The transcript below is from the video “What Really Happened to Bolo Yeung – The Sad Ending of Bolo Yeung” by Celebrity Tribute.
Celebrity Tribute:
Yang Sze was born the 3rd of July, 1946, better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist and martial arts film actor. Primarily cast as the villain in the movies in which he stars, he is best known for his performances as Bolo in Enter the Dragon (starring Bruce Lee), as Chong Li in Bloodsport (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), Chang Lee in Bloodfight (starring Yasuaki Kurata and Simon Yam) and for his numerous appearances and long career in Hong Kong martial arts films.
Yeung began his martial arts training at the age of 10 in Canton, where he trained under several Kung Fu masters. Growing up, he took an interest in bodybuilding, and later became Mr. Hong Kong bodybuilding champion. He held the title for 10 years. Because of his muscular physique, he was chosen for several bad guy roles in films produced by Shaw Brothers Studios, such as The Heroic Ones, The Deadly Duo, Angry Guest and others. He left Shaw Brothers in 1971. He moved from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in search of a brighter future and started working as a fitness trainer, a job that could lead him to small roles in local films by Shaw Brothers Studios.
Celebrity Tribute:
A few years later, he met Bruce while filming a commercial for a cigarette brand. The two forged a solid friendship which led to Yeung’s role in Enter the Dragon, which catapulted Bruce to stardom. Yeung met Bruce Lee while the two were filming a Winston cigarettes commercial. A friendship emerged and Lee invited him to star in Enter the Dragon, after which he became known as “Bolo”, the name of the character he portrayed. The two became close friends during the filming of Enter the Dragon in which Lee and Yeung worked very closely on technique training. Yeung once stated in an interview, many years after Lee’s death, “There will never be another Bruce Lee; I am privileged to have had the honour of calling him my friend.”
During the 1970s and 1980s, Yeung starred in numerous martial arts films but his breakout film was Bloodsport. Shot on a US$1.5 million budget, it became a box office hit in the spring of 1988. Jean-Claude Van Damme had the leading role as Frank Dux, while Yeung played the role of chong li. A strong friendship formed between the two actors on the set of Bloodsport and Van Damme invited Yeung to appear in his subsequent film Double Impact.
Celebrity Tribute:
Canadian action film actor, director and producer Jalal Merhi met Yeung in Hong Kong while shooting his first film Fearless Tiger, then again on the set of Double Impact. Merhi was impressed with Yeung’s personality and ability, and decided to create a part specifically for him. Later Merhi worked with Yeung on more films such as Tiger Claws, TC 2000 and Tiger Claws 2.
In 2007, Yeung made a rare appearance in Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter. Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film that was shot in Toronto. Due to other commitments, he could not complete the remaining part of the film in Russia. Producer Erken Ialgashev directed the remainder of the film.
Bolo Yeung’s height was 168 cm and weighed 211-238 lbs (96-108 kg) in its infancy.
Celebrity Tribute:
Information about Bolo Yeung’s relationship status has been dropped in the media even though we know that he has two sons Danny Yeung and David Yeung and he also has a daughter named Debbra Yeung. David is a bodybuilding champion just like his father. The two often practiced together. Bolo Yeung’s daughter is Debbra Yeung. She is Anu McKnight’s wife. Both Anu and Debbra are bodybuilding and fitness champions. In addition, Anu also plays music and raps. Debbra came to bodybuilding naturally as her father.
Bolo Yeung aka Yang Sze is a former bodybuilding champion and martial artist who has acted in several martial arts films alongside Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Celebrity Tribute:
Anu and Debbra got married in 2014 and they have two children together. We wish them continued success and lots of love forever.
In Cinemax’s 2019 Warrior series, Rich Ting plays a Hong Kong executioner named Bolo in homage to Bolo Yeung’s role in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Warrior was developed from Bruce Lee’s early works for the series and features the fictional Bolo character who is a rival to Ah Sahm. The main character also shares many similarities with Lee.
Celebrity Tribute:
Anu and Debbra got married in 2014 and they have two children together. We wish them continued success and lots of love forever.
In Cinemax’s 2019 Warrior series, Rich Ting plays a Hong Kong executioner named Bolo in homage to Bolo Yeung’s role in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Warrior was developed from Bruce Lee’s early works for the series and features the fictional Bolo character who is a rival to Ah Sahm. The main character also shares many similarities with Lee.
Celebrity Tribute:
Yang Sze, known worldwide as Bolo Yeung, has won 11 Mr. Hong Kong since 1980. With his track record in the bodybuilding world, Yeung can certainly be seen as China’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. But unlike Arnold, who was famous for bodybuilding before entering Hollywood acting, Yeung as a popular actor in his hometown and a popular villain in classic martial arts movies such as Enter the Dragon, in which he played the villainous antagonist of Bruce Lee and Bloodsport alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. His extremely fearsome image has earned him nicknames such as Chinese Hercules or Eastern Beast.
Yeung has always been passionate about martial arts. He started his martial arts career at the age of 10. His dexterity can be attributed to his bodybuilding and acrobatic training, which makes him one of the people to be trusted when giving roles in action movies.
Celebrity Tribute:
Personal quotes:
“He had the opportunity to come to America back in 1973. The plans were all made and everything. Then Bruce died and everything fell through. So he got here 17 years late. Maybe he is a little old now. There are plenty of times people will come up to him for an autograph and tell him they enjoyed his work on Enter the Dragon. But people just know him from the movie, they don’t really know who he is. He knows what is good for him as an actor. Because of the way he looks, that is what he is going to be a success in.”
“I know my place in movies. No matter how good an actor is, if he doesn’t know his place in the movies, he will never be successful. He realizes he’s still very popular with audiences and that makes me very happy. “
Celebrity Tribute:
He thinks that it all started with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (1973).
All the fans and audiences from 20 years ago still remember Bruce Lee as the biggest star. They still have not found anyone to take his place. Also, it helped to work with Jean-Claude Van Damme on his movies. Like Bruce Lee, Jean-Claude offered a special package, a unique look that attracted and kept audiences coming back.
“During the filming of Enter the Dragon (1973), Bruce and he worked very closely on technique training, experimented, trying to decide what worked and what wouldn’t. You see, Bruce was always learning, always experimenting, always changing.”
Celebrity Tribute:
“Among those people who have religion, there are small proportions of people who do good things but conditionally. They are opportunists. The reason why they do good things is the fear of hell and the desire for heaven. This kind of person may not necessarily still do good things if there is no heaven or hell. This kind of person made the meaning of people into data. A lot of things are screwy now. Confucianism nearly disappeared. Taoism became the tool to tell geomantic omen. Even the Buddhism temple becomes a profiting organization. There are even more but I don’t think I would like to talk about it anymore.”
He continued to say, “Why do we always defend? Tai Chi never actively attacks. The art of war says retreating when the enemy advances. It works whether I am the hero or the villain. I am not a kid anymore where nervousness keeps me from sleeping. I have always been happy being the bad guy.”
The saddest thing for Bolo Yeung at the moment is the death of Bruce Lee. It took him 17 years to calm down. The loss has made him depressed for a long time.
