The illustrious career of People's Artist Ly Huynh and the love story 'still holding hands walking around town for 50 years'

People's Artist Ly Huynh passed away on the morning of October 22 at his home in Ho Chi Minh City after a long battle with illness, at the age of 78.Ly Hungrevealed that his father passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones:"Before he passed away, he was probably satisfied to see all his children and grandchildren at his bedside."

People's Artist Ly Huynh and his wife, Mrs. Doan Thi Nguyen, the silent woman in the Ly family.

People's Artist Ly Huynh was born in 1942 in Vinh Long. He is a martial artist, actor and famous film producer in the history of Vietnamese cinema. Throughout his illustrious career, Ly Huynh has made his mark with outstanding achievements such as: Training many elite martial artists for the Vietnamese martial arts community, famous for his eight-kick combo (kicking people eight times in the air) and once challenging martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Notably, from the 1970s to the early 1990s, he turned to acting and became one of the Vietnamese pioneers in bringing martial arts into cinema.

Ly Huynh believes that acting in martial arts films does not mean just performing monotonous martial arts scenes, but the actor must also know how to delve into the character's personality and psychology. Therefore, before acting, he always carefully studies the character's personality, observes real people in real life, and blends it with his ego and talent to make the role come alive.

"I am grateful to cinema for giving me the opportunity to change my fate"

In the massive artistic legacy of up to 52 film titles,Ms. Tweezersperhaps the most memorable turning point for the late artist because it opened a new door in Ly Huynh's acting career. Even director Khuong Mi once shared that he chose Ly Huynh for the role of Colonel Hoang inMs. Tweezersbecause he saw in this man a hidden acting talent, especially the ability to portray the style of a villain, which was very necessary for films of that time.

Indeed after that,Ms. Tweezersofficially won the Silver Lotus Award at the 4th Vietnam Film Festival (1977), then received a Certificate of Merit at the World Youth and Student Festival in Pyongyang.

With a perfect start from Co Nhip, Ly Huynh's film career has been smooth with a series of famous works:First Love, Whirlwind Zone, Mr. Hai Cu, Hon Dat, Monsoon Season... Among them, Hai Lua in the movieVortexhas become the role of a lifetime for Ly Huynh.

It can be said that the old farmer Hai Lua inVortexwas a harsh challenge that the director - People's Artist Hong Sen gave him at that time, after dozens of villain roles. To be able to act, he had to travel to the countryside of the West for months, live with farmers, get used to rural life, practice farming, learn their lifestyle, learn their language to become a real Hai Lua.

People's Artist Ly Huynh once shared that among the more than 50 films he has acted in, he likes the 4 roles the most: the boss "Ba Hammer" in "First Love", Mr. Hai Cu - film "Mr. Hai Cu", Captain Long - film "Monsoon Season" and Hai Lua of "Vung Gio Vortex".

Ly Huynh's efforts were rewarded when his first leading role won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actor at the 6th Vietnam Film Festival. Ly Huynh's image of Hai Lua has been deeply imprinted in social life and the name Hai Lua has become a common noun for everyone to refer to the honest, sincere but straightforward and straightforward farmer of the Southern countryside.

Not only successful as an actor, Ly Huynh is also an extremely up-to-date producer and director with a passion for art. At a time when the country's cinema was facing difficulties, he was the first artist to invest capital in making films.

People's Artist Ly Huynh and his son - actor Ly Hung on the set of Tay Son Hao Kiet.

The late artist's Ly Huynh Film Studio has produced more than 30 films of all genres: historical, romantic, action such as:Fire burns Dai La citadel, Sword left behind, Thang Long's first sword, Student's tears… In there ""Tay Son heroes"With a budget of 12 billion VND, it was recorded in the Vietnam Book of Records as the historical martial arts feature film with the largest investment in production in Vietnam.

Ly Huynh Film Studio is also recognized as the first private film studio to produce the most epic feature film in Vietnam. In addition, Ly Huynh also has co-produced films with Hong Kong, Taiwan (China), and Australia such asRed Pirates, Plan 99 - The Sky's Net…bringing a new breeze to Vietnamese cinema.

With his great contributions to the country's cinema, in 1993, Ly Huynh was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist and in 2012 he was awarded the title of People's Artist (NSND). More notably, the generation that followed him were all well-known names in the film and martial arts industry such as: director Ly Son, actors Ly Hung, Ly Hong, Ly Huong...

50 years of faithful love, still holding hands and never leaving each other

The brilliant film career of People's Artist Ly Huynh is largely due to his wife. When asked who has the most influence in the family, all members of his family unanimously answered: Mrs. Lan! Mrs. Lan is the common name, but her real name is Doan Thi Nguyen, the wife of artist Ly Huynh. She has never played a small role in her life, but she is a solid support for all the artistic activities of her husband and children.

Ly Hung with his parents - People's Artist Ly Huynh and his wife and younger sister.

The love between Ly Huynh and his wife began at the age of 18, when they were both fellow disciples at the martial arts school. After getting married, Ms. Lan retired from her martial arts career and became a professional housewife, taking care of her husband and children. When Ly Huynh went to act in movies, his salary was only enough to buy coffee, but because she saw the passion in her husband's eyes, Ms. Lan decided to take charge of the finances, "to have money coming in, so he can feel secure to go make movies".

Later, when the family film studio was established, Ms. Lan had a new job as the financial director for products under the Ly Huynh brand. She once humorously said that the company's capital coordination principle was"reduce the salary of family members to pay the salary of outsiders".I wonder if that's why the company invited famous faces at that time like Le Tu or Mac Thieu Thong to come to Vietnam to make movies?

Another special thing about Ly Huynh's wife is the way she treats women who admire her husband with tolerance. Mrs. Lan confided that her husband is an artist, so she needs to know how to behave tactfully so as not to damage her husband's reputation. There is an anecdote that she once stood outside to watch the car, so that her husband could go into a restaurant to meet his crazy fan. In the end, this person became a special friend of the family.

When he was just entering his twilight years, complications from illness and an incident involving his youngest daughter left artist Ly Huynh struggling with his fate. Fortunately, during those days, his faithful wife took care of him day and night and helped him through the storm.

The love of the old couple after 50 years of living together and having 6 children is simply that every day, artist Ly Huynh asks his son to take him to the garden to pick flowers for his wife. At night, when walking around town, he always holds her hand. Talking about the love of his parents, actor Ly Hung once sadly confided:"That is a happiness that not every artist can have. I still cherish the hope that one day I will be lucky enough to meet someone and be with them for the rest of my life like my parents."