Retired Channel 8 actor Bai Yan dies

SINGAPORE — Former Channel 8 actor Bai Yan died at 3am on Monday (Aug 19). He was 100.

In May this year, close friends of the retired actor threw him a birthday bash at Chinese restaurant Yummy Palace with more than 100 guests, including past and present television artistes Zoe Tay, Christopher Lee and Chen Xiuhuan, showed up to celebrate the well-loved veteran star.

Bai Yan, who is affectionately known as Bai Yan Shu (or Uncle Bai Yan), was born in Wuhan, China in 1920. He first came to Singapore just before World War II as part of a Chinese dance troupe and in the '50s and '60s, made his name performing acrobatics and magic tricks. He was also a popular skit actor.

In 1944, he married actress Ye Qing, who was one of Singapore’s first movie stars, and they had three children together. Ye Qing died in 2016 at the age of 94.  

He then made his small screen debut at 65, when he was invited to join the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) as an actor.

He was the star of period dramas in the 1980s and also became known for playing kind fatherly figures in Ch 8 classics such as We Are Family, which was tailor-made for him.

At his 100th birthday party, Xiuhuan told 8 Days that his granddaughter Jenny was his caregiver at home. 8 DAYS