April 2nd, 2003: On the night of
Tuesday, April 1st, at around 6:30 pm, Hong Kong superstar Leslie Cheung
Kwok-Wing killed himself by leaping off a balcony on the 24th floor of the
Central district's Mandarin Oriental hotel. He was 46.
At 6:41 pm, police received a phone call from a passerby that there was a body
on Connaught Road. Upon arrival, the police found a badly injured Cheung and had
him transported to Queen Mary Hospital where he pronounced dead on arrival at
7:06 pm.
On Cheung's body, authorities found a suicide note, personal identification,
credit cards, keys, a lighter, a cellphone, a parking garage stub, a green
surgical mask and a wallet that had around HK$9,000 in it.
Three different versions of the suicide note have been reported. One suggested
that he killed himself because he could not bear growing older. Another
alleges that he committed suicide because his relationship with his longtime
partner, Daffy Tong Hok-Tak, was irreconcilable. A third suggests that Cheung
ended his life because he was torn between Tong and an unidentified
twenty-something man.
According to an unnamed source in the police
department, the suicide note supposedly suggests Cheung killed himself because
of "emotional problems".
Speaking to the press early this morning, Mr. Tong confirmed that Cheung was
suffering from depression and had been seeing a psychiatrist for treatment. He
also revealed that Cheung tried to kill himself last November.
Like the varying versions of the suicide note, there are conflicting accounts
of Cheung's final hours. One report stated that Cheung worked out at the
Mandarin Oriental's health centre at around 4 pm then arranged to have tea at
the hotel's restaurant with his manager-turned-friend Chan Suk-Fan. When he
failed to keep the appointment, Chan called Cheung on his cellphone to find
out why he had not arrived yet. Cheung reportedly told her that he was parking
his car. When Chan went out to the parking lot to look for Cheung, she
supposedly discovered Cheung's body. The Sun quotes Chan telling a passerby:
"I think that's my friend."
A second report suggests that Cheung, Mr. Tong and a younger male --
supposedly Tong's lover -- met on the fourth floor of the hotel. Cheung
reportedly became very agitated during the meeting and stormed off to the gym
on the 24th floor. Shortly after, he killed himself.
Another version states Cheung had lunch with his friend designer Mok Wah-Bing.
The two apparently talked about SARS with Cheung advising Mok to wear a
surgical mask when outdoors. At around 4 pm, Cheung went to the Mandarin
Oriental's health club, ordered a glass of orange juice and sat outside at one
of the tables on the balcony. An hour later, he went back inside to borrow a
pen and paper. An hour and a half after that, he leapt to his death.
Born Cheung Fat-Chung on September 12th, 1956, Leslie Cheung was the youngest
of ten children in the Cheung household. While he had many siblings, he was
virtually an only child as his brothers and sisters were much older than him.
Raised by the family maid because both of his parents worked, Cheung revealed
in past interviews that his was not a happy childhood. Three of his siblings
passed away and Cheung's father supposedly was not faithful to his marriage.
In 1971, at the age of 15, Cheung went to England to study. At one point, he
attended Leeds University. In 1976, Cheung returned to Hong Kong when his
father fell ill. After his father's death, Cheung did not return to England to
complete his studies.
Cheung entered RTV's Asian Music Contest in 1977. Singing Don MacLean's
AMERICAN PIE, Cheung took second place in the competition. Later that year, he
released his first album I LIKE DREAMING. As Cheung liked to sing in English
and had a different look and style than the popular singing stars of the day,
Sam Hui Kwoon-Kit and Roman Tam (Lo Man), his album received a tepid response.
(SANNEY: RTV, Lai Dik, is the predecessor to today's ATV.)
For the next four years, Cheung struggled in obscurity until he signed with
Capital Artists in 1982. The next year, Cheung released a hit album entitled
THE WIND BLOWS ON (FUNG GAI JUK CHUI). In 1984, he followed up THE WIND BLOWS
ON with the self-titled album LESLIE CHEUNG KWOK-WING. It sold 200, 000 units.
One of its songs, MONICA, earned Cheung two music awards.
With his music career well underway, Cheung turned his attention to the Hong
Kong movie industry. In 1986, he broke through by playing up-and-coming cop
Sung Chi-Kit in the John Woo film A BETTER TOMORROW. Co-starring Chow Yun-Fat
and Ti Lung, the action movie was a hit and went on to become one of the most
influential films of the 1980s. A year later, Cheung cemented his credentials
as a leading man by starring in the hit historical fantasy A CHINESE GHOST
STORY. Based on the story by Pu Songling, the film spawned a revival of period
movies. Both A BETTER TOMORROW and A CHINESE GHOST STORY caught the attention
of audiences in the West and helped set the stage for the migration of Hong
Kong talent to Hollywood in the late-1990s.
