[2025.07.09] "DIAMOND SONG KING" JIMMY LIN CHONG PASSED AWAY AT AGE 92

Lin Chong passed away in Taipei from illness at age 92

Lin Chong starred in the film THE SINGING THIEF and performed its song DIAMOND, henceforth nicknamed "Diamond Song King"

Lin Chong made his last public appearance in May
courtesy of mingpao.com

"Diamond Song King" Jimmy Lin Chong died in Taipei on July 7th at the age of 92. Lin Chong's gold son Wu Tai Sheng revealed that Lin Chong passed away peacefully at the Taipei Tri-Services General Hospital due to infection with aspiration pneumonia combined with septic shock and multiple organ failure.

Lin Chong was plagued by illness in his later years. Suffered from prostate cancer in 2011, he successfully fought cancer and shared his own experience to encourage those on the same journey. He even insisted on performing and working, "Since I can still laugh and sing, then I will continue to perform so that the audience can see vitality and hope."

Lin Chong was admitted to the hospital for surgery in 2021 due to a blocked artery in his left foot. He suffered massive bleeding and went into shock, returning from the brink of death. Last year he suffered two falls. After his hip replacement surgery he became wheel chair bound. He held his 92nd birthday party earlier this year, and he was still able to stand up and sing on stage with assistance. His perseverance was amazing. He made his last public appearance in May this year at the "Sapphire Cabaret" concert. With a silver diamond cane in the audience, he said, "I am not here to sing, but to reminisce about youth." Producer Liu Kuo Wei said that his friend Lin Chong often said that "I hope to fall down on the stage", revealing that Lin Chong still has a wish to visit Japan and Hong Kong to record his past acting career. Now his last wish would be difficult to fulfill.

Lin Chong was popular in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1960s. Studied in Japan, he became a rising Chinese star in the "Takarazuka Revue" troupe and became an overnight success with the musical HONG Kong. In 1967 he represented Taiwan in the first Asian Singing Grand Contest in Seoul, South Korea and won the championship. He then moved to Hong Kong to develop, where he performed in Hong Kong nightclubs and was very popular. Lin Chong signed a contract with Shaw Brothers in 1968 and served as the leading actor in the movies THE SINGING THIEF (DAI DOH GOR WONG), THE SINGING ESCORT (CHING CHUNG MAN SHUI) and TROPICANA INTERLUDE (YEH LUM CHUN LUEN), from which he became popular all over Southeast Asia. The song DIAMOND from THE SINGING THIEF became his representative work and won him the title of "Diamond Song King".