Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing (Traditional Chinese: 張國榮; Simplified Chinese: 张国荣; pinyin: Zhāng Guóróng, WG: Chang Kuo-jung) (September 12, 1956 - April 1, 2003) was a Cantopop singer and the star of several Hong Kong movies. His fans passionately called him Gor-gor (哥哥, "elder brother" in Cantonese), started by Joey Wong in A Chinese Ghost Story.

He was born the youngest of 10 children. His parents divorced when he was young. He studied at Leeds University in northern England. In 1976 he took second prize at ATV Asian Music Contest .

In a self-confessed statement made in a radio broadcast of a an autobiography of himself made in 1985 he admitted that he had a reasonably tough childhood. Even during the early days of his career, he was first booed off the stage when he first appeared in the public and his first ever film was a low-point of his career as his role in that film was one associated with yellow-culture, The Erotic Dream of the Red Chamber in 1978. As an international artiste long-associated with hard-work and charisma, he did not take long to recapture the fame that has previously evaded him.

The turning point of his career was when he signed for Cinepoly Records Hong Kong in 1986 and left the company Capital Artists . The new trend of Hong Kong in the mid 1980s has demanded for fast and energetic Cantopop songs that would be both suitable for dancing and for listening or for the singing enthusiast, the karaoke hits that the Cantopop fan could sing along to. Leslie Cheung did not disappoint his fans at that point, blending some of his own compositions as well as Japanese hits of the day to create an embodiment of his own personal style. His musical success could only be equalled by the talented Alan Tam and his close friend Anita Mui. It was even reported that his fans had a long-standing conflict with fans of Alan Tam over the issue of bragging rights in Hong Kong due to the phenomenal success of both these artistes. His successful albums include The Wind Blows On (1983) Monica (1984) Summer Romance (1987) Hot Summer (1988) Virgin Snow (1988) Leslie '89 (1989) Final Encounter (1989)Most Beloved (1995) Red (1996) Printemps (1997) and Heat (2000)

Together with Chow Yun-Fat, he starred in John Woo's action movie A Better Tomorrow (1986) and made his mark as Kit Sung, a righteous young cop tortured by his brother's crime boss background. In Stanley Kwan's Rouge (1987), he played an opium-smoking playboy against Anita Mui's courtesan Fleur. The film supposedly cemented his life-long friendship with his fellow pop star. Leslie teamed up with Woo and Chow Yun-Fat again in Once a Thief (1990) as Jim, a "brother" of Chow's Joe. In the 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards, he won a Best Actor Award for his performance as Yuddy in the Wong Kar-wai-directed "Days of Being Wild" (1990).

He left the music business in 1990 and immigrated to British Columbia, Canada at the peak of his career after he had reached superstar status in Hong Kong. He was the first one ever in Cantopop history having a retirement concert, and these concerts ran for 33 consecutive nights at the famed Hong Kong Coliseum although he had continued to play in movies. In 1992, he gained Canadian citizenship and soon returned to Hong Kong and his film career after the long hiatus. After much struggle, he recorded his first album after his retirement concert and "Most Beloved" was released in 1995.

Cheung was one of few Hong Kong actors who dared to take on openly gay roles. He was well known for his movie, Farewell, My Concubine (1993). In it, he portrayed a Dan player (one who plays female roles) in Chinese opera who falls in love with his fellow male performer. Farewell, My Concubine shared the Palme d'Or with The Piano in 1993 in the Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In Wong Kar-wai's "Happy Together" (1997), Leslie played another gay role, Ho Po-wing, which got him nominations for Best Actor in both the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards.

He committed suicide in Hong Kong on April 1, 2003 by jumping from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel . He was 46 years old. He left a note saying he had been suffering from depression, the causes of which are unknown.

Despite the scare of SARS, many of Cheung's fans from around the world flew to Hong Kong to attend his memorial service on April 5, 2003. Cheung's family urged the tabloids to let Cheung rest in peace. During Cheung's twenty-six year career, the tabloids had reported numerous rumors about Cheung's sexual orientation and his relationship with Mr. Tong Hok-Kak, later to be his partner for 20 years. This suggests that he indeed was gay and he finally affirmed these rumors in 1997 as well as his recent film roles as gay characters, after a tabloid caught a snapshot of him and Mr. Tong holding hands together in 1995. In 2001, he admitted of his bisexual orientation during an interview with TIMEasia magazine.

