Sunday, February 08, 2009

Wang Sa, Yeh Fong: Comedic Duo Beat The Lot





























 UP TO 10,000 VIEWS, 
 70 CHATS, COMMENTS

Like the Malays who had Momo Latiff and Abang Apek in the 60s, the Chinese community had their share of comedians too, Wang Sah and Yeh Fong were a famous pair in the 60s and 70s. They had appeared in numerous stage shows with our bands and were TV and movie stars.

Dubbed the Laurel and Hardy of Singapore and well known in Malaysia, Taiwan and Hongkong they enjoyed a successful career with their banter, singing, wit, and slapstick, speaking in Chinese dialects, Mandarin, Bazaar Malay and sometimes Singlish. They had since passed away.

I have included these two gentlemen in this music blog because they were a famous pair and an integral part of Singapore 60s and 70s popular culture. They had first appeared at some of the pop music concerts around Singapore and, a little like Falstaff in Shakespeare's comedies, provided comic relief, while *backstage as bands and singers prepared for their next performance.
With Lauretta Alabons on Singapore TV
'Rolling Good Times'

The duos' popularity grew when they started appearing on both local Chinese and English television channels and were heard over the radio and Rediffusion. As their mass appeal ballooned, they recorded songs in local Chinese dialects, which sold well.

Dubbed the Laurel and Hardy of Singapore and just as well known in Malaysia, Taiwan and Hongkong they enjoyed a successful career with their humorous sketches, speaking a chaotic mix of Chinese dialects, especially their own which was Teochew, with Singlish (pidgin English), pasar (bazaar) Malay and even Tamil.


The late Wang Sa (1924 - 1998) and Ye Fong (1932 - 1995) whose real names were Heng Kim Ching and Seow Tian Chye kept most Singaporeans glued onto their television sets when they appeared on the small screen with their wit and comic banter.

Chinese variety shows like Sharp Night (声宝之夜), sponsored by Sharp Television, were produced by Television Singapura and in their heyday,Wang Sa and Ye Fong were always around for rib-tickling laughter with their cross-talk routine, mimicry and farcical imitation of Singapore lifestyle they knew well enough to make fun of. As in most comedy, Wang Sa and Yeh Fong perfected their timing, candor and displayed flawless chemistry together.

They were the island's version of comic duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy from the US and were the grand old men of Singapore comedy. Affectionately known as Ah Pui and Ah San (The Fat One and Skinny One) they met in the 1960s on Xin Sheng Ge Tai ( 新生歌台) or live theatre and had never looked back. They had since become household names.

Many youngsters today may not understand their Hokkien catchphrase: Ah Tee ah, agak-agak chiu hor ah! (Brother, take it easy!) and Oi Ah Boi? (You sure you can?) They worked together from the 1960s till 1972 and then split to try their luck at movie-making in Hong Kong.

They appeared in several Cantonese movies there. These two became Singapore's only Asian movie stars. The huge box-office success of their 1974 Hongkong debut, The Crazy Bumpkins (阿牛入城記) spawned three sequels and Ye Fong was the most outstanding comedian in the 20th Asian Film Festival. 

They had also appeared in other movies like The Mad Monk and Mr. Funnybone. Like their stage antics, their movies were awesome to watch and, you guessed it, filled the cinema halls with mirth.

The news of their demise in the late 90s was not taken too lightly by Singaporeans as fans had lost two of the most loved icons from the 60s. Up till today, no pair could match their wit and versatility in the local world of comedy.

I have a good collection of their Extended Play (EPs) vinyl as indicated on the YouTube video below.

*The National Theatre had a revolving stage.

Wang Sa and Yeh Fong on 'Rolling Good Times' 
with Lauretta Alabon. YouTube Video.

[A short except of the song 'Be Bob A Lula,' ('Ti Ti Ta Ta')
on the above video was accompanied by The Silver Strings.]

COMMENT SECTION:

Hi Terence, 
thanks for your constant support for the Blog/FB postings. Your comments are always welcome, especially with your background. I was just wondering if you could write an article about the show where you played when Wang Sa, Yeh Fung, and Rita Chao appeared in KL. If you have photos, they'll be a bonus. Thanks again.

Terence Lee:
Andy,
The shows we played were in cinemas featuring mostly Chinese singers where Wang Sa, Yeh Fung, Sakura, and Rita came down from Singapore. I do not have any photos of them. I have two black and white individual photos of Sakura and Rita with their signature on it. Unfortunately, the management did not give us back those taken on stage. 

