Anthony Chan
Hong Kong singer, actor, and director, born on October 1, 1952; he is the drummer of The Wynners and later also worked behind the scenes in film as a screenwriter and producer.
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About the artist
Anthony Chan is a Hong Kong singer, actor, and director whose birth name is 陳志濤. Born on October 1, 1952, he is also the drummer of The Wynners. He grew up around Electric Road in Tin Hau on Hong Kong Island, attended the same primary school as Bennett Pang, and later studied at New Method College.
Drumming led Anthony Chan into professional entertainment. In the late 1960s, his father had planned for him to study civil engineering at a university in Canada, but Anthony Chan instead went alone to play drums in a Wan Chai bar and formed a band with Kenny Bee, 陳百祥, and others. Before the band became famous, Anthony Chan delivered newspapers while continuing to work as a musician in bars.
The stage name "Anthony Chan" also came from his early band life: from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Bennett Pang did not believe that Anthony Chan had a guitar at home and teased him by calling him "a swaggering fellow" and "a swaggering department store." Anthony Chan subsequently adopted the moniker as his stage name.
After The Wynners was formed, Anthony Chan served as its drummer and performed with the band in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Okinawa in Japan, and elsewhere. Between 1973 and 1974, Anthony Chan and his bandmates caught the attention of 邵逸夫 and 方逸華 and were invited to join Shaw Brothers to appear in period films; because the contract was for ten years and Anthony Chan did not like making period films, the collaboration ultimately did not happen.
Screen work subsequently became another career path. In 1975, Anthony Chan had already directed the film "Let’s Rock", starring The Wynners; in the late 1970s, he also appeared with the band in "大家樂", which James Wong Jim invited them to make.
A desire to move beyond a single role in the band led Anthony Chan into television. Not wanting to still be only a drummer at age 30, he signed with TVB at the invitation of production staff, becoming a television singer and entertainer, appearing in television dramas, and hosting the variety program "歡樂今宵". This career change was also connected to a television producer who patronized the bar he operated; Anthony Chan's contract with TVB ended in the early 1980s.
His film career gradually expanded from on-screen to behind-the-scenes work, and Anthony Chan worked as an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. In 1986, Anthony Chan and director 張堅庭 formed 二友電影公司, launching it with "兩公婆八條心" and subsequently making medium- and low-budget comedies such as "一屋兩妻".
Both acting and directing brought Anthony Chan Hong Kong Film Awards nominations. He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the fourth awards for "緣分", and later a Best Director nomination at the ninth awards for "不脫襪的人".
His interest in Chinese history prompted another career shift. Beginning in 1993, Anthony Chan spent two years gradually handing the business of 二友電影公司 over to 張堅庭 before going to mainland China to develop advertising, television production, and television-shopping logistics businesses; during this period he founded 城市電視 and established companies in Guangzhou and Beijing.
In his later film work, Anthony Chan both performed and helped discover and cultivate young filmmakers. In 2012, he assembled his own teams in Hong Kong and mainland China and engaged young creators; in 2014, he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards for "殭屍".
Anthony Chan's work also extended beyond film and television. In 2010, he co-founded a cosmetics and aromatherapy company with Alan Tam and others; in 2015, he entered the food and beverage industry as a chef. He returned to film directing in 2018 with "兄弟班", based on the experiences of The Wynners.
Overview
- Born
- October 1, 1952age 74
- Born in
- Hong Kong
- Career start
- Debut as group member · 1969
- Active
- 1969 – present57 years
- Gender
- Male
- Instruments
- Drums / Percussion
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.
