Lor Tok ( th, ล้อต๊อก, real name Sawong Supsamruay th, สวง ทรัพย์สำรวย, April 1, 1914 – April 29, 2002) was a Thai comedian and actor. He was named a

Thailand National Artist The National Artist ( th, ศิลปินแห่งชาติ, , ) is a title given annually by the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, recognizing notable Thai artists in the area of intangible cultural heritage such ...

for performing arts in 1995. With an acting career that stretched from the 1930s into the 1980s, Lor Tok had roles in more than 1,000 films, among them ''Ngern, Ngern, Ngern'' (''Money, Money, Money'', 1983 version), for which he received an award for best actor at the

Thailand National Film Association Awards The Suphannahong National Film Awards ( th, รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์, also known as the Thailand National Film Association Awards) is the primary film award of the Thai film ...

.National Artist profile
, Office of the National Culture Commission, Thailand Ministry of Culture, retrieved 2007-03-29.

Biography

Early life

Born Sawong Supsamruay (สวง ทรัพย์สำรวย) in Ban Suan Klong, Bangkok Yai, Lor Tok was the third of five children of an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

ist. As a boy, he climbed coconut trees and learned to play traditional

Thai musical instruments Traditional Thai musical instruments ( th, เครื่องดนตรีไทย, ) are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical music of Thailand. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments ...

. He attended Wat Nuan Noradit School until Mattayom 3 (the equivalent of

ninth grade Ninth grade, freshman year, or grade 9 is the ninth year of school education in some school systems. Ninth grade is often the first school year of secondary school, high school in the United States, or the last year of middle school#United States ...

) and then went to work on the family orchard. After floods wiped out the orchard, Lor Tok worked on a river pier, helping to moor ferry boats. Other occupations included boatman on the Pasi Charoen canal, a

trishaw The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab ...

driver in

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of ...

and professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He is said to have often walked from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok on foot, a journey that took three days. He also served in the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA ( th, กองทัพบกไทย; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's so ...

."You had to laugh"
The Nation, "35 Most Influential Thais" (PDF), retrieved 2007-03-29.

Comedy and film career

Lor Tok joined a comedy troupe and began performing with another popular comedian of the day, Jok Dokchan. He was acclaimed for his stage performance in the comic play, ''Klai Glua Kin Dang'' (''Near Good Salt, Eat Bad Salt''). Due to this role, a senior actor gave him his stage name. His film debut was in 1933 in ''Wan Chakayan''. Other films were ''Panan'', ''Yod Phi'', ''Hong Fah'', ''Phra Apaimanee'' and ''Roy Khan''. Among his more famous roles were the 1985 remake of the musical comedy ''Ngern, Ngern, Ngern'' (เงิน เงิน เงิน), for which he won best actor at the

. He portrayed an unscrupulous moneylender whose son falls in love with a debtor and ends up taking sides against his father. He had also had a smaller role in the original 1965 film. Lor Tok won a Tuktathong ("Golden Doll") award for his role as a Chinese merchant in ''Go Hub''. He played the lead role in the

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

spoof, ''James Band'' and was the title character in the comedy horror, ''Dracula Tok''. In the early 1980s, he acted in the acclaimed ''Luang ta'' duology, in which he portrayed a wise

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk.Partial filmography
Thai World View, retrieved 2007-03-29. He established his own production company in 1969 called Tok Boom Parpayon. Among the films he directed was ''Luk Kuey'', which starred

Mitr Chaibancha Mitr Chaibancha ( Thai มิตร ชัยบัญชาpronunciation, 28 January 1934 in Phetchaburi, Thailand - 8 October 1970) was a Thai film actor who acted 266 films from 1956 to 1970. He died on 8 October 1970 at Dongtan Beach, Jomt ...

and

Petchara Chaowarat Petchara Chaowarat (Thai: เพชรา เชาวราษฎร์; born 19 January 1943 in Rayong Province, Thailand) is a Thai actress who starred in around 300 films from 1961 to 1979. An icon of the "Golden Age" of Thai cinema, she was k ...

. He was popular on television in the 1980s, appearing in the shows "Nateethong" and "Traduduang".

Personal life

Lor Tok was described as short and dark skinned, with black hair and often sported a pencil

moustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...

. His good humor won him an admirer in Somjit, a statuesque actress, model and beauty contest winner. They married and had three children. At the end of his life Lor Tok suffered from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

due to smoking. On April 28, he was admitted to Sotharavej Hospital in

Chachoengsao Chachoengsao ( th, ฉะเชิงเทรา, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chachoengsao Province. It is on the banks of the Bang Pakong River. It includes ''tambon'' Na Mueang and parts of Ban Mai, Bang T ...

after collapsing while rehearsing for a khon masked dance performance,"Lor Tok making slow recovery"
''The Nation'', 2002-04-29, retrieved 2007-03-29. and he died at the hospital the next day. Shortly after his death, a cartoon series based on his ''Dracula Tok'' character was developed."Lor Tok lives on in new cartoon series"
''The Nation'', 2002-05-02, retrieved 2007-03-29.

Tribute

On 1 April 2019, search engine

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

commemorated Sawong "Lor Tok" Supsamruay with a

Doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

on his 105th birth anniversary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lor Tok 1914 births 2002 deaths People from Bangkok Thai male film actors National Artists of Thailand 20th-century Thai male actors Deaths from emphysema Thai comedians 20th-century comedians