Most of the shows were staged in Star cinema situated in Pudu. All the tickets were sold out within an hour and the management had to add seats to make more money. It was a real experience playing with Sakura and Rita. I used to tease Sakura backstage and she would chase me around but Rita was a quiet person.

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Images: AndyLim Collection.
Information about Wang Sah/Yeh Fung: from Websites and articles.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

The unforgettable duo. They were a pair of comic genius.i've been trying to get their VCDs.

Anonymous said...

When they were backstage they also entertained the artistes. They are a great loss to our Singapore entertainment industry.

VCDs were available at many outlets but might have been bought by their fans.

FACEBOOK CHATS said...

They performed all over Malaysia too. Funny Teochew duo who made us laugh.

Andy Young
Thank you guys for the support. Appreciate.

KS Neoh Tee
Uay, lu sah tiam long? 😂😂

Philip Wong
Ah poi and Ah san

Andy Young
Thanks, guys for liking this post. Yes nothing like our own comedy duo. :-)

Edwin Yeo Soon Leong
The greatest legend of all time. Hopefully, there should be a good biopic movie about them.

Andy Young
Yes Edwin truly agree. They should at least put all the videos together and compile them into a bio/documentary. Thanks for supporting the post and the 2 dozens who LIKE it.

Ng Chai Ming
We guys staying in JB were fortunate to be able to receive Spore channel in the 1960s and every Friday night there was this program called Hua Yet Liang siow and this wang sa and ye fong would appear in this show without fail. Wang sa would speak Teochew and ye Fong Cantonese. A kind of mandarin variety show

Andy Young
Yes thanks, Chai Ming for your comment. We still remember them. Just shows how good they are and how strong your memory is.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Great comedic duo whose acts are irreplaceable till now

Terence Lee
Andy my group performed with them when we were backing group for Sakura and Rita Chiao in the early seventies in KL.

John Cher
LOVE these guys!!

Andy Young
Thank you, folks, for LIKING this post. Yes, they are irreplaceable and thanks Terence for sharing your experience. And Rose, Charlie, John too. A big thank you to Victor for sharing the story. We should all meet for kopi one day. :-) And Jimmy Boey too (a longtime friend).

Koh Sui Pang
Are they still around ..????

Andy Young
Both have gone to NeverNever Land Sui Pang. They are probably chatting with Robin Williams and Bob Hope now. But they left their laughter behind. Thanks for support SP.

Koh sui pang
Oooooooh sorry but their comedian acts are well embedded in all SG hearts.

CHIT CHAT said...


Agreed...not only don't use vulgarity but also don't condemn others

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Suai Ge Lin yes, it's always fun phrases and poking lightly at SG society. Thanks for visiting.

CHIT CHAT said...

ReplyShare21h
Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Thanks to all who wrote in and love this post. Apologies for not replying. Will do so right away...
ReplyShare21h
Edwin Gan
Fun days. Chinese Singlish. Just fun to watch.

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Edwin Gan, hello. Yes, they were weren't they. I miss them.

Edwin Gan
Andy Young . Those were the days.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...


Edwin Gan YES, THEY WERE EDWIN. Thanks again for responding so positively. It's such a different world we live in today where politeness and integrity have lots its bearing.

CHIT CHAT said...

David Funk
... different strokes for different folks. Perhaps Friends, with Chandler Bing 😁

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
David Funk, hi there. I'm ignorant. Must look them up. Thanks for the info and visit.

David Funk
Andy Young... It's the comedy series Friends. Different personalities, but mixed beautifully like Rojak 😋

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
David Funk oh ok. I'm familiar but hardly watch the series. Thanks David.

David Funk
Andy Young cheers Andy 🥃

CHIT CHAT said...

Koh Koh
Top contributor
So funny...😂😂😂

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Koh Koh hello. Yes they were... especially their Teochew phrases.

CHIT CHAT said...

Lee FK
Why do comedians including some Asian ones use coarse language in their shows?

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Lee FK hello. Oh do they? But this duo show is also meant for children? Thanks for visit.

Lee FK
Andy Young Hv seen several Asian comedians doing that in their Netflix shows

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Lee FK thanks. I'll check it out soon.

CHIT CHAT said...



Patrick Teo
Top contributor
Unpretentious. Enjoyed their act.

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Patrick Teo thanks, yes I was looking a word. You got it. Very much so, they were... I guess the, 'Agak, agak...' spells it all.

