Betty Ting
| Betty Ting Pei | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 丁珮 (traditional) |
| Chinese name | 丁佩 (simplified) |
| Birth name |
唐美麗 Tang Mei Li |
| Born |
19 February 1947 Taiwan |
| Years active | 1963－1985 |
| Spouse(s) |
Charles Heung (1976－1979) |
| Children | 1 |
Betty Ting Pei (Chinese: 丁珮, born 19 February 1947) is a Taiwanese actress who was active in 1970s. Although she acted in more than 30 films, she is best known for being the center of international speculation regarding the untimely death of Bruce Lee in her apartment.[1]
Career
Born Tang Mei-li, Betty started her acting career with "China Motion Picture Corporation" in Taiwan. In January 1967, after acting in six Taiwanese films, she was spotted by Shaw Brothers' director, Peter Pan Lei, and thereafter adopted the screen name of "Ting Pei." Her first film in Hong Kong was The Purple Shell, where she acted as a dance hostess.
Although Betty had acted in dramas, comedies, musicals and martial arts films, she is better known in Asia for her mistress roles and her many steamy bedroom scenes. She was a regular of director Inoue Umetsugu, for whom she performed in the musicals, The Millionaire Chase, The Yellow Muffler, and The Steam Stealers.
In 1973, Betty became a freelance actress, and continued to make films both in her native Taiwan, as well as in Hong Kong.
Relationship with Bruce Lee
On Friday, 20 July 1973, Ting received media attention when Bruce Lee died in her apartment at 67 Beacon Hill Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. According to press reports, Lee was going over the script of Game of Death in Betty's apartment, a Golden Harvest film in which she was reported to have a lead role, when he complained of a headache. She gave him a single tablet of Equagesic, a strong aspirin-based drug that she often used herself. He then went to sleep, but when she could not wake him up for a dinner appointment with Raymond Chow, the owner of Golden Harvest, Betty called an ambulance. Lee was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Death was allegedly caused by an allergic reaction that resulted in brain edema (swelling of the brain). The coroner described his passing as "death by misadventure."[2]
Following Lee's death, Ting appeared in several Hong Kong places, including the Hui Brothers' comedy, Games Gamblers Play (1974) which broke box office records. She subsequently married Charles Heung, the head of Win's Film Co., but they divorced in about 1978.
In 1985, she retired from show business and allegedly became a Buddhist nun after appearing in her last movie, My Name Ain't Suzie.
Filmography
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References
- ↑ "Re-Enter the Dragon". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ↑ 1977 Documentary Film "Bruce Lee, The Legend."