Wing-Cho Yip

Actor-director Yeh Yung-tsu aka 'Teddy' Yip Wing-cho got his start first as a contract director for Shaw Brothers during the late 60s at a time when nepotism was a workplace norm rather than carry the baggage that it does now. Son of legendary Cathay/Shaw Bros. screenwriter Yeh Yi-Fang/Yip Yat-Fong, Teddy apprenticed under directors Ho Meng Hua and Lo Wei before leaving his own mark in HK cinema where he launched himself directing two of his father's many studio scripts in the little seen Mandarin-era wuxia swordplay classics 'The Girl of the Ghost Valley' and the cult-favorite 'Black Tavern', popular among nocturnal moviegoers after-dark. Knowing that he's working under big shadows cast by such big names as Lo Wei, Shen Chiang, Chu Yuan & Chang Cheh, critics did take notice of his revisionist hybrid take that the young director injected into standard traditional material giving his first works a fresh offbeat spin that was welcome for a tired action genre that was seeking new directions. Yet it would be after the passing of the Mandarin old-guard that Teddy would flourish during the resurgence of HK Cantonese cinema where he spent the majority of his latter career in front of the camera with his iconic mustasched face and a portly presence appearing in countless police & gangster thrillers and slapstick & romantic comedies.