Thai Thanh

Thai Thanh:  Timeless Voice

Thai Thanh (1934-2020) was a legendary Vietnamese songstress.  Known as Tieng Hat Vuot Thoi Gian (Timeless Voice), her singing voice has been one of the most recognizable in the history of Vietnamese music.  The youngest out of five children, Thai Thanh began her career as a young child when she joined the music group, Ban Hop Ca Thang Long.  In the 1950s, she migrated to South Vietnam with older brother, Pham Dinh Chuong, and older sister, Thai Hang, who was married to legendary Vietnamese composer Pham Duy.  In South Vietnam, Thai Thanh became famous with a string of hits including Tinh Hoai Huong, Sang Ngang, Tinh Ca Tieng Nuoc Toi, Mua Thu Paris, Ky Vat Cho Em, Buon Tan Thu, Dong Song Xanh, Co Hong and Nua Hon Thuong Dau.  

In 1956, Thai Thanh married legendary film actor Le Quynh.  Their marriage lasted until 1965 and produced five children. Her daughters, Y Lan and Quynh Huong, would both later follow in her footsteps to become established Vietnamese singers after resettling in the United States..

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Thai Thanh remained in Vietnam for another decade.  Upon resettling in the United States in 1985, Thai Thanh continued with her music career and collaborated with Diem Xua Productions, the label that would release all of her studio recorded albums since resettling overseas.  Her first studio solo album produced overseas, Ngay Xua Hoang Thi, was released within the same year of her arrival in the United States.  Subsequent releases under the Diem Xua Productions label of recorded studio albums by Thai Thanh included Que Huong va Ky Niem (1987), Chieu Ve Tren Song (1988), Dem Nho Trang Sai Gon (1990), and Hoi Trung Duong (1993).  Thai Thanh's career continued to prosper while living in the United States as she would maintain a busy touring schedule performing at live shows for overseas Vietnamese audiences throughout North America, Australia and Europe, as well as appearing on several music videos on the popular music variety series, Paris By Night, produced by Thuy Nga Paris.  In the 1990s, she along with fellow legendary Vietnamese singer Duy Khanh and renowed classical pianist Nghiem Phu Phi collaborated to open a music instructional class in Orange County, California.  Thai Thanh announced her retirement in 2002.  On March 17, 2020, Thai Thanh passed away at the age of 85.  A premiere chanteuse with a Timeless Voice which had truly helped define the sound of Vietnamese modern music, Thai Thanh's legacy and career contributions will undoubtedly continue to live on in the hearts of her countless fans and admirers for many generations to come.  

Hong Van (Comedienne)

For the singer famous for musical recitals of Vietnamese poetry known as Ngâm Thơ, see Hong Van (Singer).

Hong Van:  Vietnam's Queen of Comedy

Hong Van (1966-     ) is one of the most successful comedic actresses in Vietnam since the late 1980s.  Prior to achieving national fame on the stage as a comedic actress, Hong Van had made a name for herself as a pop music singer in Ho Chi Minh City.  From her first appearance on the stage in a comedy sketch, it became apparent that her acting skills would overshadow her career as a pop music singer.  In 1993, her portrayal on a sketch entitled as Ba Mat Ga, Ong Mat Net (She Lost Her Chicken, He Lost His Manners) of a whacky, acid-tongued, feisty Northern Vietnamese pheasant girl won the hearts of Vietnamese audiences worldwide.  From then on, Hong Van has appeared on numerous comedy films and has become a household name to Vietnamese audiences from all around the world.

Hong Van and her three children

In 2000, Hong Van opened up her own theater playhouse called San Khau Phu Nhuan in Ho Chi Minh City.  In 2002, she starred in the play, So Do (Good Fortune), alongside singer/actor Tuan Hung which had an extremely successful run with many nightly sold out performances lasting for several months.  Hong Van has also starred in a series of comedy films including Vua Hoa Co (2000) and Hoang Tu Chan Lon (2001), both of which costarring Minh Nhi and Dan Truong.  In 2005, she had a small part in the blockbuster comedy film, Khi Dan Ong Co Bau (When a Man Gets Pregnant), which featured an all-star cast including Nguyen Phi Hung, Hong Nga, Tan Beo, Truong Ngoc Anh, Ngoc Giau, Bao Quoc and Phuong Thanh.  Hong Van is married to actor Le Tuan Anh, former husband of Amerasian singer Phuong Thao, and is a mother of three children.

