Kwok Lam-sang (2 February 1952 – 29 December 2020) known professionally as Melvis, or Lan Kwai Fong Elvis was an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

impersonator An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

and busker and cultural icon in

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 ...

active from 1981 until his death in December 2020.

Early life

Kwok was born in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to an ethnic Chinese family. His family moved to

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

, Guizhou Province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1967. He moved to

in 1974 and found a job at an electronics factory in

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon ...

Career

Kwok said that he only became aware of Elvis Presley after Elvis’ death in 1977 and soon became obsessed with the late singer. Kwok won his first Elvis impersonation contest in 1981 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 ...

district. In February 1992 he began busking full-time as the "Cat King", the Chinese name for Elvis and started frequenting the newly popular

Lan Kwai Fong Lan Kwai Fong (often abbreviated as LKF) is a small square of streets in Central, Hong Kong. The area was dedicated to hawkers before the Second World War, but underwent a renaissance in the mid-1980s. It is now a popular expatriate haunt in ...

area of

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

playing to the largely

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

bargoers who would pay him small sums of money to play Elvis songs. His wife Anna was initially reluctant about this choice but supported him in pursuing his passion and became his manager. When interviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2010, Kwok said that he worked two hours a night making approximately 500

Hong Kong dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, currency symbol, sign: HK$; ISO 4217, code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cent (currency), cents or 1000 Mill (currency), mils. The H ...

s each night. He owned more than 20 custom-made Elvis suits and two guitars. He was described as "not particularly melodious, but… passionate." In addition to busking Kwok performed at private parties. In September 2017 he held a concert at the

Sheung Wan Civic Centre 200px, Theatre Sheung Wan Civic Centre is a performing arts centre located in the Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building, on Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It is a popular theatre venue in Hong Kong. Sheung Wan Civic Centre is ...

In an interview in March 2020 Kwok said that he had worked every night for 28 years. With bars in Hong Kong closed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Kwok said that he had spent most of 2020 in his apartment watching Elvis movies and playing his guitar. He died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

on 29 December 2020 at the age of 68. He was survived by his wife Anna and their son and daughter.

References

{{reflist

External links

South China Morning Post video profile from 2020Radio 3 Hong Kong tribute to Melvis
Hong Kong idols 1952 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Hong Kong male singers 21st-century Hong Kong male singers