Biography
A good character actor, who has played in a lot of films, he (also) shared the distinction of being a real martial-artist. He used to be a student of Peking Opera teacher Jim Yuen - who also taught Jackie Chan and Samo Hung. I've seen him in numerous Shaw Brothers films (made as far back as the 60's), appearing in everything from Comedies to Swordplay films. At one time, he even went by the name "Ku Lung" (like the writer of many of Chu Yuan's films). Later adopting the name - Cliff, to give himself that American feel, as most Asian actors and actresses do, when their films go into the International market. A good actor with very good kung-fu skills, he has never really been able to show his stuff, until he started working with master choreographer (and good friend), Chan Siu-Pang.
Working with Chan (mostly on productions helmed by director Joseph Kuo), he got to help with the choreography on certain films. Best Of Shaolin Kung Fu, Shaolin Death Squads, Mysterious Heroes, and others gave him the chance to show-off his skills in the choreography department. He (also) added his own input, into the films they worked on. Later in his career, he would continue to give us an assortment of film roles, that would give him ample opportunities to show us, what he's made of. Films like Super Dragons, Mad, Mad Kung Fu, and Killer From Above, while giving him a variety of film roles, didn't quite raise his profile as a star.
Though, his skills are usually put to the test in most of his films, his only problem was that he didn't have that heroic look. His skills could speak for themselves. In a role that looked like it could have been written for Li I-Min, the film Ninja Supremeo was an excellent vehicle for him (and one of his more popular films with fans). In Ring Of Death, we saw him go up against Wang Jang-Li and put on an intriguing battle of skill and wits. In the Star-studded Duel Of The 7 Tigers, he would take on Cassanove Wong and Kao Fei, in some excellent fights as well.
But, it was Wilson Tong, who would take his skills and choreograph them, into an awesome display of mastery and agility for the film, Kung Fu Genius. He's played with some of kung-fu's top stars, including the late Shek Kien -- with whom he's starred, in a number of very interesting films. Such works as The Roaring Lion and the classic Tiger's Claw showed both men were masters of their craft and excellent actors as well. The obscure 70's film Choy Lee-Fat was another fine example of his work and one of the better combinations of kung-fu and comedy.