Biography of Jackie Chan

About Jackie Chan,Jackie Chan

introduces

Biography of Jackie Chan
Name: Jackie Chan
Date of Birth: 7 April 1954, Victoria Peak, Hong Kong.
Nickname: Y'uen Lo, Sing Lung, Pao Pao.
Born: 7 April 1954 (Age: 57)
Where: Hong Kong, China
Height: 5' 8"
Awards: No major awards
Birth Name: Kong-sang Chan

Biography of Jackie Chan:

• In childhood, he suffered terrible poverty and the most painfully rigorous of educations. In his early career, he was almost cast aside as just another in a long line of failed Next Bruce Lees. In perfecting his craft, he's broken his nose three times, and also cracked his ankle, most of his fingers, both his cheekbones and his skull (patched together with a steel plate). You can't say Jackie Chan hasn't paid his dues. But finally, after nearly 40 years in the business, the guy's reached worldwide stardom. As he always wanted, pretty much everyone knows his name.

• Jackie Chan was born Chan Kong-Sang (meaning Born In Hong Kong) on the 7th of April, 1954, naturally enough in Hong Kong. He was the only child of Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, having, reports say, spent 12 months in the womb, finally being removed surgically and weighing 12 pounds (his mum nicknamed him Pao-Pao, meaning Cannonball). Charles borrowed money from friends to pay for the operation, turning down the doctor's offer to take the child in payment. The family lived in a mansion in the exclusive Victoria Peak district. Not that his parents owned the mansion - Charles worked as a cook for the French Ambassador, while Lee-Lee was the housekeeper.

• Jackie attended the Nah-Hwa primary school on Hong Kong Island, often spending his travel money on food and walking home, fighting on the way with Caucasian kids attending special schools in the area. He was not academically bright, failing to pass Primary 1 as his peers moved on to Primary 3. This was noticed by Charles, who decided to enrol the boy, now 7, at the Peking Opera School, operated by Shu Master Yu Jan-Yuen. Walking in with his dad, Jackie saw tens of kids, between 7 and their early teens, somersaulting and playing with swords and sticks. He recalls that he felt like kids must feel today on entering Disneyland. He would never return to academic education. Though he speaks 7 languages, he still cannot read or write with great proficiency, and has someone else write his scripts for him.

• It didn't stay like Disneyland. Charles now moved to Australia to work at the Chinese Embassy, and Jackie, now named Yuen Lo, saw the true nature of the Peking Opera School. The training in music, acrobatics and many martial arts lasted 18 hours a day. Exercises were brutal, the kids performing headstands for hours on end. Beatings were commonplace, both at the hands of the Master and the other boys. Eventually, Jackie's mother left too, to join Charles in Australia, Jackie being adopted by the single-minded Master.

Mini Biography of Jackie Chan:

• Hong Kong's cheeky, lovable and best known film star endured many years of long, hard work and multiple injuries to establish international success via his early beginnings in Hong Kong's manic martial arts cinema industry.

• Jackie Chan was born "Kong-sang Chan" on Hong Kong's famous Victoria Peak on April 7th, 1954 to Charles & Lee-Lee Chan, and the family emigrated to Canberra, Australia in early 1960. The young Jackie Chan was less than successful scholastically, so his father sent him back to Hong Kong to attend the rigorous China Drama Academy, one of the Peking Opera Schools. Chan excelled at acrobatics, singing and martial arts and eventually became a member of the "Seven Little Fortunes" performing troupe and began life long friendships with fellow martial artists / actors Sammo Hung Kam-Bo and Biao Yuen. Chan journeyed back and forth to visit his parents and work in Canberra, but eventually he made his way back to Hong Kong as his permanent home.

• In the early 1970s Chan commenced his movie career and interestingly he appeared in very minor roles in two films starring then rising martial arts superstar Bruce Lee, Fist of Fury (1972) aka "Fist of Fury" aka "The Chinese Connection" and the Warner Bros. production Enter the Dragon (1973). Not long after Lee's untimely death, Chan was often cast in films cashing in on the success of Bruce Lee by utilizing words like "fist", "fury" or "dragon" in their US release titles.

