Veteran television producer Siu Sang died of liver cancer at Tseung Kwan O Hospital early on Saturday.
The death of Siu, who made stars out of Andy Lau Tak-wah and Leon Lai Ming, was another blow to the show-business community, coming after the loss of lyricist James Wong Jim last Wednesday.
Lau said upon hearing of Siu's death: 'Without Siu Sang, there wouldn't be Lau Tak-wah. Without him there wouldn't be so many stars in show business today.'
Siu, 77, was best known for his wuxia, or martial arts, television shows. He was one of the key figures responsible for the revolution of bringing wuxia elements to the small screen in the 1970s.
His son, David Siu Chi-kong, said Siu had been suffering from liver illness for a few years. He said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.
Siu joined show business in the 1970s and worked for the now-defunct Commercial Television and Rediffusion Television, TVB and ATV.