Kao Kang
(aka Thompson Kao)
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Biography
This muscular guy appeared in the obscure classic The Karate Killers along with Pia Piao, swinging a deadly Pigtail. He set the tone of the film, with his grim (yet deadly) portrayal of a Manchu fighter, out to destroy everything that stood in his way. I first remember seeing him in one of my favorite kung-fu films - Dirty Kung Fu, with Wong Yu. He would appear again, fighting against Hong Kong cutie Huang Hsing-Hsiu in the stylish Stranger From Shaolin, in an interesting story about Wing Chun.
Yet, my favorite performance by him, was in the film Crack Shadow Boxers, going up against Ku Feng and Hon Kwok-Choi, in an excellent display of Kung-fu Comedy. He started out appearing in such films as Action Tae Kwon Do, The Smugglers, and Fingers That Kill - for the Yangtze Film Company (a subsidary of the Cathay Films). He was another one of those character actors, whose screen-presence, seemed to overshadow his warmth and kindness, off-screen. He was good friends with Henry Yu-Yung and Lu Chin-Ku - who would later become a director for Shaw Brothers.
Yet, my favorite performance by him, was in the film Crack Shadow Boxers, going up against Ku Feng and Hon Kwok-Choi, in an excellent display of Kung-fu Comedy. He started out appearing in such films as Action Tae Kwon Do, The Smugglers, and Fingers That Kill - for the Yangtze Film Company (a subsidary of the Cathay Films). He was another one of those character actors, whose screen-presence, seemed to overshadow his warmth and kindness, off-screen. He was good friends with Henry Yu-Yung and Lu Chin-Ku - who would later become a director for Shaw Brothers.
But all that would change on August 4th, 1980, when he was shot and killed by an off-duty policeman in Hong Kong. Said to have stemmed over a parking violation, the police force tried to cover it up, saying that Thompson was guilty of assault on the police officer, thus making it look like self-defense. Hundreds of martial artists, film and television actors led a petitioned drive to get an investigation into his death to learn the truth. On August 11th, his funeral brought in the likes of David Chiang, Ti Lung, Pia Piao, and others. During this time, his funeral was so big; (at that time) the mass of people that attended, was [said to be] 2nd only to Bruce Lee’s funeral. From what I saw of him as an actor, he had a true talent, it’s just a shame that his life ended so suddenly, at the age of (35).
