Farewell Lydia Shum! The Chinese Entertainment scene will forever miss this, once lively, cheerful and lovely lady. Best known by all as Fei-fei (肥肥), an on-screen name for her bubbly, and plump outlook, she has appeared in many well-known Hong-Kong flims, as well as many foreign international productions.
Health & death
Lydia Shum had several chronic ailments : cholangitis, diabetes, and hypertension. In 2002, she was admitted to hospital and had 36 gallstones extracted. In September 2006, Shum was diagnosed with a liver tumor and cancer around the gallbladder. Immediately, doctors removed one third of her liver.
Prior to the cholecystectomy done in 2002, she had a history of bile duct inflammation as early as 1978. The inflammation recurred in 1989. On September 22, 2006 the bile duct inflammation had recurred, and 4 days later, the inflammation had complicated the liver and her coma began. She woke from the coma on October 1, 2006. On January 29, 2007 she once again entered the operating room to remove a liver tumor which weighed 2.7kg. On March 8, 2007 the tumor was found to be growing again so she had a cholecystectomy once again.
On November 1, 2006, a 24-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, Triyuliarti Yuyun, was convicted of violating the Hospital Authority Ordinance and sentenced to four weeks in jail. Yuyun entered a ward at the Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong (QMH) on October 1, 2006 where Shum had been receiving treatment, and attempted to take photographs of Shum. Later, it was confirmed that Yuyun was a domestic helper to one of the employees of the local magazine East Week, but she had not been authorized to take photographs of Shum. East Week's senior management did not approve of the action and offered an apology to Shum. Sentencing Magistrate Colin Mackintosh said Yuyun's actions were premeditated and done for financial gain and that the serious infringement of the patient's privacy warranted a custodial sentence. On that occasion, Shum was discharged from the hospital in July 2007.
On October 11, 2007, Shum collapsed at home due to pleural effusion, and was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong for emergency treatment. She was transferred to the QMH later that day. She was discharged from the hospital on October 16, 2007.
Shum was admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 22 January, 2008 and checked out on 26 January, 2008. Her mother passed away in Canada while Shum was in the hospital.
She was once again admitted to the intensive care ward at QMH on 2 February, 2008. Her conditions worsened, so on February 19, 2008 - 3 a.m. (local time) her family decided not to let her suffer more. It was decided that her breathing apparatus would be removed from her, her family spent time with her by her bedside till she passed away peacefully at 8:38 a.m. (local time). It is unfortunate that she was not able to say her last words then.
Prior to her death, she was known to be suffering of liver cancer and had been fighting it for 2 years. As part of the treatment for her illness, she underwent Chemotherapy and several Kidney dialysis. On February 20, 2008, Shum's family announced in Hong Kong that Shum will be buried next to her mother in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Her Biography
Shum was born in 1945 in Shanghai, China. However, many media reports cite 1947 as the year of birth for Shum.
She made her film debut in 1960, joining Shaw Brothers as a teenage actress (she was 15 at the time). Her stardom began with the widely televised TVB variety show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, first singing with the Four Golden Flowers and played a role as a Shanghai woman in the 1970s. She partnered with Roman Tam in singing from 1971 to 1973.
She has since been established as mainly a comic and dramatic actress, but has appeared in many films in different genres. Kung fu fans will recognize her from her role as Yuen Cheung-Yan's dominating wife in the film Drunken Tai Chi. She also appeared as Richard Ng's wife in the all-star comedy Millionaire's Express and in It's a Mad Mad World in a major role. She took a leave from her movie career in 1997, and hosted a talk show in Hong Kong, along with numerous telethons and variety shows on TVB. She returned to films in 2004 with the comedy In-Laws Outlaws.
Shum starred in Singapore's Channel 5 sitcom Living with Lydia and Cantonese series like Slim Chances. Her performance in Living with Lydia won her the "Best Comedy Performance by an Actress" award at the 2003 Asian Television Awards. She said it was the first time she had acted in an English drama in her 40 year career so far.
Here are two references, if you wish to read up more about her:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Shum
http://batgwa.com/story.php?id=627
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