Leslie Cheung - Tribute To A Legend Exhibition Opens At Madame Tussauds Hong Kong
Hong Kong, March 31 2004 - Leslie Cheung, one of Asia's most acclaimed entertainers, was officialy immortalized in wax today as Madame Tussauds Hong Kong unveiled The Leslie Cheung - Tribute To A Legend Exhibition at the Peak. The private ceremony took place in the Great People's Gallery of Madame Tussauds Hong Kong in front of the late star's close friends and family. Mr. Daffy Tong, Leslie's partner, officialy unveiled the remarkable likeness on a candle-lit stage, which features Leslie in a Chinese Cheong Sam. Mr. Tong specifically requested the exhibition to open before 1 April 200, the first anniversary of Leslie's death, so that his legion of loyal fans would have a meaningful place to go to honour Leslie. "Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is honoured to have the opportunity to preserve Leslie's memory in a permanent exhibition here in the Great People's Gallery. Leslie was truly a great person who touched the lives of millions and it is only fitting that his wax figure stands alongside some of the world's most influential personalities and world leaders. It is our hope that fans from all over the world will be able to pay tribute to Leslie here at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong as they celebrate his life," said Ms. Beatrix Tong, Director of Sales and marketing for Madame Tussauds Hong Kong after the ceremony. The Leslie Cheung - Tribute To A Legend Exhibition is a poignant retrospective featuring Leslie centre-stage and flanked by evocative and stunning imagery of the Chinese pop-idol. For Leslie's fans, the exhibition is an audiovisual feast, which reflects Leslie's enormous contribution to the Asian music and film industries. Suspended from the ceiling are giant banners that surround Leslie's wax figure and serve to highlight some of Leslie's most acclaimed films such as 'Farewell To My Concubine', 'Days Of Being Wild' and 'A Chinese Ghost Story'. There are also rare photos from the Leslie Cheung Worldwide Passion Tour 2000-2001, which took the superstar to countries including Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia and the U.S.A. The wax figure's creative process, which occurred at the Madame Tussauds Studios in London, took five months to complete and at a cost of HKD 700,000. Mr. Tong was actively involved in Leslie's figure's creative process having personally selected Leslie's pose and all the items included in the exhibition. Leslie's nieces, Ayesha and Alisha Macpherson, also assisted Madame Tussauds by gathering essential reference materials, including photographs, videos and measurements to ensure that Leslie's final image was as accurate as possible. Mr. Edward Fuller, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Hong Kong said, "The Leslie Cheung - Tribute To A Legend Exhibition would not have been possible if it weren't for the generous support of Mr. Daffy Tong and Leslie's nieces Ayesha and Alisha Macpherson. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Daffy, Alisha and Ayesha for their commitment to this important project. I'm sure that Leslie's fans will be eternally grateful to you for enabling them to have a special place to pay tribute to their idol." Source Madame Tussauds Hong Kong Official Website
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HK's Madame Tussauds unveils
wax figure of Leslie Cheung - Asia's
Cantopop lovers were stunned by the suicide of Hong Kong
actor-singer Leslie Cheung almost a year ago. On the eve of his
death anniversary on Wednesday, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong
immortalised him in a brand new wax exhibition. It is clear that
Leslie Cheung is still regarded as one of Hong Kong's greatest
entertainment legends, as some 100 paparazzi gathered at Madame
Tussauds for the unveiling of his wax figure by long-time partner
Daffy Tong.
A huge star in the 80s and 90s, he gained notoriety in 1997 as
the first openly gay actor in the Hong Kong movie circle.
Internationally, Leslie Cheung is perhaps best known for his
performance in the movie "Farewell My Concubine".
Dozens of Leslie's fans took time off work to get a glimpse of
their idol immortalised in wax. One year on, the heartache over
his death was still painfully clear. "We have loved him
since he first started in show business. He treated his fans very
well."
"His wax figure is here and we hope to see it. We really
miss him."
"GorGor (Big Brother) loved white roses. This is for him, to
indicate that his beauty won't just be immortalised in wax but
also in our hearts."
