Veteran entertainer Frankie Gao (高凌風) died of complications from leukemia last night at a New Taipei City (新北市) hospital. He was 63.
His assistant, surnamed Chao (趙), confirmed that Gao passed away at 7:50pm at the Taipei Tzu Chi General Hospital in Sindian District (新店).
Gao had a long career in show business, including more than three decades as a singer and host of variety programs on TV and live-stage performances.
Photo: CNA
During his heyday as a singer in 1980s, he became known as the “The Frog Prince” (青蛙王子), and was in high demand for performances at night clubs around the nation.
Among his most popular songs are Burn, Phoenix, Burn (燃燒吧!火鳥), Fire in the Winter (冬天裡的一把火) and Dear Heart (心上人).
Gao had an unorthodox stage style, including his fondness for talking about risque topics.
Gao was plagued by a number of controversies throughout his career, including three marriages that ended in divorce, heavy debts due to gambling, alleged involvement with gangsters and his condemnation of medical treatments for his leukemia by doctors last year.
He was scheduled to hold a concert in Taipei on March 8, and his friends said last night that the event would now become a memorial to pay tribute to him.
Show host Chang Fei (張菲), a good friend of Gao, said that he was in contact with veteran singer Yu Tian (余天) about the event and would discuss with other entertainers how to give their friend a well-deserved final tribute.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
RSS