Biography
During the '50s and '60s, actor Chao Lei was among Hong Kong Mandarin cinema's most popular performers. Known as "the little emperor," he got his start working for the Shaw brothers in 1953 and over his career made more than 100 films, most of which were costume dramas. He often worked under director Li Han-hsiang and it was for Li that Chao made his most internationally famous films, including The Kingdom, the Beauty (1958) and Hsi Shih (1965). In his heyday, Chao worked opposite some of Hong Kong's best actresses. In 1963, he joined Cathay studios and remained active through the early '70s when he gradually withdrew from acting to concentrate on running a restaurant in Taipei. Chao, who had for years suffered lung troubles, died of pneumonia on June 24, 1996, in Hong Kong; he was 68. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi