‘Rest in eternal peace’: veteran horror actor, filmmaker Simon Loui dies at age 62

Veteran Hong Kong actor and filmmaker Simon Loui Yu-yeung, better known to fans as the “King of Ghosts” for his prolific work in horror films, has died at the age of 62.Long-time friend and fellow actor Frankie Ng Chi-hung revealed to reporters on Friday that Loui’s wife, TV and radio personality Ma Li, had confirmed the filmmaker had died in a hospital in Guangzhou on Monday after losing his battle with gastric cancer.“The family hoped to stay low profile. There was no big announcement,” Ng said. “May he rest in eternal peace, free from all pain and sickness in heaven.”Ng said he had known of Loui’s previous struggles with gastric cancer, which had been treated, but later learned the condition had come back in recent years.Loui was born in 1964 and enjoyed an entertainment career spanning more than three decades across TV, radio and film and included his work as a filmmaker.After finishing an artist training course at free-to-air broadcaster TVB in the late 1980s, he started with appearances in TV dramas and variety shows before moving to the film industry in the early 1990s.Loui was best known for his appearances in long-running comedy horror series Troublesome Night. Photo: HandoutThe jump saw him quickly become a familiar face among fans of Hong Kong’s horror and comedy genres.Loui appeared in nearly 100 films over the course of his career, with notable credits including the comedy dramas Play with Strangers (2000) and Headlines (2001).But the entertainer earned his title as the “King of Ghosts” for his appearances in the long-running comedy horror series Troublesome Night, starring in numerous instalments throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.Loui also co-wrtote the action-thriller The Replacement Suspects (2001).Aside from TV and film, he tried his hand at radio. During the 1990s and 2000s, he also hosted a series of late-night horror programmes on Metro Radio and Commercial Radio.But the performer had largely stepped back from the limelight since marrying mainland Chinese personality Ma in 2012.Further ReadingThe couple had a son together and settled in Guangzhou, with Loui rarely returning to Hong Kong.