TVB’s “Go-To-Villain” Parkman Wong Revealed To Be The Son Of ‘50s Star Patsy Kar Ling, Who Died At 87 This Week

Hong Kong silver screen goddess Patsy Kar Ling (嘉玲) was known in the ‘50s and early ‘60s for portraying aristocratic women thanks to her posh and elegant beauty.

The star retired from acting in 1967 a few years after marrying her Thai-Chinese beau. She then moved to Bangkok, where she raised their son and two daughters.

Patsy passed away earlier this week on Monday (Nov 21) from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the age of 87.

Since her death, it has been revealed that Patsy has another son — TVB veteran actor Parkman Wong, 64.

Parkman confirmed his relationship with Patsy in an interview, saying that he was born before Patsy made her showbiz debut. Their relationship was never revealed to the public until now. 

Here's how Patsy looked in her heyday

Fans of TVB dramas would recognise Parkman as one of the broadcaster's go-to villains.

The actor got his start in showbiz after participating in TVB’s 6th training class in 1977. He went on to work behind the camera, where he started out as an assistant director for movies. 

Parkman returned to the small screen in 2012, where he was contracted as an actor under TVB. However, he played mainly antagonists, and thus starting his streak as “TVB’s go-to villain”.

Parkman career trajectory is very different from his mum's.

Parkman spoke to the media a day after his mum’s death, and revealed that Patsy and his father had separated when he was a kid. He then followed his father to live overseas, and only returned to Hong Kong when he was eight. 

Upon his return, Patsy made the first move to reconnect with him. Parkman also said he keeps in contact with his half-siblings from Patsy’s marriage.

“I interacted the most with mum when I was 28. She really doted on my daughter. I would pick her up from the airport, take her around and be her chauffeur every time she came to Hong Kong. We really cherished the time we spent with each other,” said Parkman.

Parkman with his daughter and Patsy. 

Close friends of Patsy and Parkman were aware that they were mother and son, though it was never made known to the public.

Just last month, Parkman took his daughter to Thailand to visit Patsy, though he never expected that to be their last meeting.

“Her lungs were already very weak and she had trouble breathing. It was hard to hear what she was trying to say, so sometimes we would guess, or she would write down her message to us. She mainly told us that she really missed us. I stayed in Thailand for about a week, and was by her side every day. After returning to Hong Kong, I promised to visit her again. I never thought that our meeting last month would be the last!” said Parkman.

He had heard about his mum’s passing from his half-siblings.

“Mum passed away peacefully in her sleep. Although I can’t bear to part [with her], it is a relief to know that she isn’t suffering from sickness anymore,” continued Parkman, who is now in Thailand with his daughter for Patsy’s wake.

Patsy was already ill for some time prior to her passing Photos: Sinchew News