Gurmit Singh Virk Chainchal Singh (born 24 March 1965; pa, ਗੁਰਮੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Gurmīt Siṅgh; ) is a
Singaporean
Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...
actor, comedian and television personality. He was prominently a full-time
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
artiste from 1994 to 2014. A former artiste of
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
, he is best known for his role as the titular character Phua Chu Kang in ''
Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd
''Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' was a Singaporean sitcom. The sitcom centres on an eccentric general contractor with his trademark yellow boots, curly afro hair and large facial mole. While it carries the traditions of a sitcom, many unusual element ...
'', ''
Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd
''Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd'' was a Malaysian sitcom and sequel to the Singaporean sitcom ''Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' that debuted on Mediacorp Channel 5. The series reprises Gurmit Singh and Irene Ang as Phua Chu Kang and Rosie respectively, and is p ...
'' and ''
Phua Chu Kang The Movie
''Phua Chu Kang The Movie'' is a Singaporean-Malaysian comedy film and sequel to sitcoms'' Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' and ''Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd''. The film was released in Singapore on 12 August 2010 and Malaysia on 26 August 2010.
Plot
Followi ...
'', for which he won the
Asian Television Awards
The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...
prize for Best Performance by an Actor (Comedy) five times, from 1998 to 2001 and in 2003 for the former. From 2004 to 2005, he won the Highly Commended prize.
Life
Born to a
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
father, Chainchal Singh, and an
East Asian
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...
(
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
–
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
) mother, Gurmit was brought up as a
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
, but converted to Christianity in 1985. Gurmit Singh studied in
Outram Secondary School
Outram Secondary School is a co-educational government secondary school in Singapore. Founded in 1906 as Outram Road School, and later Outram School, it is one of the oldest schools in Singapore. It is also the only government school in Singapore ...
during his secondary school years.
Gurmit is married to Melissa, a Cantonese
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
. They have three children, Gabrielle (born 1998), Elliot (born 2002) and Mikaela (born 2013). Gurmit is an
alumnus
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
of
National Police Cadet Corps
The National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) is one of the national uniformed group for youths between age 13 to 17 in Singapore. The organisation is supported by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Established in 1959, it tra ...
, Singapore, and held the rank of
Cadet Inspector.
Career
Making his debut in the variety show ''Live on 5'' in 1994, he then became the host and lead actor of sitcom ''Gurmit's World'', also debuted in 1994. The second season of ''Gurmit's World'', continued in 1995, in which Gurmit portrayed his 'relatives' in a series of skits (unlike the first season where he played a wide assortment of mostly non-recurring characters), featured the first appearance of a character named Phua Chu Kang. The
Singlish
Singlish (a portmanteau of ''Singapore'' and ''English'') is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different languages in Singapore, incl ...
-based spin-off sitcom ''
Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd
''Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' was a Singaporean sitcom. The sitcom centres on an eccentric general contractor with his trademark yellow boots, curly afro hair and large facial mole. While it carries the traditions of a sitcom, many unusual element ...
'' in 1997 made Gurmit a popular icon, not only in Singapore, but also in neighbouring countries (especially Malaysia). This factor leads to having a spin-off sitcom sequel based in Malaysia, ''
Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd
''Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd'' was a Malaysian sitcom and sequel to the Singaporean sitcom ''Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' that debuted on Mediacorp Channel 5. The series reprises Gurmit Singh and Irene Ang as Phua Chu Kang and Rosie respectively, and is p ...
'' (2009-2010).
In 2013, Gurmit was nominated for the Best Actor prize at the 1st Golden Wau Awards, aimed at promoting Chinese-language Malaysian films, for his role in ''
Phua Chu Kang The Movie
''Phua Chu Kang The Movie'' is a Singaporean-Malaysian comedy film and sequel to sitcoms'' Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd'' and ''Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd''. The film was released in Singapore on 12 August 2010 and Malaysia on 26 August 2010.
Plot
Followi ...
'' (2010).
In October 2014, the
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
Singapore museum unveiled a wax figure of Phua Chu Kang.
In November 2014, Gurmit announced that he would leave the entertainment industry at the end of his full-time television career at
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
- after exactly 20 years. Gurmit shared that he planned to spend more time with his family and would take on engagements on a more selective basis.
In August 2020, Phua Chu Kang was announced and signed as
Shopee's first Singaporean brand ambassador.
Filmography
Film
Television
Skit & Entertainment
Others
Accolades
Discography
Albums
* ''Sing Singapore 2002 : One (We Are One)'' (2002) duet with
Tay Ping Hui
Tay Ping Hui (born 10 November 1970) is a Singaporean actor and director. In 2014, Tay made his directorial debut with the basketball film ''Meeting the Giant''.
Early life
Tay attended Catholic High School (Primary and Secondary) and Catholi ...
* ''One Leg Kicking Original Soundtrack: 'Calling': "Into The House"'' (2001)
* ''Moments'' Gurmit's debut album (2015)
* ''Gurmit Goes Local'' (1995) comedy album
Compilations
* ''A Happy Journey Starts Like That!'' (2009)
* ''The PCK Sar-vivor Rap'' (2003)
* ''Love, No Boundaries: "Into the House"'' (2001)
lbum single
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gurmit
Singaporean television personalities
1965 births
Living people
Singaporean Charismatics
Singaporean people of Indian descent
Singaporean people of Punjabi descent
Singaporean people of Japanese descent
Singaporean people of Chinese descent
Singaporean male television actors
Singaporean male stage actors
Singaporean male film actors
Converts to Christianity from Sikhism
20th-century Singaporean male actors
21st-century Singaporean male actors