Yang Zaibao

Biography

Yang Zaibao was a Chinese film actor born in Suzhou, Anhui Province on June 25, 1935, who passed away on February 13, 2021 at the age of 85. He was widely known for his tough-guy screen persona and was regarded as one of the most prominent stars of Chinese cinema. He began his film career in 1958 with his debut in "A Small Story in the Great Wind" directed by Xie Jin, then gained nationwide fame in 1960 through his role as Platoon Leader Shi Donggen in "Red Sun." He joined the Shanghai Film Studio as an actor in 1965, but was forced to stop filming for nearly ten years due to the political circumstances of that era. He made a powerful comeback in 1979 with his portrayal of General Luo Xiao in "From Slave to General," which became a classic for an entire generation. In the 1980s, he delivered a series of remarkable performances including the films "Blood is Always Hot" and "Acting Mayor," winning the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actor twice for these two films, becoming the first actor to achieve this feat. He also received the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor for "Blood is Always Hot." Notably, "Acting Mayor" was his directorial debut, undertaken as an emergency replacement after the original director withdrew due to illness. Beyond acting, Yang Zaibao was also an accomplished calligrapher with notable achievements in running script and cursive script. He gradually retired from filmmaking in the late 1980s and passed away at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing.