Yam Kim Sing

Biography

Yam Kim Sing was a Chinese Vietnamese performer with a soft voice, handsome appearance, and skilled in Northern-style Cantonese opera martial arts. He was a famous performer in the Thai Viet Theatre (Cantonese opera) in Vietnam and had been performing Cantonese opera in Vietnam since childhood. In the early 1960s, the Vietnam War affected Cantonese opera troupe revenues, and under the encouragement and care of Hong Kong Cantonese opera star Koon Hoi Shan, Yam Kim Sing moved to Hong Kong. Initially he performed in only a few theaters, but was later increasingly employed by troupe managers to perform in the four villages of the New Territories. His screen debut was the Cantonese opera film "Heroine on the Hand of Wai To Yu" (1962), followed by several martial arts films, making him a dual opera and film performer. In 1969 he traveled to Singapore to perform with the Golden Dragon Troupe, performing in numerous venues including the People's Theatre in Chinatown and the New World Amusement Park. In 1972, Singapore Cantonese opera troupe manager Kwok Siu-hung invited him to perform in Singapore again with the Golden Dragon Cantonese Opera Troupe. In 1980, he was denied entry to Malaysia while traveling there to perform and was temporarily replaced by Chan Kim Sing.