Kenneth Tsang, Hong Kong Actor With Such Hollywood Credits as ‘Rush Hour 2,’ Dies at 86 in COVID Quarantine Hotel
The veteran leading man appeared in dozens of Hong Kong films, as well as Hollywood hits like 'Rush Hour 2' and James Bond film 'Die Another Day.'
BY PATRICK BRZESKI
APRIL 27, 2022 3:41AM
Hong Kong COURTESY OF HONG KONG
Veteran Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang, whose screen career spanned over 50 years, was found dead Wednesday at a hotel in Hong Kong where he was undergoing the city’s mandatory travel quarantine for COVID-19. He was 86.
The actor was quarantining at a hotel in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district after returning from a trip to Singapore, according to the South China Morning Post, which cited a local government source. Tsang was discovered unconscious in his hotel room after knocks on his door by health care workers conducting daily checks went unanswered. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The newspaper’s source said Tsang had tested negative for COVID on Tuesday.
Tsang’s screen career began when he was just a teenager, with appearances in The Feud (1955) and Who Isn’t Romantic? (1956). By the 1960s, he was a regular leading man, starring in a variety of detective films and classic kung fu movies. Later prominent roles included parts in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986) and A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987), as well as opposite Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung in Once a Thief (1991). He then made his Hollywood debut in Chow Tun-fat’s The Replacement Killers (1998), going on to act in Jackie Chan’s Rush Hour 2 and the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), along with many other Hong Kong and U.S. movies.
Hong Kong currently requires all travelers from overseas to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine at a designated hotel at their own expense. On Wednesday, the city reported 430 new Covid-19 infections, up 83 from the day before, with eight deaths attributed to the virus.
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