Sun Ma Chai (Sun Ma Sze Tsang), aka Tang Wing-cheung, is a popular Chinese opera singer/actor who remained in the public eye after the popularity of Cantonese opera waned, by hosting and often performing in charity Chinese opera fund raisers (similar to Jerry Lewis in this respect), earning him the nickname Charity Opera King. His wife, a former night club hostess 30 years his junior, was to enage in an ugly
fight with his children over his inheritance while he was dying of illness. -- brns.com
Tang became a successful actor in Cantonese opera very early on, and was known in the circle as 'The Child Prodigy'. The name he used for performances is Sun Ma Sze Tsang, after another famous artist of Cantonese opera. However, his singing style was quite distinct and not an imitation of the old master. In 1931, he founded the Sun Ma Cantonese Opera Troupe, and won popularity with pieces like 'Lust is the Worst Vice', 'The Emperor and the Concubine' and so on. He made his film debut in 1936 with 'The Perfect Match'. Apart from the screen versions of his Cantonese operas, Tang also starred in comic films like the 'Two Fools' which he made with Tang Kei Chen, 'Teddy Boy in the Gutter' and 'The Strange Hero'. By 1976, he had already made over 300 movies. Because of his very humble origin, Tang was a philanthropist for all his life and was known as 'Opera King of Charity'.