Link(s):

• KichHongVan.VN
• Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 4 

Dat Nguyen

Dat Nguyen:  Former NFL Star,
 First Vietnamese-American Professional Football Player

Dat Nguyen (1975-     ) is the first Vietnamese-American to be recognized by the NFL as a professional football player.  Born to Vietnamese parents at a refugee center at Port Chafee, Alabama on September 25, 1975, Dat Nguyen had actually been conceived in Vietnam.  Both of his parents were former nationals of South Vietnam who had fled their homeland immediately after the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.  Dat's mother was already four months pregnant with him at the time she fled Vietnam to resettle in the United States.  Eventually Dat's parents would resettle in Rockport, Texas which is where he grew up.  During his high school years at Rockport-Fulton High School, Dat excelled in competitive sports and played for his high school football team as middle linebacker.  After graduating from high school, Dat elected to enroll at Texas A&M University on a scholarship.  As a college football player, Dat played linebacker from 1995-1998 for the Texas A&M Aggies football team.  After being named Aggies MVP of the year in 1997, in the following year which would also be his last year of college football, Dat Nguyen would become a career record holder in Texas A&M University with a total of 517 career tackles.


Upon being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1999, Dat Nguyen turned professional.  He remained a team member of the Dallas Cowboys as linebacker for a total of seven seasons.  In the year 2005, Dat Nguyen suffered a serious neck injury which then placed him on the injured reserved list for the NFL team and ultimately led to his retirement from the NFL on March of the following year.  However, his association with the Dallas Cowboys was far from over as in the year 2007 Dat Nguyen would begin a new career as an NFL coach and was hired by the Dallas Cowboys' head coach, Wade Philips, as the NFL team's assistant linebackers coach and defensive quality control coach.  Finally, in the year 2010, Dat Nguyen's lengthy professional association with the Dallas Cowboys came to an end when he became the inside linebackers coach for Texas A&M University Aggies College Football Team, a position he held until the end of the 2011 season.


Married to his high school sweetheart, Dat Nguyen and his wife, Becky, have three daughters.  Most recently, Dat Nguyen embarked on yet another new career, as a radio sports show host.  In 2012, he started co-hosting with Jasson Minnix on an afternoon sports talk radio program in San Antonio, Texas on KZDC.



  

Don Ho

Don Ho:  Overseas Vietnamese Singer of Pop Music 

Don Ho (1962-     ) is a famous Vietnamese singer who started his career in the United States.  Born in Saigon, South Vietnam, he moved to the United States in 1980 with his family and attended Valley High School in Santa Ana, California.  Upon graduating from high school, Don Ho immediately set his sights on a professional singing career.  His journey to stardom would be a long one, as he began singing for local bands and then onto performing at Vietnamese nightclubs in Orange County, California.  After a few professional recordings for several Vietnamese music production labels toward the end of the 1980s decade, Don Ho began to make a name for himself in the overseas Vietnamese music industry as audiences, as well as music executives of other major Vietnamese music production labels, began to take notice of his unique style of singing.  One particular label was Thuy Nga Paris, the most prolific overseas Vietnamese music production company which produces the immensely popular Paris By Night music video series.  After Don Ho made his first video appearance for Thuy Nga Paris teamed up in an ensemble with other singers for a couple of medleys, he was invited to return in 1992 where he would appear on a Paris By Night live show, this time performing as a solo act with a cover to Paul Anka's classic, Diana, sung in both English and Vietnamese translated lyrics.  That night the audience rewarded Don Ho with a thunderous applause which singled him out from the rest of the performers.  Almost overnight, Don Ho had become the new singing sensation among overseas Vietnamese communities worldwide.

