Betty Loh Ti (July 24, 1937 – December 27, 1968), also known as Le Di or Loh Tih, was a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

actress originally from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. Known as the "Classic Beauty", she was one of the most celebrated actresses of Hong Kong cinema. She is most famous for her roles in the 1960 film '' The Enchanting Shadow'', for which she was called "China's most beautiful actress" by the jury of the

1960 Cannes Film Festival The 13th Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 20 May 1960. The Palme d'Or went to the ''La Dolce Vita'' by Federico Fellini. The festival opened with '' Ben-Hur'', directed by William Wyler. Jury The following people were appointed as the Ju ...

, and ''

The Love Eterne ''The Love Eterne'' is a 1963 Hong Kong musical film of the Huangmei opera genre directed by Li Han Hsiang. An adaptation of the classic Chinese story "Butterfly Lovers", it tells of the doomed romance between the male Liang Shanbo ( portraye ...

'', which earned her the

Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress The Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress is given at the Golden Horse Film Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Gove ...

in 1963. She died from

barbiturate overdose Barbiturate overdose is poisoning due to excessive doses of barbiturates. Symptoms typically include difficulty thinking, poor coordination, decreased level of consciousness, and a decreased effort to breathe ( respiratory depression). Complica ...

at the age of 31.

Early life

Betty Loh Ti was born as Hsi Chung-i on 24 July 1937 into a prominent family from

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

, the owner of the Xi Fu Ji () Factory in

. She was born in the midst of the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan The also ...

, one of the bloodiest battles of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, during which her father was killed by Japanese bombing before she was born. She was the youngest of six siblings; her elder brother (born Hsi Chungchien) would grow up to become renowned actor

Kelly Lai Chen Kelly Lai Chen (; born Hsi Chungchien; September 3rd, 1933 – April 3rd, 2018) was a Hong Kong actor born in Shanghai. He appeared in more than 40 films in the 1950s and 1960s, and was best known for his portrayals of sensitive young men. He wa ...

. Her pet name was "Liuti" (六弟, literally "sixth brother", ''Loh Di'' in

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...

), which was later transformed into her stage name Loh Ti (Le Di). Their maternal grandfather was the tycoon , who owned the Tianchan Theater, then Shanghai's grandest theater for Chinese opera. Growing up near the opera house, she became interested in acting since early childhood and often sang along with

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

actors. After their mother died in 1948, the children were brought up by their maternal grandmother. In 1949, her grandmother brought the children to

, as part of the mass exodus from mainland China after the Communist victory in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

Career

In Hong Kong, Loh's family lived next door to Yuan Yang-an, a cofounder and top executive of Great Wall Movie Enterprises. The studio signed a five-year contract with her in 1952, when she was 15. She debuted in the 1953 film ''The Peerless Beauty'' (). At Great Wall, she was eclipsed by the company's "Three Princesses" such as Hsia Moon, and was mainly cast in supporting roles. The sole exception was the 1957 film ''Suspicion'', in which she played the female lead. After her contract with Great Wall expired in 1958, Loh defected to

Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

, which gave her more important roles. In ''The Magic Touch'' (妙手回春, 1958), her first film with Shaw Brothers, her performance as the famous fictional beauty

Lin Daiyu Lin Daiyu (also spelled Lin Tai-yu, zh, s=林黛玉, p=Lín Dàiyù, rendered Black Jade in Chi-chen Wang's translation) is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic 18th-century Chinese novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. She is ...

earned her the nickname "Classic Beauty". Her 1960 film '' The Enchanting Shadow'' was a breakout success. It received an enthusiastic reception at the

, whose jury praised her as "China's most beautiful actress". In 1963, she played

Zhu Yingtai The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu (). The story was selected as one o ...

, the female lead in the blockbuster ''

'' directed by

Li Han-hsiang Richard Li Han-hsiang (; 7 March 1926 in Huludao, Jinxi, Liaoning – 17 December 1996 in Beijing) was a Chinese film director. Li directed more than 70 films in his career beginning in the 1950s and lasting till the 1990s. His ''The Enchanting ...

. It was considered her signature piece, and she won the

for her performance. Loh joined

Motion Picture & General Investment Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia. History Associated Theatres L ...

(MP&GI) in 1964. In 1967, she founded her own studio, Golden Eagle Film Company, together with her brother

and director Yuan Chiufeng. She starred in 11 films from 1964 until her death in 1968.

Personal life and death

Loh married actor

Peter Chen Ho Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

in January 1962, and gave birth to a daughter named Chen Mingming in September 1962, but they divorced in 1967. On December 27, 1968, Loh was found unconscious in her apartment in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

. She was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital but died from

. She was 31.

Legacy

Despite her untimely death, she is considered a screen legend. In 2017, the

Hong Kong Film Archive The Hong Kong Film Archive is a film archive collects, preserves, and screens Hong Kong films and other related materials. The archive was founded in 1993, when its Planning Office was opened by the Urban Council. It joined the Internationa ...

organized an exhibition to commemorate her 80th birth anniversary. According to the organizers, Betty Loh Ti's "talent and charm remain unsurpassed to this day".

Filmography

With Great Wall Movie Enterprises (1953–1958): * ''The Peerless Beauty'' (1953) * ''Tales of the City'' (1954) * ''Loves of the Youngsters'' (1955) * ''Diamond Thief'' (1955) * ''The Apartment for Women'' (1956) * ''Sunrise'' (1956) * ''Three Loves'' (1956) * ''A Widow's Tears'' (1956) * ''The Song of Harmony'' (1957) * ''Suspicion'' (1957) * ''The Chivalrous Songstress'' (1957) * ''Love Affairs of a Confirmed Bachelor'' (1959) With

(1958–1964): * ''The Magic Touch'' (1958) * ''Love Letter Murder'' (1959) * ''The Adventures of the Thirteenth Sister'' (1959) * ''The Deformed'' (1959) * ''The Malayan Affair'' (1960) * ''Back Door'' (1960) * ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1960) * '' The Enchanting Shadow'' (1960) * ''When the Peach Blossoms Bloom'' (1960) * ''The Rose of Summer'' (1961) * 1961 ''The Pistol'' * 1962 ''The Bride Napping'' * 1962 ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' * 1962 ''Mid-Nightmare (Part One)'' * 1963 ''Mid-Nightmare (Part Two)'' * 1963 ''Revenge of a Swordswoman'' * 1963 ''

'' * 1963 ''My Lucky Star'' * 1964 ''The Dancing Millionairess'' - Mei Xin-Yue * 1964 ''The Story of Sue San'' * 1965 ''Sons of the Good Earth'' With

MP&GI Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia. History Associated Theatres ...

and Golden Eagle (1965–1968): * ''A Beggar's Daughter'' (1965) * '' The Longest Night'' (1965) * ''The Lucky Purse'' (1966) * ''Lady in the Moon'' (1966) * ''A Debt of Blood'' (1966) * ''The Magic Fan'' (1967) * ''Darling, Stay at Home'' (1968) * ''Travels with a Sword'' (1968) * ''Red Plum Pavilion'' (1968)

References

External links

*
HK cinemagic entry

Betty Lo Tih at hkmdb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loh, Betty Ti 1937 births 1968 deaths Hong Kong film actresses 20th-century Hong Kong actresses Actresses from Shanghai Drug-related deaths in Hong Kong Suicides in Hong Kong Shaw Brothers Studio