Achievements

• RTV Asian Song Contest Runners-up with the song American Pie 1977
• RTHK 7th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with the song Monica 1984
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song Monica 1984
• Commercial Radio 5th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1984
• RTHK 8th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 不羈的風 1985
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with song 不羈的風 1985
• Commercial Radio 6th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1985
• RTHK 9th edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 當年情 1986
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with songs 有誰共鳴 當年情 1986
• Commercial Radio 7th Chinese Pop Songs Award winner 1986
• RTHK 10th ed. Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award 無心睡眠 ，Summer Romance is also the Best Selling CD of the year and IFPI Best Selling Album in 1987
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner 無心睡眠 and Summer Romance CD
• RTHK 11th ed. Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with songs 沉默是金 and

無需要太多 1988

• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner and Most Popular Male Singer 1988
• Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award winner 1988
• TVB Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Award winner with 由零開始 ，and also winner of theMost Popular Male Singer 1988 1989
• Commercial Radio 'Ultimate Song Chart Male Gold Award 1989' winner LESLIE 側面 album is also theIFPI Best Album of the Year 1989
• RTHK Millennium Gold Song Award for MONICA 1999
• RTHK 23rd edition Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award winner with song 左右手 2000
• Commercial Radio Ultimate Song Chart Gold Song of the Year winner with song 左右手 2000
• Metro Radio Song Chart of the Year and Gold Song of the Year winner with 左右手 2000
• Mingpao Weekly Outstanding Male Singer Award winner 2000
• Joint Award by RTHK, CR, TVB & Metro Radio for the Best Album of the Year winner with album Untitled 2001
• China's Original Music Award 發燒 winner 2001
• HK Film Awards winner Best Actor for Days of Being Wild 1991
• Japanese Critic Society Best Actor Award (Foreign Movie) for Farewell to My Concubine 1994
• Winner of HK Film Critic Society Best Actor Award for Ashes of Time 1994

Filmography

• Yee do hung gaan (Inner Senses) (異度空間 2002)
• From Ashes to Ashes (煙飛煙滅 2000)
• Okinawa Rendez-vous (戀戰沖繩 2000)
• And I Hate You So (小亲亲 2000)
• Double Tap (槍王 2000)
• The Kid (流星語 1999)
• Moonlight Express (星月童話 1999)
• Anna Magdalena (安娜瑪德蓮娜 1998)
• A Time to Remember (紅色戀人 1998)
• Ninth Happiness (九星報喜 1998)
• Knock Off (1998)
• Happy Together (春光乍泄 1997)
• All's Well, Ends Well (97家有喜事 1997)
• Tristar (大三元 1996)
• Who's the Man, Who's the Woman (金枝玉葉 II 1996)
• Shanghai Grand (新上海灘 1996)
• Viva Erotica (色情男女 1996)
• (1996)
• Temptress Moon (風月 1996)
• The Chinese Feast (金玉滿堂 also known as: 滿漢全席 1995)
• The Phantom Lover (夜半歌聲 1995)
• It's a Wonderful Life (大富之家 1994)
• He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉葉 1994)
• Over the Rainbow Under the Skirt (記得……香蕉成熟時 II：初戀情人 1994)
• Long and Winding Road (錦繡前程 1994)
• Ashes of Time (東邪西毒 1994)
• The Bride with White Hair (白髮魔女傳 1993)
• The Bride with White Hair 2 (白髮魔女傳 II 1993)
• All's Well, Ends Well Too (花田喜事 1993)
• Dong Cheng Xi Jiu (射雕英雄傳之東成西就 1993)
• Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬 1993)
• All's Well, Ends Well (家有喜事 1992)
• (藍江傳之反飛組風云 1992)
• Party of a Wealthy Family (豪門夜宴 1991)
• Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳 1991)
• Once a Thief (縱橫四海 1990)
• A Chinese Ghost Story Part II (倩女幽魂 II：人間道 1990)
• (新最佳拍檔 1989)
• Fatal love (殺之戀 1988)
• Dragon family (龍之家族 1988)
• A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂 1987)
• A Better Tomorrow II (英雄本色 II 1987)
• Rouge (1987) (胭脂扣 1987)
• A Better Tomorrow (英雄本色 1986)
• Last Song in Paris (偶然 1986, 1982?)
• For Your Heart Only (為你鐘情 1985)
• Intellectual Trio (龍鳳智多星 1984)
• Fate (緣份 1984)
• Double Decker (三文治 1984)
• Merry Christmas (聖誕快樂 1984)
• First time (第一次 1983)
• Little Dragon maid (楊過與小龍女 1983)
• Drummer, the (鼓手 1983)
• Nomad (烈火青春 1982)
• Teenage Dreamers (檸檬可樂 1982)
• Crazy Romance (求愛反斗星 1982)
• Energetic 21 (沖激２１ 1982)
• On Trial (失業生 1981)
• Salute (喝采 1980)
• hung lou chun sheng chun (紅樓春上春 1978)

See also: Cinema of China

External Links

• IMDB - Leslie Cheung
• Leslie Cheung Cyberworld