Many who could not make it sent flowers. When Leslie Cheung
jumped to his death at the height of the SARS crisis, thousands
braved the threat of the disease to pay their respects at his
funeral. And for months after, fans flooded Madame Tussauds with
emails and telephone calls asking that he be given a place in the
Hong Kong wax museum. Edward Fuller, General Manager of Hong
Kong's Madame Tussauds, said: "We are talking about
thousands, thousands of email messages, phones call. Trust me, we
have got a huge huge, thick list...it is the first time we had
received so many messages from fans,it became obvious we had to
do something about it." And they did. Five months and over
US$80,000 later, Leslie Cheung became the ninth Asian celebrity
to have his image immortalised at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong.
Leslie Cheung was a perfectionist. All his life, he pursued and
embodied beauty, in his craft and in himself. This wax tribute to
him then is perhaps how he would want best to be remembered -
forever young, forever perfect. Source Chinaview
Leslie Cheung's wax figure unveiled - A year after Leslie Cheung's suicide, grief over the loss was still written on the face of his partner Daffy Tong, who unveiled a statue of the megastar at Madame Tussaud's on Wednesday. Reporters noted that Tong stared hard at the life-size statue as he drew the curtain. He did not speak to reporters but obliged them by posing next to the full-size wax figure, which will be placed next to the statues of Chinese statesmen Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping. Cheung's sister, Cheung Yuen Ping, was teary-eyed. Also present were the singer-actor's nieces and his former manager Chan Suk Fun. Tong chose the blue changpao outfit and black leather shoes for the statue. The look is reminiscent of Cheung in his famous role as Beijing opera impersonator Dieyi in the film, 'Farewell My Concubine'. Cheung fell to his death from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on April 1 last year. Source The Straits Times
The Cantopop singer and actor, best known for his portrayal of an opera star in the acclaimed 1993 historical epic movie 'Farewell My Concubine', leapt to his death from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on April 1 last year after a long battle with depression. He was 46. Leslie Cheung's long-time company, Tang Hede, takes a close look at Cheung's wax figure March 31, 2004. Leslie used to confess in public his deep affection towards Tang. Madame Tussaud's Hong Kong unveiled the wax image Wednesday, the eve of the first anniversary of Cheung's death. The figure took five months to finish and cost more than 740,000 yuan (US$90,000). Leslie's twin nieces and his former agent Chen Shufen pose for a picture with a representative of Madame Tussaud's Hong Kong on the unveiling ceremony of the wax figure in Hong Kong March 31. Source PeopleDaily
Curtain rises again on the immortal Leslie Cheung - Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing's long-time companion, Daffy Tong Hok-Tak, came face to face with the late superstar at the unveiling of his wax figure at Madame Tussards on The Peak yesterday. During the ceremony,the curtains parted to reveal Cheung wearing a men's cheongsam, a look reminiscent of his role in the 1998 film Rouge. The canto-pop superstar, 46, died a year ago today when he jumped from the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central. To the strains of Cheung's romantic song For Your Heart Only, Mr. Tong slowly approached the lifelike figure. His face betrayed little emotion while he stood for a moment and gazed silently at Cheung's face.A Madame Tussards spokeswoman said all elements of the exhibition, including Cheung's pose, were selected by Mr. Tong. The $700,000 wax figure, which took five months to make in Britain , appeared on a candle-lit stage decorated with posters of Cheung, some handpicked by Mr. Tong from his own collection. Other photos were from Cheung's 2000-2001 Worldwide Passion tour and from his most famous movies, such as Days of Being Wild (1990) and Farewell My Concubine (1993). Cheung's sister, Ophelia Cheung Look-Ping and nieces Ayesha and Alisha Macpherson also attended the ceremony. They helped with the finishing touches to the wax figure, the spokewoman added. When the wax figure went on public display at 3pm, more than 400 fans had queued up. Cheung's death stunned Hong Kong's entertainment scene, with a who's who of showbusiness attending his funeral. Commemorative events continue today with a candlelight memorial outside Jardine House, opposite the Mandarin Oriental, beginning at 6.41pm - the moment Cheung's body was found. A second vigil begins on Ice House Street at 8.45pm. There will also be a private gathering of fans in the hotel. Source South China Morning Post (April 1st, 2004) and Mei's Leslie
Picture by Oriental Daily, Tungstar, Next Magazine, LeslieTong.com, Ent.Sina
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