In 1989, after a string of hit albums, music awards and sold-out concerts,
Cheung "retired" from the music industry and concentrated on making movies.
The dedication paid dividends as he starred in movies such as DAYS OF BEING
WILD, ASHES OF TIME, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE and HE'S A WOMAN, SHE'S A MAN. His
turn as a 1960s philanderer in Wong Kar-Wai's DAYS OF BEING WILD earned Cheung
a HKFA Best Actor Award in 1991.
Cheung signed with Rock Records in 1995 and revived his music career.
Besides being known for his accomplishments in the music and movie industries,
Cheung was equally well-known for being openly gay. After a failed
relationship with actress Teresa Mo Shun-Kwun, Cheung and Tong Hok-Yau, a
banker, started a relationship in 1985. For the next twelve years, Cheung and
Tong kept their relationship a secret. In 1995, after reporters took pictures
of him and Tong then suggested that they were lovers, Cheung dismissed the
report by saying people were trying to set him up as a homosexual.
Cheung changed his tune two years later. In addition to playing a homosexual
in Wong Kar-Wai's HAPPY TOGETHER, Cheung publicly declared his love for Tong
during a 1997 concert. Before singing Teresa Teng's YUET LEUNG DOI BUI NGOR
DIK SUM (THE MOON REPRESENTS MY HEART), Cheung singled out Tong and said:
"Apart from my mother, Tong Tong is the person I love the most."
After that, the two did not hide their relationship from the public. In fact,
Cheung went on to embrace his status as a gay icon. In 2000, his "Passion"
concert series became notorious for gender bending outfits that included
skirts, wigs and high heels.
The wheels started to come off of Cheung's life last year. Reports began to
surface suggesting that his relationship with Tong was on the rocks. During
the filming of INNER SENSES, rumours accusing Cheung of erratic behaviour
emerged. The rumours went so far as to suggest that Cheung became possessed by
"evil spirits". Last Fall, rumours of Cheung's instability were re-ignited
when he dropped out of two films: Sylvia Chang Ai-Ka's "20, 30, 40" and Hsu
Feng's BEAUTIFUL SHANGHAI. With Tong's admission earlier today, the public now
knows that Cheung's battle with depression was behind the events of the past
year.
Shock, bewilderment and a deep sense of loss were the most common reactions to
Cheung's death. Speaking to Ming Pao, Chow Yun-Fat said: "I'm deeply shocked.
I don't understand what has happened. I had dinner with him a few months ago.
Mr. Tong was there. They seemed happy. I didn't sense any problems."
Contacted yesterday hours after news of the suicide broke, Teresa Mo Shun-Kwun
was crying so much, she could not give a response. Today, during her
Commercial Radio talk show, Mo revealed that she sensed Cheung was in trouble
and offered to help talk him through his rough patch. He declined Mo's offer.
Shortly after Cheung's death, rumours surfaced suggesting that this Sunday's
Hong Kong Film Awards would be postponed indefinitely. Today, HKFA officials
Cheung Tung-Tso, Eric Tsang Chi-Wan and Derek Yee Tung-Sing held a press
conference to declare that the ceremony will go on. When asked if anything
special will be done to commemorate Cheung, Cheung Tung-Tso replied: "We are
going to hold meetings today and decide. We'll make an announcement tomorrow."
Talking to reporters at the press event, Eric Tsang pleaded with the Hong Kong
public to keep a positive outlook even though people have been beset by the
SARS epidemic, a flagging economy and the suicide of Leslie Cheung. Tsang: "I
think that everybody should keep their chin up and have a positive attitude.
Even though things in Hong Kong are tough, it's nothing we can't get past."
With Hong Kong being Hong Kong, an urban legend has emerged suggesting that
every ten years in a year ending in the number three, a well-known young
celebrity will die. Those who believe in this myth point to the following:
- On July 20th, 1973, Bruce Lee died at the age of 31 from a cerebral edema
after he had an adverse reaction to a painkiller.
- On July 7th, 1983, rising star Alexander Fu Sing died from severe injuries
following a car accident on Clearwater Bay Road. He was 29.
- On June 30th, 1993, Beyond's lead singer Koma Wong Ka-Kui died after falling
accidentally during the taping of a Japanese game show. He was 31.
- On April 1st, 2003, Leslie Cheung, 46, committed suicide.
A wake for Cheung will be held on April 7th at the Hong Kong Funeral Home. He
will be buried on April 8th.
