Yuen Siu Tien (袁小田) (1912–1979) (also known as Yuan Xiao Tian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol' Dirty") was a kung fu movie star in the 1970s. He starred in films with actors like Jackie Chan and under the direction of his son Yuen Woo-ping. He died of a heart attack in 1979.

Success in old age

Yuen Siu Tien trained in traditional Peking opera role of Wu-Shen. He only began acting in movies in 1960, at the age of 48, mostly portraying mentors and Kung Fu masters. His most popular movie was Drunken Master where he played Su Hua Chi (aka The Beggar So), an old hermit who had mastered the art of Drunken Boxing. The role was a reprisal (in all but name) of the one he played in Chan's Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. Drunken Master was one of the first big hits for Jackie Chan, who portrayed Wong Fei Hung. The movie showed Wong Fei Hung as a young and mischievous rascal instead of the venerable, confucian master of kung fu that he normally was. The movie was a surprise international hit, and greatly helped to boost the career of the then 66 year old actor.

Yuen featured in over 35 films throughout his career. He reprised the role of The Beggar So for three further films, Dance Of The Drunk Mantis, Story Of Drunken Master and a cameo in World Of The Drunken Master. He was cast to play the role again, in Magnificent Butcher with Sammo Hung, but died part way through filming. On the previews for the film they had promised a return of the Drunken Master but he was actually replaced by another actor, Fan Mei Sheng. Filming continued with Fan's Drunken Master character, including re-shooting some of Yuen's scenes. However, Fan's character is never referred to by the names Su Hua Chi or Beggar So in the film.

Ol' Dirty

The rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard took his name from one of Yuen Siu Tien's movies Ol' Dirty & The Bastard. ODB was a member of the Wu-Tang Clan rap group until his death in 2004. His lyrics were often inspired by 1970s Kung Fu films.

Selected filmography

• The Thundering Mantis (1984) (Mandarin title: Dian tang lang)
• Wild Bunch of Kung Fu (1982) (aka Against Rascals with Kung Fu)
• An Old Kung Fu Master (1980) (aka Ol' Dirty & the Bastard) - Master Shing
• Drunken Master (1978) - Su Hua Chi/Sam Seed
• Peculiar Boxing Tricks and Master (1978) (aka Old Dirty Strikes Back)- Tung
• The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) (aka The Master Killer; Mandarin title: Shao Lin san shi liu fang) - Teacher
• Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)
• Heroes of the East (1978)
• Bons baisers de Hong Kong (From Hong Kong with Love) (1975)
• Little Tiger of Canton (1971) (credited as Hsao Ten Juan)
• 55 Days at Peking (1963) (uncredited)

Trivia

Yuen Siu Tien's likeness was used for the character Chin Gentsai in the SNK series, The King of Fighters as well as for the character Shun Di from the Virtua Fighter series (taken from the role of Su Hai from Drunken Master).

External links

• IMDb entry