Yu Tai-Ping

[venomsreviews]

I am really excited about starting this thread. Yu Tai-Ping is one actor that I would say is definitely underrated. I remember noticing him in Crippled Avengers (1978) and soon started picking up on how often he would appear in the Shaw Brothers films that I watched. I was very intrigued by him but soon became a fan. There is a lot that I could say about him because I thought he was distinguishable in films, not only because of the characters he played, but also for his brilliant weapons work and fight scenes. It is no surprise that he had such skills since he was another one of the actors that were opera trained. I wish he would have gotten a lead role since I feel like he would have been quite dazzling. It is amazing how many sides to a character he could whip out, since I initially thought his character in Sword Stained with Royal Blood (1981) was actually going to be a good guy since it started out more friendly and charming but gradually evolved into him being more temperamental at times. I adored him in Five Element Ninjas (1982), because I found the character to be quite pleasant! I was glad that he appeared in a lot of Shaw Brothers films since he always did a great job and it seemed that he would always fit in very well. Sometimes I felt like there was something missing when he was not in some movies with the Venoms, as I liked seeing him each time. He brought a lot to the table! There is one film in particular that I am interested in finding even though I do not know how big of a role he had in it. The name of it is The Last Eunuch in China (1987). I have seen pictures of him in it, so I would like to see what it is about. If anyone here has seen it, I would love to hear what you thought about it. He was in a total of 47 films, according to HKMDB.

I was very excited when I realized that he even acted in TV series, even when you least expected him to show up. From what I have seen so far, he seemed to stick around with actors like Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Lung Tien-Hsiang, etc. I recently saw him in The Legend of the White Snake (1992), and it was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed that series, and I partially found it thanks to him and Lu Feng. I have an interview with him that I need to watch again, so I will likely update this thread with what stories or information I find out about him! I do remember that he brought a smile to my face and made me laugh the first time I saw it because he had a lovely personality, from what I could tell. It was nice to know that he had not been forgotten about and someone had gotten the opportunity to interview him!

Filmography:

Seven Man Army (1976)

The Traitorous (1976)

Shaolin Temple (1976)

The Naval Commandos (1977)

Magnificent Wanderers (1977)

The Brave Archer (1977)

Chinatown Kid (1977)

The Brave Archer Part II (1978)

The Five Venoms (1978)

Invincible Shaolin (1978)

Crippled Avengers (1978)

Life Gamble (1979)

Shaolin Rescuers (1979)

The Daredevils (1979)

The Magnificent Ruffians (1979)

The Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)

Heaven and Hell (1980)

Two Champions of Shaolin (1980)

The Flag of Iron (1980)

The Rebel Intruders (1980)

Legend of the Fox (1980)

Sword Stained with Royal Blood (1981)

Masked Avengers (1981)

The Brave Archer Part III (1981)

House of Traps (1982)

The Brave Archer and His Mate (1982)

Five Element Ninjas (1982)

Outlaw Genes (1982)

Ode to Gallantry (1982)

General Invincible (1983)

The Weird Man (1983)

Attack of the Joyful Goddess (1983) 

The Demons (1984)

Exciting Dragon (1985)

Last Eunuch in China (1987)

The Hooligan Story (1989)

Chu Ye Jia Ren (1989)

Lady Killer (1989)

Braveful Police (1990)  

Mission Recall (1990) 

Visa to Hell (1991)

Yellow Rain (1991)

Golden Venom (1991)

The Vengeance of Six Dragon (1992)

Desperate Duo (1992)

City on Fire (1993)

Ghost's Love (1993)

Sources:

https://hkmdb.com/db/people/view.mhtml?id=13854&display_set=eng

[AlexanderFu]

Very under rated and I hope he is doing well, wherever he is. He was a great villain and also a good guy at times. The sing of a very competent actor and he had great skills with weapons. I'd love to know more about his training/background.

[venomsreviews]

23 minutes ago, AlexanderFu said:

Very under rated and I hope he is doing well, wherever he is. He was a great villain and also a good guy at times. The sing of a very competent actor and he had great skills with weapons. I'd love to know more about his training/background.

I’ve found several recent pictures of him, and he looks like he’s doing great! He always seems so happy whenever he’s in photos because he usually smiles a lot. I thought so too! I loved him in any role, whether it was a good or bad character. I’ll let you know if he says more about it when I watch the interview! I know it was either Peking or Taiwanese opera, but I can’t remember which one off the top of my head.

Here’s one picture of him when he’s older:

[venomsreviews]

These are from The Legend of the White Snake (1992)

This is from Last Eunuch in China:

Here he is with Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, and Chiang Sheng! In the interview I saw, he was actually praising some of their skills. I plan on revisiting it tonight so I can share more of what he said!

[thundered mantis]

The man moved so well, always a joy to watch. He's one of the top sideshows of the genre due to his physical skills. Up there for me with Chin Yuet San, Chung Fa, Alan Hsu, Dai A Saan and Chia Kai. Never seen a bad fight of those men.

[venomsreviews]

18 hours ago, thundered mantis said:

The man moved so well, always a joy to watch. He's one of the top sideshows of the genre due to his physical skills. Up there for me with Chin Yuet San, Chung Fa, Alan Hsu, Dai A Saan and Chia Kai. Never seen a bad fight of those men.

I completely agree! I always thought he was quite impressive and I appreciated his skills. He was a very solid actor in my opinion as well. 

[SunChien]

He was a good villain and could play a decent good guy as well like in Five Element Ninjas.