• Chan's own film career was off and running and he swiftly appeared in many low budget martial arts films that were churned out at a rapid fire pace by Hong Kong studios eager to satisfy the early 1970's boom in martial arts cinema. He starred in Shao Lin mu ren xiang (1976) aka "Shaolin Wooden Men", Jian hua yan yu Jiang Nan (1977) aka "To Kill With Intrigue", Dian zhi gong fu gan chian chan (1980) aka "Half A Loaf of Kung Fu" and Fei du juan yun shan (1978) aka "Magnificent Bodyguards" which all fared reasonably well at the cinemas. However, he scored a major breakthrough with the hit Drunken Master (1978) aka "Drunken Master" which has become a cult favorite amongst martial arts film fans. Not too long after this, Jackie Chan made his directorial debut with The Young Master (1980) aka "The Young Master" and then Enter the Dragon (1973) producer Robert Clouse lured Jackie to the US for a film planned to break Jackie into the lucrative US market. The Big Brawl(1980) aka "Battle Creek Brawl" featured Jackie competing in a "toughest street fighter" style contest set in 1940s Texas, however Jackie was unhappy with the end result, and it failed to fire with US audiences. In a further attempt to get his name known in the USA, Jackie was cast alongside 'Burt Reynolds', Roger Moore and Dean Martin in the Hal Needham directed car chase flick _Cannonball Run, The (1981). Regrettably, Jackie was cast as a Japanese race driver and his martial arts skills are only shown in one small sequence near the films conclusion. Stateside success was still a few years away for Jackie Chan!

• Undeterred, Jackie returned to the Orient to do what he did best....make jaw dropping action films laden with amazing stunt work. Chan and his legendary stunt team were unparalleled in their ability to execute the most incredible fight scenes and action sequences and the next decade would see some of their best work.

• Chan paired with the dynamic Sammo Hung Kam-Bo to star in Qi mou miao ji: Wu fu xing (1983) aka "Winners & Sinners", Project A (1983) aka "Project "A", Wheels on Meals (1984) aka "Wheels On Meals", Fuk sing go jiu (1985) aka "Winners & Sinners 2", Xia ri fu xing (1985) aka "My Lucky Stars 2" aka "Winners & Sinners 3". Chan then journeyed back to the United States for another shot at the US market starring alongside Danny Aiello in The Protector (1985) filmed in Hong Kong and New York. However, as with previous attempts Jackie felt the US director James Glickenhaus failed to understand his audience appeal and the film played to luke warm reviews and box office receipts. Jackie did however decide to "harden" up his on screen image somewhat and his next film Police Story (1985) aka "Police Story" was a definite departure from previously light hearted martial arts fare, and his fans loved the final product ! This was quickly followed up with the "Indiana Jones" influenced Long xiong hu di (1987) aka "The Armour of God" during which at the time of filming, Jackie mistimed a leap from a wall to a tree in Yugoslavia and fell many metres onto his head, causing a skull fracture. It was another injury in a long line of injuries that Chan has suffered as a result of doing his own stunt work, and he was soon back in front of the cameras.

• Project A 2 (1987) aka "Project A: Part 2", Police Story 2 (1988) aka "Police Story 2", Ji ji (1989) aka "Mr Canton and Lady Rose", Operation Condor (1991) aka "Armour of God 2" and Supercop (1992) aka "Police Story 3" were all sizable hits for Jackie escalating his star status to phenomenal heights in Asia, and to his loyal fan base around the globe. US success was now just around the corner for the the hard working Jackie Chan and it arrived in the form of the action film Rumble in the Bronx (1995) aka "Rumble In The Bronx" - actually filmed in Canada - that successfully blended humor and action to make a winning formula in US theaters. Jackie did not waste any time and went to work on Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996) aka "Police Story 4", Mr. Nice Guy (1997) aka "Mr Nice Guy", Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998) aka "Who Am I", which all met with positive results at the international box office. Jackie then went to work in the largest US film production in which he had been involved, starring alongside fast talking comedian Chris Tucker in the action / comedy Rush Hour (1998). The film was a bigger hit than "Rumble In the Bronx" and firmly established Jackie Chan as a bona fide star in the United States. Jackie then paired up with rising talent Owen Wilsonto star in Shanghai Noon (2000) and its sequel Shanghai Knights (2003), plus he returned with Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2 (2001), as well as starring in The Tuxedo (2002), The Medallion (2003) and the delightful Around the World in 80 Days (2004).

