an official in the late Qing Dynasty.
Other notable family members in his clan founded the Whampoa Military Academy, and served as the Education Minister in Canton.
7. English name inspired by Mercedes-Benz
You guessed it. He chose his unique English name as a reference to being the very first ATV actor to drive a Mercedes-Benz to work.
In 1977, Benz saved enough money to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, driving it proudly to work everyday. This earned him the moniker ‘Benz 雄’.
His Mercedes-Benz 230 cost 70,000 HKD (S$12,335), enough to buy a house back in the day. Benz ended up keeping the car for 11 years, before selling it for more than 60,000 HKD ($10,572).
Guess that’s a memory we’d tout in our name as well, if we could afford it.
As for his Cantonese name, he goes by regular sounding ‘Hui Shiu-Hung’.
8. Flits between homes in Singapore and Hong Kong
Mr Hui has previously spoken kind words about Singapore, and flits between both cities regularly.
However, Benz also had to maintain his house in HK and fulfill his duties as a filial son-in-law to his wife’s Singaporean mother.
Benz had considered moving to Singapore permanently when he married his wife, but dropped the idea when local TV stations offered him half of what TVB paid him for his salary.
Now that he’s older, he has stated that he likes the “local environment” and thinks Singapore is “a good place to retire”.
9. Calls himself a ‘useless dad’
As for educating his children, Benz leaves the teaching to his wife.
He explains that he has always felt that his “level of education is very low”, and his “kids are very smart”.
Benz adds 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 England, and a Masters degree in Australia where he’s now based.
10. His ‘disfigured face’ brought him fortune
Benz shares that he has encountered luck throughout his life in this intimate interview.
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. Benz’s wound left a lasting scar even after it healed.
Looking back, Benz simply considers himself lucky to be alive.
Yishun residents are lucky after all
Given Benz’s down-to-earth nature despite his many achievements, we understand why many uncles and aunties would be left starstruck if they ran into Hui-Kor around in Yishun.
His self-deprecating sense of humor and great comedic timing will definitely be a wonderful addition to our community.
We’re also hoping his new Yishun residence will be to his satisfaction.
Hopefully his charismatic aura will dispel the occasional ‘misfortune’ that has sometimes befallen Yishun residents.
See you around Benz, and welcome to Yishun!
Featured image from JayneStars.