For the rest of the 1990s decade, Don Ho consistently reigned as the top Vietnamese male vocalist with skyrocketing album sales, sold out live shows across the globe and had a huge following that would only get bigger with each of his unforgettable appearances on the Paris By Night music video series.  With a lengthy professional association with Thuy Nga Paris of 15 years, Don Ho is undoubtedly one of the most sought after musical performers to have ever graced the Paris By Night stage.  No other overseas Vietnamese male vocalist has ever had such an impact in the Vietnamese music industry, especially with the overseas Vietnamese younger generation.  Among his most popular signature songs include Dancing All Night, Trai Tim Mua Dong (Winter's Heart), Tinh Nhat Phai (Caravan of Life) and a cover of an old Tom Jones classic, I Who Have Nothing.  He has recorded duets with Ngoc Lan, Thanh Ha and Lam Thuy Van. 

Currently a resident of Santa Monica, California, Don Ho continues to tour relentlessly performing at live shows for Vietnamese audiences around the globe.  In recent years, Don Ho had formed his own music label, Don Ho Production, which has released several of his solo studio albums.


Link(s):

Don Ho Production
Don Ho's Official Facebook Page

Thanh Nga

Thanh Nga:  South Vietnamese Actress
of Films and Opera Stage
Murdered at Age 36

Thanh Nga (1942-1978) was the most popular actress of South Vietnam's cai luong opera stage prior to 1975.  She was best known portraying roles in cai luong plays such as Điêu Thuyền in Phụng Nghi Đình, Kim Anh in Đời Cô Lựu, Vân in Ánh Sáng và Bóng Tối, Quỳnh Nga in Bên Cầu Dệt Lụa and Trưng Trắc in Tiếng Trống Mê Linh.  In addition, Thanh Nga had also enjoyed a careeer as a film actress starring in a series of films produced in South Vietnam including Doi Mat Nguoi Xua (The Eyes of a Past Lover) (1963), Mua Thu Cuoi Cung (Final Autumn) (1971), the film adaption of Lan va Diep (1972), Xa Lo Khong Den (Dark Highway) (1972) and Nang Chieu (Evening Sunshine) (1973), in which she had costarred with Hung Cuong.  Aside from her acting and cai luong opera singing talents, Thanh Nga was also famous for her striking physical beauty being hailed as one of the most beautiful Vietnamese actresses of all time.  Her beauty has only been rivaled to that of another screen legend of South Vietnam, actress Tham Thuy Hang.  Twice married with one child and once romantically linked to fellow performer Thanh Duoc, Thanh Nga met her untimely death at age 36 when she along with her husband were shot and killed in 1978.

Her younger half-brother, Bao Quoc, is also an accomplished cai luong and film actor in Vietnam.

Thanh Nga and Huu Phuoc
 in the classic cải lương play, Mưa Rừng,
during the 1960s in Saigon.  

Link(s):

50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Thanh Nga's beauty was easily captured on film.  

Thanh Nga in the film, Xa Lo Khong Den (Dark Highway) (1972)

    

Ngoc Son

Ngoc Son:  Controversial Pop Music Sensation
 ofVietnam

Ngoc Son (1970-     ) has been one of the most prolific male singers of Vietnam since the mid 1980s.  Born in Hai Phong and raised in Bac Lieu, Ngoc Son started his professional singing career while still a teenager.  Among his trademarks are his explosive high energy live shows and his diverse ability to sing in different genres of music including pop, rock and even traditional Vietnamese folk music.  After a series of controversial run-ins with the law in his personal life, Ngoc Son has been banned from appearing on national Vietnamese television.  However, his singing career with live performances all across Vietnam continues at a non-stop pace.  Ngoc Son remains as one of the most popular male vocalists of Vietnam today.  He has recorded duets with Bao Yen, Huong Lan and Hoang Lan.
















Link(s):


Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 1 
Ngoc Son's Official Website

France Nuyen

France Nuyen:  Eurasian French-Vietnamese
 Hollywood Film and Television Actress

France Nuyen (1939-     ) was born to a French mother and Vietnamese father in Marseilles, France.  France Nuyen started out as a model when she was discovered by Life Magazine photographer Philippe Halsman in 1955.  Three years later, she would began her career as a film actress when she landed the role of Liat in South Pacific.  The success from her film debut made her a Hollywood star and earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.  That same year, France Nuyen would also play the lead role in the theatrical production of The World According to Suzie Wong.  She was originally cast for the film adaptation with the same name, but instead the role went to another Eurasian actress, Nancy Kwan.  It has been reported that the main reason for the sudden casting change had to do with France Nuyen's unexpected weight gain brought on by her break-up with actor Marlon Brando right before principal shooting for the film version of Suzie Wong was to begin.

