Taiwanese pop icon Liu Wen Zheng (劉文正), who captivated the Mandarin-speaking world in the 1970s and 1980s, died in the US of a heart attack in November last year, his agent Hsia Yu-shun (夏玉順) confirmed to local Chinese-language media yesterday.
“A star has fallen and its legend will live on forever,” Hsia was quoted as saying.
Some local reports said that Liu died on the eve of his birthday, making him 69 at the time of his death.
Photo: CNA
Liu, who was born in Taipei on Nov. 12, 1952, rose to fame in 1975 with the release of his first album The Promise (諾言) and a starring role in the romantic film The Story of Four Girls (門裡門外), released nationally and in Hong Kong.
That same year, Liu took over the variety show Jin Xiu Nian Hua (錦繡年華) on Taiwan Television, launching a career as a leading entertainer in the age of state-run cable channels.
After that, Liu became the host of Liu Wen Zheng Shi Jian (劉文正時間), named after and tailored for him on China Television, which at its height reached a rating share of 82 percent, the highest for a Taiwanese show at that time.
Photo: CAN
In 1981, he performed and produced Fei Ying (飛鷹), which was the first Chinese-language music video and a commercial success.
Throughout his career, Liu acted in more than 20 romance films, and won Golden Bell awards for best leading actor in a singing role in 1980, 1982 and 1983. He also received awards for best Mandarin performance in Singapore and Malaysia.
Liu ended his contract with Hong Kong’s PolyGram Records and moved to the US in 1984, marking his retirement from singing.
He returned to Taiwan two years later and established Fei Ying Records, which represented some of the biggest talents in the nation’s music industry including Fang Wen-lin (方文琳), Annie Yi (伊能靜) and Donna Chiu (裘海正).
In 1991, Liu closed the label and returned to the US, refusing interviews, public appearances and a rumored movie deal worth close to NT$100 million (US$3.3 million).
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