• Not one to forget his loyal fan base, Jackie returned to more gritty & traditional fare with New Police Story (2004) aka "New Police Story" andThe Myth (2005) aka "The Myth". The multi-talented Jackie Chan (he's also a major recording star in Asia) shows no sign of slowing down and has long since moved out of the shadow of Bruce Lee to which he was usually compared early in his career. Chan is truly one of the international film industries true maverick actor / director / stuntman / producer combinations - he has done it the hard way, and always his way to achieve his dreams and goals to be an international cinematic star.

• Off screen, he has been directly involved in many philanthropic ventures involving financial assistance to schools & universities around the world, he is a UNICEF GoodWill Ambassador, plus he has campaigned against animal abuse & pollution and assisted with disaster relief efforts to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami victims.

Biography of Spouse:

• Feng-Jiao Lin (1 December 1982 - present) 1 child

Trade Mark of Jackie Chan:

• Cleverly utilizes everyday items as props in fight scenes (chairs, ladders, lamps, tables, et cetera)
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• Likes to give "thumbs up."
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• Mostly does his own stunts.
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• Often has outtakes at the end of his films of failed stunts and other accidents.
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• In addition to spectacular stunts and action, his movies often contain scenes in which he is tortured or forced to undergo grueling physical activity (usually as punishment by a master or teacher).
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• Always plays the "Good Guy" except in Ru jing cha (1974) aka "Rumble in Hong Kong"

Trivia of Jackie Chan:

• Kong Sang means "Born In Hong Kong."

• Sing Lung means "Already a Dragon."

• Prefers to do action films with strong humour streaks and physical clowning like Buster Keaton.

• In the act of performing his own stunts, he has broken his nose three times, his ankle once, most of the fingers in his hand, both cheekbones and his skull.
• Not only does he do his own stunts, but he is a lead-from-the-front kind of guy and expects the actors & actresses in his movies to do their own stunts as well.
• Has a son, Jaycee Chan (born December 3, 1982), with wife Feng-Jiao Lin.
• Most often dubs his own voice for the English release of his Asian films. He also dubs his Asian films in Mandarin.
• Was to star in a film entitled Nosebleed, but the project was cancelled after the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. He was to play a window-washer at the WTC that has to stop a terrorist plot.
• In 1989, he was awarded an M.B.E.(Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to entertainment.
• His fan club once topped 10,000 members, mostly young girls; one of them committed suicide after she discovered that he was married. Another female fan attempted suicide, but was saved.
• Has a permanent hole in his head from a stunt accident.
• Admits he did Cannonball Run II (1984) just to fulfill his contract with Warner Brothers.
• His Opera Academy "brothers" include Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Biao Yuen, Corey Yuen, Wah Yuen and Yuen Man Meng.
• He has his own stuntman team, known as the Sing Ga Ban, or Jackie Chan Stuntman Association. Members of the team appear as extras in Jackie's films. Members include Andy Kai Chung Cheng, Chung Chi Li (Nicky Li) and Bradley James Allan.
• In 1990, he was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture and Communication.
• The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conferred the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) upon him in 1999.
• Despite the minimal formal education he received, he was made an honorary doctor of social science of the Hong Kong Baptist University, and an honorary fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
• In his action scenes, his punches and kicks actually connect with their targets. He has his actors wear special padding in their feet and body to prevent serious injury.
• Has a great, long lasting relationship with Mitsubishi Motors. The company has donated many of their automobiles for his films.
• Underwent plastic surgery in 1976 to re-shape his eyelids, giving him a more "Western" appearance. The final film with the old-look Chan is Shao Lin mu ren xiang (1976).
• His parents worked at the American Embassy in Canberra, Australia. Jackie lived with them there for a while after one of his attempt in the movie business fell through.