France Nuyen has been married twice.  Her first marriage was to Dr. Thomas Gaspar Morell (1963-1966) that produced a daughter, Fleur.  Nuyen would later marry actor Robert Culp in 1967.  However, that marriage also ended in divorce in 1970.

France Nuyen as Liat in South Pacific (1958)

Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, France Nuyen starred in many movies and made numerous television appearances on television shows.  Her most notable television appearances included episodes of Hawaii Five-O and as Elaan of Troyus on a memorable episode of Star Trek.  In the 1980s, France Nuyen joined the cast of St. Elsewhere and remained on the series until its cancellation in 1988.  Among her most famous films include Satan Never Sleeps (1962), A Girl Named Tamiko (1962), Battle for the Planet of Apes (1973), China Cry (1990) and The Joy Luck Club (1993), in which she had co-starred alongside another fellow Vietnamese film actress, Kieu Chinh. 

A truly multi-faceted woman of many diverse talents, France Nuyen is also an accomplished scholar.  In 1986, she earned her master's degree in clinical psychology.  France Nuyen was honored with a Woman of the Year award in 1989 for her psychological work.  Now in her seventies, France Nuyen still maintains an active career as a Hollywood actress in films and television.

France Nuyen as Elaan of Troyus in Star Trek

Link(s):

20 International Celebrities You Didn't Know Are Vietnamese
50 Most Beautiful Vietnamese Women of All Time

Tuan Ngoc

Tuan Ngoc: Overseas Vietnamese Crooner 

Tuan Ngoc (1947-     ) is Lu Lien's oldest son and the second eldest in a family of 7 siblings that would all become professional singers. From the age of 4, Tuan Ngoc had started singing on a national broadcast children's music radio program with other musical child prodigies in Vietnam.  Bich Chieu, the eldest member of the family of 7 children altogether, was the first to turn professional and had become one of the most popular singers at major cabarets and dance halls in Saigon.  Tuan Ngoc was the second of his siblings to make a living as a professional singer, when he followed in his older sister's footsteps and began performing for clubs and smaller venues around Saigon which catered to primarily US military personnel and civilians.  By his early 20s, Tuan Ngoc had gained significant popularity with his flawless interpretations of songs in the English language.

As Tuan Ngoc entered the 1970s decade, he continued performing at major nightclubs in Saigon and became associated with two of the most successful  singing groups of South Vietnam that specialized in performing live covers of popular American rock and roll and pop music tunes, known as The Top Five and The Strawberry Four, which consisted of fellow bandmates Duc Huy, Tung Giang and Billy Shane.  In 1971, Tuan Ngoc recorded five well-received Vietnamese ballads, particularly Ru Em written by Trinh Cong Son and Bai Khong Ten So 5 written by Vu Thanh An, alongside an ensemble of Vietnamese singers which included Khanh Ly, Le Thu and Duy Trac, entitled as Tu Quy.  In 1975, Tuan Ngoc left Vietnam and resettled in Southern California for a number of years.  During the beginning years of the overseas Vietnamese pop music scene in the United States which centered primarily around Orange County, California, many established Vietnamese artists such as Tuan Ngoc had found themselves in total frustration with the struggles of having to start all over and rebuilding their careers in a fledgling, newly developing industry which eventually prompted his decision to abandon Southern California and relocate to Hawaii sometime in the mid-1980s.  Before packing up to start his new life in the Aloha state, Tuan Ngoc had made a handful of memorable audio recordings for the Lang Van music production label, most notably a duet album, Chuyen Tinh Buon (1985), in which he was paired with popular Vietnamese singer Julie Quang.