CHIT CHAT said...

Michael Quek
Memories in ours mind

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Michael Quek, hi. And not easy to get such a comedic duo nowadays, especially when some use vulgarity. Thanks for coming to this SHCS post Michael.

CHIT CHAT said...

Chin Joon Lai
Top contributor
They cracked jokes in dialects so mean to education levels They entertain mostly uncles and aunties

Lim Ban Lim
Chin Joon Lai.. Those days mostly spoke in dialects and later mandarin... They catered for the mass..

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Chin Joon Lai, true, it's mostly catering to those years and the huge following they had. Good clean jokes. Thanks Mr Lim Ban Lim too.

CHIT CHAT said...


Melissa Tye
Top contributor
Sorry, they couldn’t make me laugh cos not very intelligent banter just silliness. Back then, I guess, we only had them and life was simpler. 😞

Joo Mong Lee
Top contributor
Melissa Tye your fault not to had helped with advice?

Melissa Tye
Top contributor
Joo Mong Lee why my fault. I cannot don’t like, all must agree? Must accept varied opinions mah. I won’t be the only one who didn’t enjoy and there are others like you who like. Must accept differences lah. Why angry or upset.

CHIT CHAT said...

Joo Mong Lee
Top contributor
Melissa Tye your advice could had helped us avoid such issues

Melissa Tye
Top contributor
Joo Mong Lee I once read a ‘critic’ is a legless man teaching others how to walk. Just sharing only, nothing bad about people enjoying, or not enjoying their shows.

I saw Ye Feng (I think the shorter comedian) selling chicken rice at a stall around Race Course Rd when I just started working not too long, did say ‘hello’, but the stall closed down quite soon. Not so successful.

I may not have enjoyed but they are our pioneers, now we hv the likes of Kumar will also be iconic to the younger ppl now when they grow up n grow old. They bring us memories and nostalgia. 🙏

CHIT CHAT said...


Brody Coo
Top contributor
Melissa Tye You don't understand teochew lah.

Melissa Tye
Top contributor
Brody Coo can understand lah.

Brody Coo
Top contributor
Melissa Tye Maybe u got no sense of humour lah. I think you are those serious type.🤭

Melissa Tye
Top contributor
Brody Coo no I maybe too funny lah😆!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...


Melissa Tye, hi! I think you're right too. We all have our views about comedians. If you watched the recent outcry about a lady comedian, you might realise that she's very popular in her country of adoption. But many others don't like her. Melissa, thanks for visiting.

Richard Rajoo said...

Unlike some others, they use simple local puns & colloquial lingos to tickle the funny bones.. Clean family friendly.. ����❗for Prime Time TV.. ����

AUDIE NG SILVER STRINGS LEADER/BASSIST said...

Good writeup but u overlooked d part re d popular Phrase Ti Ah Agak Agak chu Hor was recorded n backed by Silver StringsThe actual Englush song was Be pop a lula but sang in Teochew Ti ta ta ta ta (Tita is trumpet in Chinese) fyi
Really sorry cant find d recording but log in goggles when they sang this song n also d popular phrase Ti ah agak agak chu hor cheersSurprised that u dont know anyway maybe u are not aware SS has recorded 8 songs with Shirley Nair n 4 songs with Mike n Herb n also a LP 24 cover songs

STEVE HO BUSKER said...

Hahaha...the funny men of satirical comedies back in the 60s to the 80s...🤗💪👍
I had a lot of fun growing up with their brand of comedy.

IVOR LESSLAR LEAD GUITARIST said...

Ah Ti Ahhh.

CHIT CHAT said...



Andrew Yeo
I remember! Those two were classy comedians. But I think the "Speak Mandarin" campaign adversely affected their act.

Lim Ban Lim
Andrew Yeo.. Yes.. They actually catered for the mass who spoke in dialects.

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Andrew Yeo hello. Actually true. The fun was also in understanding the dialect. Thanks Andrew.

CHIT CHAT said...


Eileen Ching
Top contributor
Yes I remembered them so well. Made me laugh so much...

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Eileen Ching, yes. They were very funny indeed. I guess their appearance and looks made them adorable. The 70s and 80s were different.

CHIT CHAT said...


Jimmy Appudurai-chua
Love them xxxxx

Andy Young
Author
Top contributor
Jimmy Appudurai-chua hello, Mr Maestro. Thanks for reading.