• According to Jackie Chan's production diary on the official Shanghai Knights (2003) website, the producers of Shanghai Knights wanted to throw him a birthday party, but he asked them not to since his mother had recently died and Chinese tradition dictates that you should wait 3 to 12 months after a death to stop the mourning period. The producers threw the party anyway, and Chan did not object because, he said, "it is an important part of the American culture to celebrate birthdays."

• He sings in the Chinese version of Mulan (1998). He sings the Chinese version of "I'll make a man out of you".

• His role models are Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, all of which were more important to him as a child than any martial arts star, the latter label he was basically forced into at a very young age.

• Elaine Wu gave birth to a daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam, on November 19, 1999. The Hong Kong media alleged that he was the father, but there has as yet been no verification by either party involved.

• He worked with Bruce Lee as a stunt coordinator.

• He was a stunt/fight coordinator for John Woo during his kung fu phase.

• Is good friends with Steven Seagal.

• He is also a talented singer. He has released numerous albums in Asia. His music is normally heard in the outtakes of his HK movies. Movies include: The Young Master Project A (not in us version) Police Story (not in us version) Armour of God (not in us version) Project A 2 Police Story 2 Dragons Forever Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (not in us version) Twin Dragons (not in us version) Police Story 3 (not in us version) Drunken Master 2 (not in us version) Rumble in the Bronx (not in us version) Jackie Chans First Strike (not in us version) Thunderbolt Nice Guy Who Am I? Twins Effect New Police Story

• Some of his favourite films include Gone with the Wind (1939), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Matrix (1999).

• Says the most painful of all the injuries he's sustained in his career happened on Enter the Dragon (1973), when Bruce Lee accidentally hit him in the face with a nun-chuck.

• Is best friends with Sylvester Stallone.
• Supporter of The Salvation Army's work in China.
• Capable of speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Korean.

• Appointed Honorary Ambassador of Peace for the Harvey Ball Foundation along with Brooke Shields, Jerry Lewis, A.V.T. Shankardass, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Phil Collins, Jimmy Buffett, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip, Heather Mills, Yoko Ono, Patch Adams, Sergei Khrushchev and Winnie Mandela.

• Played a policeman in five movies in 1985 alone: Fuk sing go jiu (1985)[My Lucky Stars], The Protector (1985), Xia ri fu xing (1985) [Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars], Long de xin (1985) [Heart of Dragon], and Ging chaat goos si (1985) [Police Story]. Ironically, Chan said that if he didn't become an actor, he would have become a police officer.

• His family roots originate from the coastal port city of Ningbo, which is located on southern edge of Hangzhou Bay along the Eastern seaboard of Zhejiang province, China.

• Did an Indian TV commercial for a popular motorbike, Was payed 200 million Indian Rupees, the highest paycheck ever for an commercial in India.

• Received his name "Jackie" from fellow workers on a construction site in Canberra, Australia who couldn't pronounce his real name.

• Was first approached to play Sato in Black Rain (1989/I) but decided the role did not match his values/image.

• There is a Chinese Take-away in Hyde Park, Leeds of the United Kingdom named 'Jackie Chan's'.
• Lives in Beverly Hills, California.
• He said the hardest thing about acting is speaking in English. Doing stunts are easy for him compared to speaking in English.

Personal Quotes of Jackie Chan:
Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.... Study computers instead.

It's very important that I get hurt [when making a movie]

I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid.

I don't want to be an action star, action star's life is so short. I want my life to get longer. I want my career to get longer.

I have a few rules that I tell my manager: No sex scenes. No make love. The kids who like me don't need to see it. It would gross them out.

"I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan".

The ads all call me fearless, but that's just publicity. Anyone who thinks I'm not scared out of my mind whenever I do one of my stunts is crazier than I am.