Tuan Ngoc on Volume 6 of Asia Entertainment's
live show video series (1995)

After several years taking up residence in Hawaii where he had found steady work performing at local clubs for mostly non-Vietnamese audiences, Tuan Ngoc decided to give Southern California and the overseas Vietnamese music industry another chance.  As the Vietnamese community had become more established, which came along with a gradually expanding and thriving music scene, Tuan Ngoc was finally able to resume his career as a Vietnamese singer in full force.  His first notable appearance on audio during this comeback to the Vietnamese music scene was on a duet album he had recorded with Thai Hien for Diem Xua Productions released in 1989.  Shortly after, Tuan Ngoc began collaborating with numerous major music production labels within the Vietnamese music industry including Thuy Nga Paris, Asia Entertainment, Van Son Entertainment, Mây Productions and Khanh Ha Productions, formed by his younger sister, Khanh Ha, who had since become one of the biggest names among overseas Vietnamese singers.  Tuan Ngoc's singing career and popularity would reach unimaginable heights in the years since his return to the Vietnamese music scene.  To many performers of younger generations, Tuan Ngoc has become an iconic Vietnamese male vocalist and pop music idol. Married to the second eldest daughter of legendary Vietnamese composer Pham Duy, singer Thai Thao, since 1994, he is a proud father of two grown daughters (the eldest of which was from his first marriage to singer Annie Nga while the younger daughter is from his current marriage).  Together, this husband-and-wife team have performed in numerous sold-out live concert shows to Vietnamese audiences all over the world for the last two decades, a streak of tremendous success that firmly continues to this day for Tuan Ngoc and Thai Thao.

Tuan Ngoc and Thai Thao at a Live Performance

Tuấn Ngọc Performing Live in Concert
 Together With His Sisters, Khánh Hà and Lưu Bích 

Link(s):

20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time 

Hung Cuong

Hung Cuong:  Film and Stage Actor of South Vietnam,
Saigon's Rock and Roll Music Pioneer

Hung Cuong and Mai Le Huyen
  were the most successful duo of Vietnamese rock music.

 Hung Cuong (1936-1996) was one of the most prolific actors of the big screen and stage in South Vietnam.  In addition, he was also a famous singer/ songwriter of Vietnamese pop music and performer of Vietnamese opera known as cai luong.  Among his most popular films were Chan Troi Tim (1963), Bao Tinh (1972) and Nang Chieu (1973), in which he had starred alongside three of Vietnam's top leading ladies, Kim Vui, Kieu Chinh and Thanh Nga, respectively.  As a pop music singer, Hung Cuong achieved tremendous success as part of a singing duo of Vietnamese rock music with Mai Le Huyen throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  On the Southern Vietnamese opera stage, Hung Cuong paired up with Bach Tuyet, and together were one of the most succesful acting couples of cai luong plays.  In 1980, Hung Cuong emigrated from Vietnam to the United States and continued his career as a performer for several years, although he was unable to match the level of success he had enjoyed previously in his homeland.  An avid opponent of communism, Hung Cuong participated in many anti-communist rallies around the world during the latter years of his career.  In 1996, he died prematurely at the age of 60 after a number of years battling cancer. 

Hung Cuong and Thanh Nga in Nang Chieu  (1973)

Link(s):

20 Most Handsome Vietnamese Men of All Time

Dam Vinh Hung

Dam Vinh Hung: The King of Pop Music
in Present Day Vietnam

Dam Vinh Hung (1971-     ) also known by the nickname, Mr. Dam, has been referred to as the king of pop music in Vietnam.  Dam Vinh Hung started his professional singing career after winning first prize at a talent show held at Ho Ky Hoa National Park in 1992.  During his first six years as a professional singer, Dam Vinh Hung made little impact in the Vietnamese pop music scene.  It wasn't until his participation in another major talent contest in 1998, Tieng Hat Truyen Hinh Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, where Dam Vinh Hung despite taking fourth place really began to make a splash in the Vietnamese music industry.  The following year, Dam Vinh Hung was selected among the top ten most promising vocalists by Trung Tam Ca Nhac Nhe Sai Gon.

Toward the end of the 1990s decade, Dam Vinh Hung's career began to take off making him one of the most popular singers of Vietnam.  Among his trademarks are his flamboyant dress attire, his explosive high energy live performances and his tremendous vocal power.  Dam Vinh Hung has proven to be one of the most marketable live concert performers with sold out shows all over Vietnam, and for Vietnamese audiences in Europe, Australia and North America.  It has been said that Dam Vinh Hung had first discovered singer My Tam and had played a major role in the launching of her career.

Bao Yen and Dam Vinh Hung at rehearsal
for Hanoi live show on December, 2014

Link(s):

Vietnamese Celebrity Homes Part 1 
Dam Vinh Hung's Official Website