[2024.12.29] PETER TAO PING, THE FIRST GENERATION ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT HOST, PASSED AWAY AT AGE 88

When Peter Tao returned to Hong Kong to catch up with friends early this year, he (second right) posed for a photo with Junior Anderson (left), Nancy Sit (second left) and Bowie Wu (right)

Peter Tao was a popular young actor during the Cantonese film era and has worked on TVB series as well

In 1968 Peter Tao (left), Lydia Shum and Bowie Wu host ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT's 1st anniversary special

In 2016 Peter Tao and his wife returned from Australia to host a birthday banquet
courtesy of mingpao.com

The family of Peter Tao Ping, a popular young actor in the Cantonese film era and the veteran host of ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT gave the bad news to close friends yesterday. Senior media people Robert Chua Wah Peng (Choi Wo Ping) and Wong Man Ling also reposted the news of Tao Ping's death on social media networks. May last year was the 60th anniversary of Tao Ping's marriage to his wife. Tao Ping held a feast for his relatives and friends, and he was still in good spirits at that time. Now the bad news spreads suddenly! Tao Ping died at the age of 88, and his family revealed that a memorial service will be held on the 25th of next month.

Yesterday afternoon, Wong Man Ling posted the news of Tao Ping's death on Facebook, and she reposted a text from Tao Ping's daughter, "Papa (Peter Tao Ping) left us peacefully last week. We were able to stay with him in his last days. A memorial service will be held on January 25th (Saturday) and details will be provided in due course. Thank you - Harriet and David, Lola, Eddie" Wong Man Ling also wrote, "Shocked to hear the bad news, Brother Tao Ping Have a Safe Journey!"

One of the founders of ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT, Choi Wo Ping also posted on social networks, "We lost Peter Taiping! I'm very sorry, but I must inform all EYT (ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT) fans that Peter Tao Ping left us for heaven last week. He has been a friend I've known since 1967 when he joined TVB's 5-night EYT program as our first generation of founding actors!"

Tao Ping was originally named Cheung Yiu Hin, who joined Union Film Enterprise in the 1950s and was one of the popular young actors in Cantonese films. He was humorous and his film and television development have both taken the mischievous comedic style. He often worked with Tam Bing Man and Bowie Wu Fung. He has made movies like CONVIVIAL TRIO (FOON LOK YUN SUN), LUCKY SEVEN (CHUT KUM CHUT JUNG CHUT SIK LONG), A SKETCH OF HUMANITY (YUN LUN), THE COUNTRY BUMPKIN (DAI HEUNG LEI), THE GREAT DEVOTION (HOR LIN TIN HA FU MO SUM), RHAPSODY (CHING CHUN LUEN GOR), etc. His film with Tina Ti Na, LUCKY SEVEN, was the most impressive. After the decline of Cantonese films, he joined TVB and became an early pillar of the long-lived variety show ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT, then served as the emcee of large-scale galas for a long time. He also participated in dramas such as A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY and YESTERDAY'S GLITTER, and sang many songs with Sylvia Lai (Sum Sum). In the early 1980s, Tao Ping retired, moved to Melbourne, Australia with his family, and opened a Teppanyaki restaurant in Chinatown in 1997. May last year was the 60th anniversary of Tao Ping and his wife's marriage. The two were originally scheduled to return to Hong Kong to hold a banquet to celebrate their diamond anniversary, but due to the pandemic they decided to stay in Australia and held the banquet there with 23 tables and more than 200 guests present. Many artists including Tao Ping's god children Wan Siu Lun and Yung Hung, his partners from ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT Choi Wo Ping and his wife, Wu Fung, Sylvia Lai (Sum Sum), Lily Ng Lai Chu, Tang Ying Man, Lucia Leung Bik Ling, as well as Wong Cho Lam and his wife Leanne Li Yanan, etc. flew there to celebrate.

Tao Ping returned to Hong Kong at the beginning of this year to meet with friends and set up a banquet with a group of friends in the circle. Tao Ping was in good spirit at the time, but once revealed that his health had problems. He said, "Three years ago my spinal nerves were worn out, the fourth and fifth bones were crooked, and I couldn't walk for almost a year. I had to lie in bed." Later his condition improved after receiving massage and acupuncture, but he also had to be careful with his movements.

Tao Ping liked to lend a hand to the younger generations. Tang Ying Man was his apprentice. Tang Ying Man said that he would try his best to attend the memorial service in Australia. Tao Ping also talked a lot about the reason for becoming godfather to Deric Wan Siu Lun and Yvonne Yung Hung, revealing that when he invited Wan Siu Lun to Australia to take the stage, he did not expect the other party to have an arrogant attitude and thought he was a big star. He urged him to let go of his ego. Later when they worked together again, he saw that Wan Siu Lun became easy going and even took the initiative to call him "Old Man"; Yung Hung was a responsible person. She was in a car accident before performing in Australia many years ago, but still insisted on showing up. She would rather take a wheelchair after getting off the plane, and take painkiller injections before going on stage to perform.

Wu Fung was very saddened to learn about Tao Ping's passing, saying that he was of course unhappy over a good friend's passing. "Although Tao Ping moved to Australia, he always stayed in touch. About 3 weeks ago, Tao Ping and I exchanged pleasantries over WhatsApp." He said that Tao Ping was humorous, had a sense of humanity. He knew that Tao Ping was not feeling well and really wanted to return to Hong Kong.

Yvonne Yung Hung became his god sister after doing charity work with him in Malaysia. She was very saddened, revealing that after Tao Ping returned to Melbourne, he has stayed in touch. He has mentioned that he was unwell at the end of last month. "Brother Tao Ping is really a great person, very willing to lend a and to the younger generations. He was an invaluable elder. We have known each other for more than 20 years. Although I didn't see him every day, he would call me once in awhile to check on me. May Brother Ping have a safe journey!"

Currently in Toronto, Nancy Sit Ka Yin also expressed sadness. "I heard earlier that he wasn't feeling too well, but it wasn't a big problem. He passed suddenly, I am very upset and reluctant to part because he watched me grow up. Each time I went to Australia he would host, when he returned to Hong Kong we would dine together. He was kind and gentle, with a sense of humor; really loving with his wife. We have worked together a lot, I really miss him. We all miss him so much."