My wish is to bring my heroes to the big screen, and many of them have already appeared in my films. The firefighter is the only one I have yet to put in a film. I have dragged this idea on for so many years, even if I want to make it, now I feel that my age makes me unsuitable. If I do make this film, I would no longer play a firefighter, and would more likely be a firefighting captain. But if I were to be honest with you, the role I want to play most is the firefighter.

I hate violence, yes I do. It's kind of a dilemma, huh?

In Hollywood, they care more about comedy, relationship and so many things before action stunts. In Hong Kong, we go straight into stunts and action, but in America sometimes that's too much. So, now I'm making a film half and half - take some good things from Hollywood and some good things from Asia.

I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not. I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic. I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.


Salary of Jackie Chan:

• Rush Hour 3 (2007) $15,000,000 + 15% gross
• Rush Hour 2 (2001) $15,000,000+ gross points
• Shanghai Noon (2000) $5,000,000

Where Are They Now:
(2006) Co-host, with Janet Jones, of an infomercial for his "Cableflex" personal gym.

(April 2008) On 25th April 2008 in Chennai(Madras), Tamil Nadu, Southern India to attend as the Chief guest for the audio release of a great Indian [Tamil] Star KamalaHassan's much awaiting movie Dasavatharam along with CM Mr K. Karunanidhi, Amitab Bachan, Mammootty, Vijay, Hemamalini, Jayaprada, Mallika Shravat, Asin etc.
Books of Jackie Chan:

• Chan, Jackie, with Jeff Yang, I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action , Ballantine, 1998.

• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses , 4th ed., St. James, 2000.

• Rovin, Jeff, and Kathy Tracy, The Essential Jackie Chan Sourcebook , Pocket Books, 1997.

Parents Held Embassy Jobs
Jackie Chan was born Chan Kong-Sang (in Chinese usage the family name, Chan, is written first) in Hong Kong on April 7, 1954. Press accounts and his own website state that his parents were poor but steadily employed Hong Kong residents who worked at the French embassy, his father Charles as a cook and his mother Lily (or Lee-Lee) as a housekeeper. Chan's parents, however, had a colorful past, revealed in the 2003 documentary Traces of a Dragon . Chan's father was a spy for China's pre-World War II Nationalist government and later a member of Shanghai's organized crime underworld who was forced to flee to Hong Kong after the Communist takeover of mainland China in 1949. His mother was a stage performer and occasional opium dealer whom Charles Chan arrested as part of his intelligence duties but released and then later married.

Jackie Chan was apparently physically powerful even as an infant; his weight at birth has been reported as anywhere from nine to 12 pounds, and his parents nicknamed him "Shandong Cannon." When he was seven, his parents moved to Australia so that Charles Chan could take a job as head cook at the American embassy there. They decided that Jackie should stay in Hong Kong, and enrolled him at a boarding school there, a strict but world-class institution called the China Drama Academy. Among Chan's classmates at the school were Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, both of whom went on to careers as major martial arts stars.
At the school, Chan studied traditional Chinese opera, a mix of singing, stagecraft, martial arts, and difficult acrobatics. Chan had to get up in the morning at 5 a.m., often working until midnight. Errors were punished with physical abuse. "I was beaten every day," Chan told Cerio. "I was very angry." Even as a student, however, Chan had small roles in several films, and by the time he graduated at 17, in 1971, he had acquired formidable stunt skills. He found work in Hong Kong's growing film industry, appearing in martial arts films, and even had an uncredited role as an extra in the greatest international action success of them all, Bruce Lee's film Enter the Dragon (1973).

For a few years in the early 1970s, the film work petered out and Chan was forced to move in with his parents in Australia. He did construction work, acquiring the nickname "Jackie" (at first it was "Little Jack") from a co-worker named Jack who found his Chinese name hard to pronounce. In 1976 Chan, at the invitation of a talent promoter named Willie Chan (no relation), returned to Hong Kong to give his career another try. He began to bill himself as Sing Lung, which means "to become the dragon," and he became one of a host of young martial artists hoping to fill the shoes of Bruce Lee, who had died in 1973. Several action films, including Shaolin Chamber of Death (1976) and Fist of Death (1977), met with limited success.