Tran Van Trach

Tran Van Trach (1924-1994) was a famous Vietnamese singer, actor and musician.  He became known as "quai kiet" which means king of comedy in Vietnam.

He had come from a long show business legacy in Vietnam.  His great grandfather was Tran Quang Tho, a famous musician from Hue.  His grandfather was musician Tran Quang Diem.  And his father was Tran Van Trieu, a famous Vietnamese folk opera actor.  Tran Van Trach was born in 1924 in My Tho, South Vietnam in a family of three children.  His older brother was singer Tran Van Khe and his younger sister is singer Tran Ngoc Suong.  His name given at birth was Tran Quang Trach.

At the age of 18, he graduated from College de My Tho.  From a young age, he had developed a strong interest in music.  Other than singing, Tran Van Trach was also trained to play the mandolin, as well as the violin.  In 1945, he relocated to Saigon and began singing nightly at a cabaret called Dancing Théophile.  From 1946 until 1947, he toured the Mekong Delta performing in support of the South Vietnamese army against the French.  Tran Van Trach would then find his niche as a character singer.

While touring in support of South Vietnamese troops, Tran Van Trach met songwriter Le Thuong.  The two would then collaborate on a series of hit songs with a comical theme along with a subliminal political message written by Le Thuong and sung by Tran Van Trach.  Their most popular hit songs were Hoa Binh 48, Lien Hiep Quoc, Dot Hay Khong Dot and Lang Bao Sai Gon.  Because of the political message of anti-French colonialism with these songs, both Tran Van Trach and Le Thuong were arrested and sent to jail for several days in 1951 by the French authorities.  That same year, Tran Van Trach also wrote his very first song, Anh Phu Xich Lo.  Among the other songs he had written and performed include Cai Téléphone, Cai Dong Ho Tay, Cay But May, Anh Chang That Nghiep, Khi Nguoi Ta Yeu Nhau, Toi Dong Xi Ne and his most popular signature hit, Xo So Khien Thiet Quoc Gia.  

During the 1950s, Tran Van Trach took on another career as a film actor.  His first two films were Long Nhan Dao (1955) and Giot Mau Roi (1956), both of which he starred alongside actress Kim Cuong.  Tran Van Trach had founded his own film production studio, Viet Thanh, in 1956 starring in and directing two more films, Thoai Khanh Chau Tuan (1956) with Kim Cuong and Van Hung and Truong Chi My Nuong (1956) with Trang Thien Kim and La Thoai Tan.

Songwriter Hoang Thi Tho and Tran Van Trach

In 1960, Tran Van Trach traveled to Paris, France and performed at the prestigious cabaret, La Table du Mandarin, for six months.  This was the same nightclub that had featured such Vietnamese artists like Bach Yen, Tiny Yong and Bich Chieu.  The following year, Tran Van Trach returned to Saigon and recorded Chieu Mua Bien Gioi written by Nguyen Van Dong for the Shotguns record label.  It became one of his biggest hits as a singer.  From 1965 until 1975, he became one of South Vietnam's most prolific show promoters.  He found success promoting live shows held at nightclubs and venues that catered mainly to US military personnel patrons.  In 1973, he costarred with Thanh Nga, Nam Chau, Trang Thanh Lan and Dung Thanh Lam in the film, Xa Lộ Không Đèn.

On December of 1977, Tran Van Trach left his native Vietnam to resettle in Paris, France.  As an overseas Vietnamese artist, he recorded several studio albums including Hai Huoc Tran Van Trach (1982) for Thuy Nga Paris, Con Duong Hanh Phuc (1983) for Thanh Lan and Allo Paris (1986) for Giang Ngoc.  In 1983, he released a solo videotape also entitled as Hai Huoc Tran Van Trach.  He performed for overseas Vietnamese audiences in various European countries, the United States and Australia.  In 1989, he hosted volume 9 of Paris By Night, the popular music video series produced by Thuy Nga.


Tran Van Trach passed away on April 12, 1994 at the age of 70.  In a video clip featured on a tribute to him on Vietnam Performing Arts Television, Tran Van Trach had confessed he had been secretly in love with singer Thai Thanh.  During the 1940s, he was married to a French national and had one child.