Yuen Siu-tien (Chinese: è¢ å° ç"°) (27 November 1912 â€" 8 January
1979) (also known as Yuan Xiaotian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol'
Dirty") was a Hong Kong martial arts film actor in the late 1970s.
Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So (a.k.a. Sam Seed) in three
films: Drunken Master, Story of Drunken Master and his final film
Dance of the Drunk Mantis. He starred in several films with film
actors like Jackie Chan and under the direction of his real life son
Yuen Woo-ping.Yuen trained in the traditional Peking opera role of
Wu-Shen. He began his acting career at age 37, in the first Wong
Fei-hung film to star Kwan Tak-hing, Story of Huang Feihong (1949),
though his film appearances were rare until the late 1950s. He is best
known for portraying mentors and kung fu masters, and featured in
almost 150 films throughout his career.One of his internationally
best-known films came late in his career, Drunken Master (1978), in
which he played Beggar So (Sam Seed in some English dubs), an old
hermit who had mastered the art of drunken boxing, aiding a young Wong
Fei-hung, played by Jackie Chan. The role was a reprisal (in all but
name) of the one he had played in another of Chan's films, Snake in
the Eagle's Shadow (1978). At the time, Drunken Master proved to be
the most successful film to feature Chan. The film portrayed Wong
Fei-hung as a young and mischievous rascal as opposed to the
venerable, Confucian master of kung fu played in many films by Kwan
Tak-hing. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly
helped to boost the career of the then 66-year-old actor. Yuen
reprised the role of the beggar So for three further films, Dance of
the Drunk Mantis, Story of Drunken Master, and World of the Drunken
Master (in which he had a cameo).Yuen is the father of eleven
children, six of whom have worked (or still work) in the Hong Kong
film industry. The five eldest sons were known collectively as the
"Yuen clan" and often worked in combinations on many films:
1979) (also known as Yuan Xiaotian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol'
Dirty") was a Hong Kong martial arts film actor in the late 1970s.
Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So (a.k.a. Sam Seed) in three
films: Drunken Master, Story of Drunken Master and his final film
Dance of the Drunk Mantis. He starred in several films with film
actors like Jackie Chan and under the direction of his real life son
Yuen Woo-ping.Yuen trained in the traditional Peking opera role of
Wu-Shen. He began his acting career at age 37, in the first Wong
Fei-hung film to star Kwan Tak-hing, Story of Huang Feihong (1949),
though his film appearances were rare until the late 1950s. He is best
known for portraying mentors and kung fu masters, and featured in
almost 150 films throughout his career.One of his internationally
best-known films came late in his career, Drunken Master (1978), in
which he played Beggar So (Sam Seed in some English dubs), an old
hermit who had mastered the art of drunken boxing, aiding a young Wong
Fei-hung, played by Jackie Chan. The role was a reprisal (in all but
name) of the one he had played in another of Chan's films, Snake in
the Eagle's Shadow (1978). At the time, Drunken Master proved to be
the most successful film to feature Chan. The film portrayed Wong
Fei-hung as a young and mischievous rascal as opposed to the
venerable, Confucian master of kung fu played in many films by Kwan
Tak-hing. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly
helped to boost the career of the then 66-year-old actor. Yuen
reprised the role of the beggar So for three further films, Dance of
the Drunk Mantis, Story of Drunken Master, and World of the Drunken
Master (in which he had a cameo).Yuen is the father of eleven
children, six of whom have worked (or still work) in the Hong Kong
film industry. The five eldest sons were known collectively as the
"Yuen clan" and often worked in combinations on many films:
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