Minh Phung

Minh Phung (1944-2008) was a famous Southern Vietnamese folk opera actor.

Born in 1944 to a family with ten children in Tien Giang, South Vietnam, his name given at birth was Ngo Van Thieu.  But on his birth certificate, he was given the name, Nguyen Van Hoai.  While still a teenager, through an introduction by established cai luong theater actor, Huong Huyen, he joined the Tân Đô theater troupe and was given the stage name of Tân Tiến.  At the age of 17, he changed his stage name finally to Minh Phung when he signed with the prestigious Kim Chung Theater Troupe at the same time with two other actors with similar stage names, Minh Canh and Minh Vuong.  Prior to 1975, he had become one of the most popular cai luong performers in all of South Vietnam.  In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Minh Phung starred in many successful cai luong play productions including Trinh Tiet Mot Loai Hoa with Ut Bach Lan, Bich Van Cung Le Su with My Chau, Xin Mot Lan Yeu Nhau and Kiep Nao Co Yeu Nhau, both with Le Thuy.  

In 1976, Minh Phung formed his own theater troupe called Huong Mua Thu.  He would change the name of the theater troupe to Tieng Chuong Vang in 1994.  Despite the decline in popularity of cai luong plays with audiences in Vietnam, he managed to keep his theater troupe in full operation until the year 2000.  His persistence, however, resulted in financial setbacks in his later years.  

During the 1990s and 2000s, Minh Phung made many live performances for overseas Vietnamese audiences all over Europe and North America.  In 2007, he appeared on volumes 55 and 56 of the popular overseas Vietnamese live show video series produced by Asia Entertainment.  Minh Phung passed away on September 29, 2008 from kidney failure.  He left behind his wife of 20 years, cai luong actress Kieu Tien, and their daughter, overseas Vietnamese actress/singer Y Phung.  He also had three children from a previous relationship with cai luong actress Dieu Hue.